Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[sejpdw]

"A young man 1) had been caught by the police after a bad accident occurred whild he was driving drunk. At a cout, he said he was not guilty. And his girlfriend also said he was not drunk while driving. Then a witness appeared and told dthe truth. Finally she could not stand the pressure of the tension and said she told a lie. She was just trying to help out her friend and actually she had not seen the accident at all. Anyway she 2)had been guilty herself by acting as a faulty witness. We might think she is a fool, but we are likely to be one. Remember the lesson she might learn trough the case. And the next time you are likely to do something similar to her, think of it."

I can't understand why the past perfect tense was used in these two sentence. Could you explain that to me?
1) A young man had been caught by...
2) Anyway she had been guilty herself...

[Anuradha Chepur]

The past perfect and the simple past are interchangeable in many situations.

1) A young man had been caught by...
2) Anyway she had been guilty herself...

These could also be written as:
1. A young man was caught by...
2. Anyway she was guilty herself...