Summary
The past perfect tense is used to indicate an action that was completed before another action or event in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “had” and the past participle of the main verb.
In-depth Explanation
Here are a few examples of the past perfect tense:
He had been to Paris four times that year before the Olympics.
I had known about the position for a year before I applied for it.
Sara had eaten by the time we came over.
How to Form the Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense in English is formed using the auxiliary verb “had” followed by the past participle of the main verb. Here is the basic structure:
[Subject] + had + [past participle of the main verb]
Here are some examples:
I had studied a lot before the exam.
She had finished her homework by the time I arrived.
They had already gone to bed when I got home.
The subject and the word “had” are often contracted into one word. For example:
I’d studied a lot before the exam.
Negatives in the Past Perfect Tense
To form negative statements in the past perfect tense, add the word not between the auxiliary verb “had” and the past participle of the main verb:
[Subject] + had not/hadn’t + [past participle of the main verb]
For example:
I had not studied before the exam.
She had not finished her homework by the time I arrived.
“Had” and “not” are usually contracted in one word: hadn’t.
I hadn’t studied before the exam.
Questions in the Past Perfect Tense
To form questions in the past perfect tense, put the auxiliary verb “had” before the subject:
Had + [subject] + [past participle of the main verb]…?
For example:
Had she finished her homework by the time I arrived?
Had they already eaten dinner when you got home?
When to Use the Past Perfect Tense
Here are some common situations where the past perfect tense is used.
- To describe the past before another past event: When you want to show that one action happened before another action in the past.
Before I went to bed, I had finished my homework.
By the time we arrived at the party, most of the guests had already left.
- In past tense conditional sentences: When expressing a hypothetical situation in the past.
If she had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.
If we had known about the meeting, we would have attended.
- In reported speech: When reporting statements or questions made in the past.
He said he had already eaten dinner when I called him.
She told me she had never been to Italy before her trip last year.
- To show that an action was completed before a specific time in the past:
By 8 p.m. last night, they had finished their project.
By 7 a.m., she had already gone for a run, showered and made breakfast.
Adverbs and the Past Perfect Tense
Adverbs can be added into past perfect verb phrases to make them more specific. In general, adverbs go between the “had” and the past participle verb form. For example:
He had already left by the time I arrived.
She had quickly eaten before I got to her house.
Sam had never seen a sunset like the one last night.