求助一道语法题 谢谢！

maruiwudi123

According to some analysts, the gains in the stock market reflect growing confidence that the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come in for a “soft landing,” followed by a gradual increase in business activity.

这句话是正确的，但是为什么这里要用had feared 而不用feared呢？
过去完成时难道不应该和过去式一起出现吗？
谢谢帮忙解答！！

vertex顶点

SENTENCE CORRECTION不是要找100%正确的句子，而是找最好的句子。 这道题别的选项时态都有问题，只能选这个

摇曳的叶子

the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come in for a “soft landing”.
句子中出现表日期或其它时间基准的词语时，past perfect tense也是可以的，其含义是动作发生在这个时间基准之前。
比如by the end of the October Revolution, ....; by 2000, ...; 以及本句中的earlier in the year.

maruiwudi123

摇曳的叶子 发表于 2013-9-6 11:08
the economy will avoid the recession that many had feared earlier in the year and instead come in fo ...

回答的太好了 谢谢！