Dear A Z:

You wrote:
> I was going to Harry’s place and I was pretty worried.
>
> a. The last time I had been there he had insulted me.
> b. The last time I had been there he insulted me.
> c. The last time I was there he had insulted me.
> d. The last time I was there he insulted me.
>
> Which of the sentences from a to d could (or should) follow the first
> sentence?
>
Most native English speakers most of the time would use “d.” It is the cleanest and least complicated.

While using the past perfect in the first clause (as in “a” or “b”) is OK because the time frame is relative to the time in which you are revisiting Harry’s place, it makes less sense. The reason is that the clause begins “the last time” which suggests a single point in time, and it modifies the verb you are using. So looking at the second sentence alone, you would have to say “I was”: How could you do something once and talk about it as though it had happened before the time it happened?

A similar logic applies to the second clause. Using the past perfect in the second clause, as you do in “c,” is OK relative to the visit you are making in the first sentence. This would or could be used in some cases, particularly if this is a complicated narrative. However, “d” would be the most commonly used and most direct. You were there at a certain point in time and, while you were there, Harry did something.

The verb tenses do show a subtle difference in emphasis–are they relative to the first sentence more than to the information in their own sentence? Most speakers most of the time would use “d.”