I am aware that people speak in past simple tense when they use a finished time words (last year, last month, in 1805, etc.).
I also understand that, when the sentence is in present perfect, you cannot use those words; you can only use UNFINISHED time words (today, this week, this month, etc.).
My question is: can you use the past perfect tense with an unfinished time words, as in,
A: Have you been to New York?
B: Yes, I had been there last year.
Or something similar along the lines of "had been to (a place) last year".
Please note that it is NOT "…by last year" or "…until last year"; it's just "… last year".
Best Answer
Past Perfect: "When we talk about something that happened in the past we sometimes want to refer back to something that happened before that time."
It's like a double past tense.
Therefore, you might say "I had been there the previous year."
"Previous" is before the events of a story, which is set in the past.
Considering your example:
The problem is "last year" takes it's reference point from the present. It's the previous year in terms of the current year.
However, it ought to be in terms of a past year. In this way, it seems like a mistake.
However, it doesn't mean the sentence "I had been there last year" is completely grammatically impossible.
It is using a jumble of time specifications. For example, one moment the Past Perfect, then switching to the Simple Past or the historical/dramatic/narrative present.
This may be useful in certain contexts.
For example, a whole narrative set in the past: