Past Perfect Tense

1. Concept of the Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that occurred before another action, both of which took place in the past. The action that happened first uses the past perfect tense, while the action that happened later uses the simple past tense.

Examples of the Past Perfect Tense

2. Structure of the Past Perfect Tense

2.1. Affirmative Sentences

S + had + past participle

Examples:

• My brother had done his homework before I arrived.
• She had gone out when he came into the house.

2.2. Negative Sentences

S + hadn’t + past participle

Where hadn’t = had not

Examples:

• He hadn’t finished his breakfast when I saw him.
• He hadn’t come home when I got there.

2.3. Question Sentences

Question word + had + S + past participle

➣ How to answer:

Yes, S + had.

No, S + hadn’t.

Examples:

• What had he thought before she asked the question?
• Had the film ended when he arrived at the cinema?

3. Uses of the Past Perfect Tense

To know when to use the past perfect tense, you need to understand the specific cases and situations to avoid confusion with the simple past tense.

3.1. Describing an action that was completed before another action in the past

Examples:

• Jane had cooked breakfast when we got up.
• The plane had left by the time I arrived at the airport.

3.2. Describing an action that occurred and continued up to a specific point in the past

Examples:

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

3.3. Describing an action that occurred before a specific time in the past

Examples:

• She had travelled around the world before 2010.
• He had never played football until last week.

3.4. Describing an action that occurred as a prerequisite for another action

Examples:

• Tom had prepared for the exams and was ready to do well.
• Dunny had lost twenty pounds and could begin anew.

3.5. Used in type 3 conditional sentences to describe unreal conditions in the past

Examples:

• If I had known that, I would have acted differently.
• She would have come to the party if she had been invited.

3.6. Expressing disappointment about something in the past

This usage is often seen in past wish structures.

Examples:

• We wished we had purchased the ticket.
• I wished I had told the truth.

4. Signs to Recognize the Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is often recognized by certain conjunctions.

4.1. Recognizing Words

• Until then, by the time, prior to that time, before, after, for, as soon as, by, …
• Before, after, when by, by the time, by the end of + time in the past …

Examples:

• Before I went to school, my mother had packed me a lunch.
• By the time they broke up, they had lived with each other for 3 years.
• He hadn’t recognized it until I told him.

4.2. Position of Conjunctions

4.2.1. When

Example:

• When they arrived at the airport, her flight had taken off before 2 hours.

4.2.2. Before

Before “before,” use the past perfect tense; after “before,” use the simple past tense.

Example:

• He had done his homework before his mother asked him to do so.

4.2.3. After

Before “after,” use the simple past tense; after “after,” use the past perfect tense.

Example:

• They went home after they had eaten a big roasted chicken.

4.2.4. By the time

Example:

• He had cleaned the house by the time her mother came back.

4.2.5. No sooner… than…

This is an inversion structure used only with the past perfect tense. Formula:

No sooner + had + Subject 1 + Verb 1 (V3/V-ed) + than + Subject 2 + Verb 2 (V2/V-ed)

Subject 1 had just done something when Subject 2 did something else immediately.

Examples:

• No sooner had Linda closed this door than her friend knocked.
• No sooner had we opened the shop than ten customers came into.

4.2.6. Hardly/Barely/Scarcely … when …

This is an inversion structure used only with the past perfect tense, synonymous with “No sooner… than…” Formula:

Barely/Hardly/Scarcely + had + Subject 1 + Verb 1 (V3/V-ed) + when + Subject 2 + Verb 2 (V2/V-ed)

Subject 1 had just done something when Subject 2 did something else immediately.

Note: Subject 1 and Subject 2 can be the same or different.

Example:

• Hardly had we gone out when it rained.

5. Differentiating Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous

Differentiating between the past perfect tense and the past perfect continuous tense in English can be challenging for many learners. Below is a comparison of the two tenses.