Hi,
There are a couple reasons we at Ebaby! might slightly change some transcriptions to help learners.
For example, English speakers have some non-grammatical speaking patterns that are very common. If we see one of these (often using a be-verb), we try to adjust to more grammatical patterns. For example: There is many people. -> There are many people.
Also, we do not include every “rhetorical marker.” These are the small phrases or sounds that speakers use a lot but have no specific meaning. For example: “like,” “you know,” “hmmm,” etc.
I transcribed GLOW, and I heard your example as a “false start” rather than a past perfect form. In other words:
You heard: “… so, they’d thought …”
I heard: “so, they… wh… thought…”
Based on my hearing, I decided to remove the extra sounds.
Grammatically, I also agree with my choice, but it is subtle. Basically, Marni is telling a story in the past tense. All of the actions she describes happened in a general past. Using past perfect would suggest some contrast (such as: They’d thought about doing it, but then they changed their minds). There is no major contrast in Marni’s story, so it makes sense to simply keep it all in the past tense.
I hope this helps!
Best,
Amy
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