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I was named even before I was born.

Is this correct? or

I had been named even before I was born

In the first sentence, the even before word clarifies the time frame. Do we still need to use I had been named?

herisson
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s palli
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  • The first sounds more natural to me. I don't think there's anything ungrammatical about the second, it just sounds clunky. We don't tend to use perfect tense when there's an equivalent normal tense. – Barmar Jun 09 '15 at 19:15
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    "I was named before I was born" implies "I had a name before I was born"; the name continuing until, and beyond birth. "I had been named" means "at some time before I was born, someone gave me a name"; the event of naming then came to an end. So the first version is about having a name, the second about being given one. – Margana Jun 09 '15 at 19:26
  • A complication is that 'name' may be a declarative speech act verb (the utterance legally makes it so) as with 'I pronounce you man and wife', or the written procedure at the register office. Most legal frameworks, I imagine, do not allow for this to be carried out before birth. Perhaps a metaphorical usage is intended, or perhaps a paraphrase of 'My name had been chosen [by my parents] even before I was born.' – Edwin Ashworth Jun 09 '15 at 19:47
  • 'My name had been chosen [by my parents] even before I was born.....In this sense and context, can we use the first sentence like...I was named [by my parents] even before I was born. – s palli Jun 09 '15 at 20:05

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