Past Perfect
Show that one thing happened before another thing in the past.
12 minIntermediate
1The grammar
Use the Past Perfect to go further back in the past. When we are already talking about the past, it shows that something happened earlier: When I got to the station, the train had left. First the train left, and then I arrived.
Make it with had + past participle. The form is the same for all subjects. In speaking, we often say 'd: She'd gone home. The negative is hadn't, and the question starts with Had: Had you met him before?
It often appears with before, after, already, never, by the time and because: By the time we arrived, the film had started. I was nervous because I had never flown before.
If the order is already clear, the Past Simple is often enough, especially with 'before' and 'after': We left before the meeting ended. But it can change the meaning: 'When I arrived, she left' means she left after I arrived. 'When I arrived, she had left' means she left before I arrived.
2Structure and formation
Positive
Subject + had + past participle
They had finished.
Negative
Subject + hadn't + past participle
I hadn't seen it.
Question
Had + subject + past participle?
Had she left?
With a second past event
When / By the time + Past Simple, Past Perfect
When he called, I had gone to bed.
3Examples
The shop had closed when we got there.
First it closed, and then we arrived.
I couldn't get in because I'd lost my key.
The reason happened earlier.
She hadn't eaten all day, so she was hungry.
Negative: hadn't + past participle.
Had you ever been to Asia before that trip?
Question: had + subject + past participle.
By the time I woke up, everyone had left.
'By the time' often goes with this tense.
He said he had already paid.
It is also used in reported speech.
4Common mistakes
When we arrived, the party has finished.
When we arrived, the party had finished.
For the earlier past event, use 'had', not 'has'.
I had went home.
I had gone home.
After 'had', use the past participle, not the past form.
Did you had seen it before?
Had you seen it before?
The question starts with 'Had'. Do not use 'did'.
I had seen him yesterday.
I saw him yesterday.
With only one past event and no earlier point to compare, use the Past Simple.
5Practical usage
Telling a story
Use it to give background to the main events: We got to the airport late. Luckily, the plane hadn't left.
Giving reasons
Use it to explain the cause of a past situation: She was upset because she had failed the test.
Now practise it
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