Past Perfect

The past perfect describes an action that happened before another action in the past. It’s the “past of the past.”

Formation

Affirmative

had + past participle

Examples:

• I had finished before she arrived.
• She had already left when I called.
• They had never seen snow before.

Negative

had + not + past participle

• I had not (hadn’t) finished.
• She hadn’t eaten breakfast.
• They hadn’t met before.

Questions

Had + subject + past participle?

• Had you finished before she arrived?
• Had she eaten?
• What had they done?

When to Use Past Perfect

1. Action Before Another Past Action

To show which action happened first:

• When I arrived, she had already left. (leaving happened first)
• I didn’t recognize him because he had changed so much.
• She told me she had seen the movie before.

Timeline:

Past Perfect (earlier) -----> Simple Past (later) -----> Now
   "had left"                    "arrived"

2. With Time Expressions

Before / After / When / By the time:

• Before I went to bed, I had brushed my teeth.
• After she had finished her work, she went home.
• When I got there, the movie had started.
• By the time we arrived, they had eaten everything.

Already / Just / Never / Ever:

• I had already seen that film.
• She had just left when you called.
• I had never flown before that trip.
• Had you ever been to Japan before?

3. Reported Speech

When reporting past statements:

• Direct: “I have finished.”

• Reported: She said she had finished.

• Direct: “I saw him yesterday.”

• Reported: She said she had seen him the day before.

4. Third Conditional

In if-clauses about unreal past situations:

• If I had known, I would have helped.
• She would have passed if she had studied more.

5. Wishes About the Past

• I wish I had studied harder.
• If only she had told me earlier.

Past Perfect vs. Simple Past

When Sequence Is Clear

If the order is obvious (by time expressions or logic), simple past is often enough:

• I woke up, had breakfast, and left for work. (Order is clear from sequence)

• After I woke up, I had breakfast. (Order is clear from “after”)

When Sequence Is Not Clear

Use past perfect to clarify which happened first:

• When I arrived, she left. (She left at the moment I arrived)
• When I arrived, she had left. (She left before I arrived)

Both Actions in Simple Past

For actions in sequence at approximately the same time:

• I saw her and waved.
• She opened the door and walked in.

Common Patterns

By the time + simple past, past perfect

• By the time I got home, everyone had gone to bed.
• By the time she arrived, we had finished eating.

When + simple past, past perfect

• When I called, she had already left.
• When they got married, they had known each other for 10 years.

After + past perfect, simple past

• After she had eaten, she felt better.
• After I had read the book, I watched the movie.

Before + simple past, past perfect

• Before I went out, I had checked the weather.
• The train had left before we reached the station.

Practice

Choose the correct form:

1. “When I arrived at the cinema, the film ___ (already/start).” → The film had already started.

2. “I ___ (never/eat) sushi before I went to Japan.” → I had never eaten sushi before I went to Japan.

3. “She told me she ___ (lose) her phone.” → She told me she had lost her phone.

4. “After he ___ (finish) his homework, he watched TV.” → After he had finished his homework, he watched TV.