# EN: You didn't tell me anything about her before tonight



## sclubusher

Hello Everyone !

Je viens de voir un trailer d'un film qui à l'air superb  Bref.

Et j'ai entendu dans ce trailer dire :

You didn't tell me anything about her before tonight.
==>_* Tu ne ma rien dit d'elle avant ce soir*_

C'est du past perfect, et j'ai appris que c'était Had + not ce qui ferait

you hadn't tell me anything about her before tonight

Est-ce que c'est parceque c'est Américain ?

Je ne sais pas si la traduction est parfaite, je comprends la phrase en Anglais, mais la traduction n'est peut-être pas très bonne ?


Merci pour votre aide !

Have a nice one !


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## ash1120

Hello Sclubusher

1.  Had + past participle (+ adverb of time)
2.  did +  present participle(+ adverb of time)
In this case, you see the use of the simple past  (didn't tell) which is  complimented by an adverb of time.  This is perfectly acceptable  grammar as the sense of time is communicated by the adverb.  
The past perfect tense is also correct, but not always preferred.  It is  an underused tense since we can avoid using it as long as the sense of  time can be inferred.  This sentence is also communicating a sense of  annoyance/accusation; hence the use of an Emphatic "Do" makes the  language more powerful and accusatory.

for example: You hadn't done your homework before leaving for the movies.
   (a statement of fact without emotion)
You didn't do your homework before leaving for the movies.
  (a statement of fact with implied emotion, depending on your intonation)

Your translation is correct as French does not make use of an Emphatic verb as far as I know.


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## moustic

Pourquoi faudrait-il du past perfect ?
"You didn't tell me anything about her before tonight.
==>_* Tu ne m'a rien dit d'elle avant ce soir*_." C'est bien ça.

Il aurait fallu un point de repère dans le passé pour conjuguer au past perfect :
You *hadn't told *me anything about her before last Thursday.
_Tu ne m'avais rien dit d'elle avant jeudi dernier._


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## ash1120

Yes Moustic you are correct
==> Tu ne m'a rien dit d'elle avant ce soir."
is the best direct translation of the phrase.

I understood that Sclubusher was asking about how to use the past perfect in this context.  Sorry for the confusion.  
So if Sclubusher was asking for a direct translation, then your response is perfect.  If the question concerns "Why would it be possible to use past perfect?"
then it would change the translation, but English would allow past perfect in the context of:
A.    Earlier tonight you told me about her.
B.  Before that, you hadn't told me anything about her.


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## janpol

*"dit d'elle" n'est pas très joli*
*Tu ne m'as rien dit à son sujet avant ce soir*


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## pieanne

Ou "tu ne m'as pas parlé d'elle"


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## sclubusher

Merci pour toutes vos réponses 

D'accord je vois maintenant, en fait on aurait utilisé le past perfect si on aurait posée la question après la soirée

_( Car le context c'est dans une soirée où des personnes font connaissance)_

_Donc imaginons que nous sommes le lendemain matin, ça donnerait ceci :_

You *hadn't told *me anything about her before that party

C'est bien ça ?

Et on n'utilise le preterit au moment de la situation même, c'est un peu flou ce que je dis, mais c'est ça ?

et par rapport au post 2 de ash1120, est-ce que l'on peut utiliser le past perfect ou preterit selon l'emotion ou pas ?

Merci pour votre aide à tous


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## Babel3000

USA > Did you do it yet?
UK > Have you done it yet?

The fact that you can not go in the past to change the fact that he did not tell you tells us that it is a past finished action so the simple past has to be used.


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## Keith Bradford

Sclubusher, it's American.  A British speaker might easily have used the pluperfect.

But the sense is clear (and identical) either side of the Atlantic; don't fret.


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## sclubusher

sclubusher said:


> _( Car le context c'est dans une soirée où des personnes font connaissance)_
> 
> _Donc imaginons que nous sommes le lendemain matin, ça donnerait ceci :_
> 
> You *hadn't told *me anything about her before that party
> 
> C'est bien ça ?
> 
> *==> So, my example is right just above ?*
> 
> Merci pour votre aide à tous *et précisions*


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## timpeac

Keith Bradford said:


> Sclubusher, it's American.  A British speaker might easily have used the pluperfect.
> 
> But the sense is clear (and identical) either side of the Atlantic; don't fret.


Yes, I agree. The "before tonight" suggests "before you did tonight", and so in British English I would expect "you hadn't told me anything about her before (you did) tonight.

That said, the tendency to replace the pluperfect tense with the simple past where the context makes the meaning clear is also taking hold in the UK. I wouldn't have found the original sentence strange.


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## sclubusher

timpeac said:


> Yes, I agree. The "before tonight" suggests "before you did tonight", and so in British English I would expect "you hadn't told me anything about her before (you did) tonight.
> 
> That said, the tendency to replace the pluperfect tense with the simple past where the context makes the meaning clear is also taking hold in the UK. I wouldn't have found the original sentence strange.


 
Well, Thank you so much, so as Mister Bradford said it very well.

Uk is more pluperfect and US are tend to use preterit.

_Donc si on prends toujours ma situation : _
_ imaginons que nous sommes le lendemain matin, de cette reception ça donnerait ceci :

_You *hadn't told *me anything about her before that party==> UK

You *didn't told *me anything about her before that party==> US

bien que, comme l'a dit Moustic : _Il faut un point de repère dans le passé pour conjuguer au past perfect" _

Mais comme dit ash1120, _ça depends de l'émotion ou pas également..._

And what implies the"did" in before you_ *did*_ tonight.

Thanks for your help, I think I am thinking about it too much


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## Sedulia

"You didn't tell me anything about her before tonight" is more recent than "You hadn't told me anything about her before tonight." 

"You didn't tell me anything"... and now you have.

"You hadn't told me anything" ... in the past, ever, until tonight.

I would say the first is much more common. The second has a bit of an accusing flavor. 

"You hadn't told me anything (and you should have) so I said the wrong thing."

Don't know if this helps....

By the way this is not correct:

You hadn't told me anything about her before that party==> UK

You didn't told me anything about her before that party==> US  NO

The correct English is "didn't tell me" and no American would say "didn't told me." 

It is correct though that an American is more likely to use "didn't" and a British person "hadn't."


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## sclubusher

Sedulia said:


> You hadn't told me anything about her before that party==> UK
> 
> You *didn't tell* me anything about her before that party==> US , *so ?*
> 
> The correct English is "didn't tell me" and no American would say "didn't told me."
> 
> It is correct though that an American is more likely to use "didn't" and a British person "hadn't."


 
Thank you so much for your help , and I DO apologise I've made a careless mistake !!! I meant TELL and not TOLD , so sorry... Shame on me...

but about What Ash11210 said : _This sentence is also communicating a sense of annoyance/accusation; hence the use of an Emphatic "Do" makes the language more powerful and accusatory._

is it right or wrong ?


Many many THANKS


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## Keith Bradford

Not really.  It's just that there is an intrinsic criticism in the sentence, however you translate it.  "*You didn't tell me anything about her before tonight*" naturally implies "- And why is that!?"


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## sclubusher

thanks a lot everybody !

I guess I've got it ! 

 You hadn't told me anything about her before that party==> UK

You didn't *tell * me anything about her before that party==> US and recent and common and .. that'all ?


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