The Past Perfect tense

Affirmative: subject + had + past participle

 

Examples: I had eaten breakfast before I went to work.

They had finished their homework by the time their parents came home.

 

 

 

Negative: subject + had not (hadn’t) + past participle

 

Examples: I hadn’t seen that movie before my friend recommended it to me.

They hadn’t travelled abroad until last year.

 

 

 

Question: Had + subject + past participle?

 

Examples: Had you ever been to Paris before your trip last summer?

 Had they studied for the exam before the teacher handed it out?

 

In Past Perfect , the auxiliary verb had is used with the past participle form of the verb to indicate that the action was completed before a past action or time.

For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding ed to the base verb, while for irregular verbs, the past participle is formed differently and may need to be memorised.

 

 

Form	Affirmative	Negative	Question
Subject + had + past participle	I had finished.	I hadn’t finished.	Had I finished?
	You had finished.	You hadn’t finished.	Had you finished?
	He/she/it had finished	He/She/ It hadn’t finished.	Had he, she/ it finished?
	We had finished.	We hadn’t finished.	Had we finished?
	They had finished.	They hadn’t finished.	Had they finished?

 

 

 

Usage

To describe an action that was completed before a past action or event:

Before she went to bed, she had finished all of her homework.

The team had already left by the time I arrived at the stadium.

 

 

To describe a sequence of events in the past:

After she had finished her work, she went for a walk, had breakfast, took a shower, and then left for work.

 

 

To express regret about a past action that was not completed:

I wish I had studied more for the exam.

They regretted that they hadn’t taken the opportunity to study when they were younger.

 

 

To report something that was said or thought in the past:

She said she had already eaten breakfast.

He thought he had left his keys at home.

 

 

To describe a hypothetical situation in the past:

If I had known about the traffic, I would have left earlier.

They would have missed their flight if it had been delayed.

 

In all of these situations,  Past Perfect  is used to show that an action was completed before a past event or action.

 

 

Situation	Examples
Describing an action completed before a past event	She had finished her homework before she went to bed.  The train had already left by the time I arrived at the station.
Describing a sequence of events in the past	After he had finished his work, he went to the gym.  They had lunch, took a walk, and then went to the movies.
Expressing regret about a past action that was not completed	I wish I had studied more for the exam.  They regretted that they hadn’t taken the opportunity to travel when they were younger.
Reporting something that was said or thought in the past	He said he had already eaten breakfast.  She thought she had left her phone at home.
Describing a hypothetical situation in the past	If I had known about the traffic, I would have left earlier.  They would have missed their flight if it had been delayed.

 

 

 

Adverbs and words for Past Perfect:

They can be used with  Past Perfect  to provide more context and detail.

 

Already is used to indicate that something was completed before a specific time:

She had already finished her work by the time I arrived.

 

Just is used to indicate that something was completed very recently:

He had just left the room when I entered.

 

Never is  used to indicate that something had never happened before a specific time:

I had never seen that movie before last night.

 

Ever  is used to indicate that something had happened at any time before a specific time:

Had you ever been to Paris before your trip last year?

 

 Before is used to indicate the order of events:

She had finished her work before going out to dinner.

 

 By  is used to indicate a deadline or a specific time:

They had to finish the project by the end of the week.

 

Since  is  used to indicate the start of an action or state that continues up to the present:

He had been studying English since he was a child.

 

For is used to indicate the duration of an action or state:

They had been living in the city for five years before they moved away.

 

By the 15th of  December, she had completed all of her holiday shopping.

He had finished his report by 5 o’clock yesterday.

 

By the end of the movie, I had already fallen asleep.

By that time, they had already left the party.

 

She had packed all her bags by Saturday morning, ready for her trip.

By is used to indicate a deadline, a specific time, or a point in time that has already passed.

 

Past Perfect  is used to describe an action that was completed before that deadline, specific time, or point in time.

 

 

 

 

Past Perfect with Past Simple:

Past Perfect can be used in conjunction with Past Simple to indicate that one action was completed before another action in the past.

 For example, When I arrived at the party, she had already left (Past Perfect to describe the action that was completed before another past action).

He had finished his homework before he went to bed. (Past Perfect to describe the action that was completed before another past action)

In these sentences, Past Perfect is used to describe an action that was completed before another past action, which is described using the Past Simple.

 

 

 

 

Past Perfect in main and subordinate clauses:

 Past Perfect  can be used in both main and subordinate clauses to describe past events.

Examples: Main clause: She had finished her work.

Subordinate clause: before she went to bed.

Combined, She had finished her work before she went to bed.

 

Main clause: They had already eaten dinner.

Subordinate clause: when we arrived.

Combined, They had already eaten dinner when we arrived.

In these sentences,  Past Perfect  is used in the main clause to describe an action that was completed before another past action, which is described in the subordinate clause.

By combining the two clauses, we get a more complete picture of the sequence of events in the past.

 

 

 

 

 Past Perfect with the word-after:

  Past Perfect  is often used with a subordinate clause beginning with the conjunction after to indicate that one past action occurred before another past action.

 Examples: After she had finished her homework, she went to bed.

We left the party after we had said goodbye to everyone.

After he had studied for several hours, he took a break.

 

In these sentences,  Past Perfect  is used in the subordinate clause after the conjunction after to describe an action that was completed before another past action.

 

 

 

 

Past Perfect for narration of past events:

If there is no need to emphasise the order of past events,  Past Simple can be used to narrate past events without the use of adverbs such as already or yet.

For example, I walked to the store and bought some milk.

In this sentence,  Past Simple  is used to describe two past actions that occurred one after the other, without the need to emphasise which action happened first.

 

However, if there is a need to emphasise the order of past events, Past Perfect  can be used.

For example, I had walked to the store before I realised I had forgotten my wallet.

In this sentence,  Past Perfect  is used to describe the action that was completed before another past action.

 

 

 

 

Past Perfect with the word-when:

The conjunction when can be used with Past Perfect  in certain contexts to indicate that one past action was completed before another past action.

Example: I had finished my work when my boss came to my desk.

In this sentence,   had finished, which indicates that the action of finishing work was completed before the past simple action came.

The conjunction when is used to link the two past actions together.

So, when can be used with Past Perfect , but it is important to use it in the appropriate context to indicate the intended meaning.

 

 

 

 

Past Perfect with the word-before:

When the subordinate clause begins with the conjunction before, it is common to use  Past Perfect  in the main clause to indicate that one past action was completed before another past action.

Example: I had finished my work before my boss came to my desk.

In this sentence,  had finished, which indicates that the action of finishing work was completed before the Past Simple action came.

The conjunction before is used to link the two past actions together and to show the order of events.

 

So, it is common to use Past Perfect  in the main clause when the subordinate clause begins with before, but it is not always necessary.

The choice of tense depends on the context and the intended meaning.

 

 

 

 

Past Perfect with adverbs: scarcely, hardly, no sooner:

Past Perfect can be used with adverbs like scarcely, hardly, and no sooner to indicate that one past action was completed immediately before another past action.

Examples: Scarcely had I finished my breakfast when the phone rang.

Hardly had she arrived home when the storm began.

No sooner had they sat down than the waiter brought the menu.

In each of these sentences,  Past Perfect (had finished, had arrived, had sat down) is used to indicate that the first action was completed immediately before the second action.

The adverbs scarcely, hardly, and no sooner are used to emphasise the short amount of time between the two actions.

So, Past Perfect  can be used with these adverbs to indicate the order of events in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here The Past Perfect tense

Click here The Present Perfect tense

Click here The Present Continuous tense

Click here The Present Indefinite Tense (the Present Simple)

Click here The Future Indefinite in the Past