told him what happened vs told him what had happened

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Told him what happened" is used when narrating events in the past, while "told him what had happened" is used when narrating events that occurred before a specific point in the past.

Last updated: March 20, 2024

told him what happened

This phrase is correct and commonly used when narrating events in the past.

This phrase is used to report events that occurred in the past. It is a simple past tense construction.

Examples:

She told him what happened at the party last night.
He told her what happened during his trip to Europe.

Show examples from the web [+]

Oct 28, 2015 ... According to Yost, she contacted Moore, told him what happened, but requested that they didn't tell her husband until he was done pitching.
He told me I should've called him immediately and told him what happened but I didn't soI must not love him. I do though… we were supposed to get married in ...
Dec 29, 2015 ... I finally talked to my seatmate, who spoke pretty good English, and told him what happened. He couldn't understand why I hadn't wanted the ...
Webber got to the hospital and a cop told him what happened but wouldn't let him inside. Sloan and Lexie took Alex into a meeting room and started working on ...

Alternatives:

explained to him what occurred
related to him what transpired

told him what had happened

This phrase is correct and commonly used when narrating events that occurred before a specific point in the past.

This phrase is used to report events that happened before a specific point in the past. It is a past perfect tense construction.

Examples:

She told him what had happened before he arrived.
He told her what had happened during the meeting.

Show examples from the web [+]

In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him what had happened. As a result he had a stroke, and he lay paralyzed on his bed like a stone.
And told him,.... What had happened to them in Egypt: saying, Joseph is yet alive; who was thought by him and them to have been dead long ago: and he is ...
I texted my cousin and told him what had happened and explained that I couldn't tell my parents because I was embarrassed. One of Anthony's roommates came ...
Jan 11, 2016 ... I put my foot down and told him what had happened. He was immediately understanding of the situation and it relieved his anxiety about what ...

Alternatives:

informed him of what had occurred
narrated to him what had transpired

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told him what happened vs told him what had happened