Past Perfect Tense
Past perfect tense refers to an action that leads up to another in the past. The more contemporary past event is expressed in the simple past, and the earlier past event is expressed in the past perfect.
Past Perfect Tense Structure
Pattern: Subject + had + Past Participle of Verb Affirmative: Subject + had + past participle
- Example: She had finished her homework before she went out to play.
Negative: Subject + had + not + past participle
- Example: They had not seen the movie before it was discussed in class.
Interrogative: Had + subject + past participle?
- Example: Had you eaten dinner before you came home?
Uses
Completed Action Before Another Action:
- The past perfect tense is used to express an action that was completed before another action in the past.
- Example: She had left the party before it started raining.
Reported Speech:
- It is used in reported speech to indicate that the original action was completed before the reporting.
- Example: He said that he had finished his work before the deadline.
Conditional Sentences (Type 3):
- It is used in the if-clause of third conditional sentences to indicate a past hypothetical situation.
- Example: If they had studied harder, they would have passed the exam.
Sequence of Events:
- It is used to show the sequence of two past events, where one event happened before the other.
- Example: By the time we arrived, the concert had already started.
Past Perfect Tense Example:
- Richard had lived in Europe, before he moved to Australia.
- He had visited his sister before he went for the study in the USA.
- The merchant had closed his shop.
- I had left the house before it rained.
- Her father scolded her because she had failed in the examination.
- By the time the show started, we had found our seats.
- He had never seen the ocean until he went to California.
- Had they left for the airport before the storm hit?
- She had already packed her bags when I called.
- We had just sat down to eat when the phone rang.
Affirmative Sentences:
- I had already eaten breakfast when she arrived.
- They had left by the time we got there.
- She had finished her book before the deadline.
Negative Sentences:
- I had not seen that movie before last night.
- They had not finished their homework when the teacher asked for it.
- She had not been to Paris before her trip last year.
Interrogative Sentences:
- Had you ever visited that museum before today?
- Had they already left when you arrived?
- Had he finished his assignment before the class started?
Time Expressions
- Before
- By the time
- Already
- Until that moment
- When
- After
Past Perfect Tense Table
| Feature | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Subject + had + past participle of main verb + rest of sentence | I had finished my homework before you arrived. |
| Positive | Used to indicate an action completed before another past action | She had been waiting for hours when the train finally arrived. |
| Negative | Uses “had not” or “hadn’t” to show something was not finished before another past action | We hadn’t eaten dinner yet when the guests came over. |
| Yes/No Questions | Starts with “Had” + subject + past participle + rest of sentence? | Had you ever been to Paris before last summer? |
| Wh- Questions | Uses a wh- question word (who, what, when, where, why, how) + “had” + subject + past participle + rest of sentence? | What time had the movie started by the time we got there? |
| Uses | Shows a sequence of past events | They had packed their bags before the fire alarm went off. |
Past Perfect Tense Quiz
Read our next article on Simple Future Tense
Read our previous article on Past Continuous Tense
Read about 12 Basic Verb Tenses with Examples
