affirmative form Past Perfect is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to have in the past tense - had and the past participle (Participle II) of the semantic verb (i.e., the 3rd form of the main verb).
had + Participle II
I had finished my work by 6 o’ clock. I finished my work by 6 o'clock.
He had written his letter when I came to him. He wrote a letter when I came to him.
Interrogative form formed by rearranging the auxiliary verb had, which is placed before the subject .
Had you finished your work? Have you finished your work?
Had he written his letter? Did he write a letter?
| Had I cooked? | Had we cooked? |
| Had you cooked? | Had you cooked? |
| Had he / she / it cooked? | Had they cooked? |
Abbreviations are made according to the general rule:
| I had = I'd | I had not = I hadn't = I'd not |
| He had = he'd | He had not = He hadn't = He'd not |
| She had = she'd | She had not = She hadn't = She'd not |
| We had = we'd | We had not = We hadn't = We'd not |
| You had = you'd | You had not = You hadn't = You'd not |
| They had = they'd | They had not = They hadn't = They'd not |
Use
Past Perfect is used:
- 1. To express an action that has already ended up to a certain point in the past. A given moment in the past can be specified exactly (year, date, hour) with the preposition of time by, or it can be expressed by another past action. Another action that started later is expressed in Simple Past/Past Indefinite .
They had written their composition by Friday. They wrote the essay by Friday.
They had finished their work when the inspectors arrived. (= by the time the inspectors arrived.) They finished their work when the inspectors arrived. (= by the time the inspectors arrived.)
Of the two actions expressed by the verbs to finish and to arrive, the one expressed by the verb to finish ended first - end, so this verb in Past Perfect - had finished. A verb expressing an action that ended later (to arrive - arrive), is placed in Simple Past - arrived.
- 2. In complex sentences with a subordinate clause of time.
a) If the action of the main clause ended before the action expressed by the predicate of the subordinate clause, then the verb of the main clause will be expressed in the Past Perfect. The subordinate clause is introduced by conjunctions before - before and when- when.
They had finished their work before their boss came in.
They had finished their work before their boss entered.
b) If the action of the subordinate clause ended before the action expressed by the predicate of the main clause, then the verb of the subordinate clause is expressed through Past Perfect, and the main one - Simple Past. The relative clause of time is introduced by conjunctions when - when, as soon as - as soon as.
As soon as (when) they had finished their work the door opened and their boss came in.
As soon as (when) they finished their work, the door opened and their boss entered.
- 3. In subordinate clauses of time after when, when two verbs expressed in Simple Past / Past Indefinite can give the impression of simultaneity of actions.
When he had done his homework he rang me up.
When he finished his homework, he called me.
(If you use both verbs in Simple Past (When he did his homework he rang me up), you might get the impression that he was doing his homework and at the same time called me.)
- 4. When describing a sequence of events in Simple Past / Past Indefinite, if the description is violated, that is, if an action is indicated that happened earlier, then it is expressed in Past Perfect.
We decided to go skiing to the forest. In the morning we took some food, hot tea and started. We got to the forest at noon and had a good time there. We had never been in the forest in winter before, but after this trip we decided to ski there regularly.
We decided to go skiing in the forest. In the morning we took some food, hot tea and set off. We got to the forest at noon and had a good time there. Before that, we had never been in the forest in winter. But after this trip, we decided to go skiing in the forest regularly.
For past perfect the rules of usage are similar in some cases, but in almost all cases it must be borne in mind that the action described must fit within a certain period of time that ended shortly before a certain date or event in the past. First, consider how the Past Perfect is formed:
- It is always a combination of the Past Simple time with the second participle (the third form of the English verb) - Had + Participle II;
- In the case when the participle is formed from the correct verb, then it will always have the ending -ed: had played, had risked, had watched;
- When using irregular verbs, it is necessary to use the table, and over time, to memorize all forms of commonly used verbs. Grammatical constructions with such words will look like this: had given, had written, had caught, etc.
When studying Past Perfect, you will learn fairly simple rules and learn how to solve simple examples:
Cases of use with the mention of the exact date in the past:
Steven had started his business by 2014.>- Stephen established his business by 2014.
Sue had finished planting tulips by 4pm yesterday.> Sue finished planting the tulips at four o'clock yesterday.
Cases of use with a mention of a previous event:
Children had hidden their secret things before their Dad knocked at the door. Before the father knocked on the door, the children hid their secret "things".
When the ship arrived, people had already crowded near the quay. When the ship arrived, people were already crowding at the pier.
Also in the Past Perfect, you can give examples of sentences with verbs that are not used in the tenses of the Continuous group: love, want, depend, belong, etc. This can also include the so-called mixed words (ambiguous words), which in the Continuous group can be used with some reservations: be, contain, know, and others.
This usage occurs when we mean an event that began in the past and ended at a certain point in the past. To indicate the duration of an event, in most cases the prepositions since and for are used. Examples:
He had wanted to get that motorbike for two years, before he managed to save some money to buy it. He wanted to own this bike for two years before he managed to save enough money to buy it.
Clark had been happy with his car since 1999, but in 2010, he realized that some modern models were better. Clarke has been satisfied with his car since 1999, but he came to the conclusion in 2010 that some current models are much better.
In modern English, some verbs not related to the above examples can also be used in a similar way. In the Past Perfect, you can give examples of the use of these words:
He had worked at that hospital for 15 years, before he applied for the job in the private clinic. Before applying for a transfer to a private clinic, he worked in that hospital for 15 years.
The sentences in the Past Perfect are quite long, as they contain more information. Despite this, we think that our next table will fit Past Perfect without any problems. We will try to give examples that show the main features of this time as briefly as possible:
|
Statement |
Negation |
Question |
|
Jill had watered flowers, when the bell rang. |
We hadn't finished our homework by 10pm yesterday. |
Why did you pick tomatoes before they got red? |
Please add your examples. Do not be afraid of difficulties and be sure to use dictionaries and reference books.
If I ask: What is past perfect? Most of you will answer without hesitation that this is a tense expressing a past action before another past one.
How time is formed past perfect? Same as Present Perfect, only instead of have And has used had: had + V3/ Ved.
In theory, these facts about past perfect everyone knows who crossed the line intermediate, but in practice the situation is worse. The existence of the Past Perfect is constantly forgotten and used instead past simple because it's easier that way.
In addition, there is an opinion that the Past Perfect is not used in English. It is not true. There are cases when it can really be replaced by time past simple, but besides this, Past Perfect has its own, special functions in English, which is why it was singled out at a separate time. Let's consider these functions.
1. The past before the past.
past perfect should be used in all cases where we have several actions, but it is not clear which action happened first. Let's consider the situation:
We arrived at the station. The train left. - We arrived at the station. The train has left.
What happened first: did we arrive or did the train leave? Did we catch the train or waved after it? How to combine these two actions into one sentence so as not to lose the meaning?
If we still managed to catch the train, then we use Past Simple (actions that happened sequentially one after the other):
We arrived at the station and the train left. We arrived at the station and the train left.
But, if we are unlucky, and we still missed the train, then we use Past Perfect:
We arrived at the station but the train had left. We arrived at the station, but the train had already left.
In the second situation, we didn't even see the train because the action ended before we arrived. To show this sequence, we simply cannot do without Past Perfect.
Of course, you can express yourself in simple sentences without combining them into one and without bothering about tenses:
The train left. We arrived at the station. - The train has left. We arrived at the station.
If you report events in the order in which they happened, then there will be no problems, you will be understood. But don't you think that this way of expressing thoughts is somewhat simple, we don't say that in real life? Every now and then we return, as it were, “from the past to the earlier past”, we refer to earlier events. I want to combine these two actions into one sentence with the words before, but, long before, prior to, and therefore, to indicate an earlier action, we will use Past Perfect.
Another situation:
I came home but Jane had already left. - I came home, but Jane had already left.
She left before I arrived, I didn't see her. The Past Perfect shows us that this action was completed before I arrived. If you use Past Simple in this sentence, then the interlocutor may get the impression that she left after I arrived, that is, we saw each other.
I hope it's clear enough. In addition, Past Perfect can intersect in use with, with the only difference being that instead of the present moment, we are viewing the action in terms of another past action. The Past Perfect can be used with the same time markers as the Present Perfect, but always denotes an action that ended before another past one:
I had never been abroad before I went to the USA last year. - I had never been abroad before I went to the US last year. (Life experience in the past)
Had you ever met his sister before she came to us? - Did you ever meet his sister before she came to us? (Life experience in the past)
She had already graduated from University when they offered her a job. She had already graduated from the university by the time they offered her the job. (Action completed by a moment in the past)
My boss was angry with me yesterday because when he called me I hadn't finished my report yet. - My boss got mad at me yesterday because when he called me I hadn't finished the report yet. (Action not completed by a moment in the past)
He was happy because he had just got a promotion. He was happy because he had just been offered a promotion. (An action completed shortly before another action, the result)
2. The past before the past with a specific time.
Usually, a specific time is not indicated with the Past Perfect. But in some cases, the speaker may indicate the time when it is really important:
I had seen such a quick runner only once in 1977 before I visited that competition in 1985.
This team had won twice in 2000 and 2003 before they obtained victory last year. - This team won twice: in 2000 and 2003 before they won last year.
An important fact is that in sentences of this type, Past Perfect can easily be replaced by Past Simple, because the dates and the word before let us know which action preceded the other.
But do not forget that if a specific time is not indicated, the use of the Past Perfect is mandatory!
3. Long action before another past.
The next situation in which it is advisable to use the Past Perfect is when the action began before another action in the past, and continued until it. Usually for such actions we use Past Perfect Continuous, but with state verbs we use Past Perfect, because state verbs are not used in the times of the Continuous group. What's happened ? To show the duration, we use the time pointer for :
They had had their old car for ten years when they bought a new one. They had an old car for ten years before they bought a new one.
She had been in Paris for four days when she visited the Eifel Tower. She stayed in Paris for four days when she visited the Eiffel Tower.
In addition, the verbs work, teach, study, live are used with the Past Perfect, despite the fact that they are not state verbs:
He had worked as a manager for two years before he was promoted. - He worked as a manager for two years before he was promoted.
I had studied English for five years when I joined this group. - I studied English for five years before joining this group.
4. In indirect speech.
Past Perfect is certainly used in indirect speech when coordinating tenses. Past Simple and Present Perfect when translating direct speech into indirect / indirect are replaced by Past perfect:
"I called you," he said. - He said that he had called me.
“I called,” he said. - He said he called.
"We had already read that book," they said. - They said that they had already read that book.
“We have already read that book,” they said. They said they had already read that book.
5. In conditional sentences of the third type.
And the last case of using Past Perfect in English: in conditional sentences of the third type. These are the conditional sentences in which we express regret about the past:
If we had left home earlier, we wouldn't have missed the train. - If we had left home earlier, we would not have missed the train.
My boss wouldn't have been angry with me if I had finished my report on time. My boss wouldn't get mad at me if I finished the report on time.
So, Past Perfect, or "the past before the past", has the following use cases:
1. Past action that happened before another action in the past.
2. A past action that happened before another action in the past with a specific time and the word before (may be replaced by past simple).
3. Past action that lasted a certain time before another action in the past (with state verbs, as well as work, teach,study,live).
4. Used in indirect speech instead past simple And Present Perfect.
5. Used in conditional sentences of the third type.
Time markers Past Perfect:
1. The presence of another past action.
2. Already / yet
3. Just
4. Never/ ever
5. For
6. When, before
In one of our next articles, we will compare the use of past perfect and other past tenses. Stay tuned!
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The British are very scrupulous about the distinction between time intervals. If Russian grammar is limited to the past, present and future tenses, then the English language system has divided each of these traditional forms into four more subforms. As a result, 12 time groups were obtained, with a clearly defined scope of each type of structure. Today we will look at the category of the past perfect tense, study its meaning and give examples of use in sentences and dialogues for the past perfect. Despite the fact that in Russian there is no analogue of this tense, the topic does not cause any particular difficulties.
Briefly about the use of Past perfect
The main purpose of this category of time is to express the sequence of events in the past, previous experience. The predicate of the action that ended earlier is put in Perfect Past, and the verb of the second sentence usually has the form Past Simple. The completion of an event can also be expressed by a specific time indicator.
- She remembered that she had met these children beforeSherememberedwhatshemetthesechildrenbefore.
- I had written this report by 8 o'clock – Icompletedthisreportto 8hours.
In rare situations, the continuous tense may be used instead of the simple past. This is necessary if they want to emphasize the incompleteness of the second act, at the time of the end of the events preceding it.
- By that time I had read the book and was watching TV – TOto thattimeIfinished readingbookAndalreadywatchedtelevision.
In sentences with Past Perfect Tense, the reverse rule applies. The Past Perfect Continuous form cannot be used with verbs of feelings, possessions, states, relationships, therefore, a simple paste perfect is used with such predicates.
- I had owned thecar for 8 years already when I decided tosellit I had owned this car for 8 years when I decided to sell it.
And the last situation in which it is necessary to use this tense is the presence in the statement of the phrases " scarcely…when», « nosooner…than», « hardly…when". Such a sentence is translated into Russian by the words " barely... how; didn't make it... how". Note the slight design change: had stands before the subject.
- Scarcely had she entered apartments, when the telephone rank – Barelysheenteredinapartment,howrangphone.
Having remembered the cases of using the past perfect, we will consider examples of sentences and learn how to independently create such constructions of time.
Other English topics: Past Simple vs Past Continuous - exercises for beginners and intermediates
Past perfect examples
In this section, we will analyze the rules and examples of the use of this tense category in various everyday situations.
So, if we need to make an expression in the Past Perfect in the form of a statement, then we should use the auxiliary verb had and the third form of the verb, which is participle II.
In this case, the event that follows in meaning can stand both in the first and in the second place.
- It was the best film I (1) had (2) ever watched (3)- It was the best movie I have ever seen.
Interrogative sentences require a slight change in construction, namely the introduction of an auxiliary had to the fore.
- Had (1) you (2) cleaned(3) the room by 11 o'clock? – Youremovedroomto 11hours?
According to this scheme, the so-called general questions are built. There are also statements with special interrogative words, negative questions, as well as expressions of doubt. We will not give separate schemes for them, a little later we will be told about the situations of such use of the past perfect by the examples given at the end of the material.
Negative sentences do not change the word order of the affirmative phrase, but are also associated with the verb had. To make a negation, the word not is added to this verb. Often there is a reduction in shape, and the overall design looks like hadn't.
- My daughter(1)hadn't(2+3)done(4)her homework yet when I cameMydaughteryetnotdidmyhomework when I arrived.
Regardless of the type of sentence, many examples of the past perfect often contain time indications ( words) introduced by words by, since, just, for, already, never, yetbeforeuntil.
Let's consolidate the ability to build this structure correctly by analyzing the most typical examples of its use.
| Situation | Translation |
| No sooner had Mary gone at work than children ran to play in the yard. | Before Mary left for work, the children ran to play in the yard. |
| Hadn't Jack switched off the TV set when he left the house? | Didn't Jack turn off the TV when he left the house? |
| We were surprised when we learned that this movie won't a prize. | We were surprised when we learned that this film won the prize. |
| I hadn't watched the film by 3 o'clock because the guests arrived. | I hadn't finished watching the movie by three o'clock because the guests had arrived. |
| Yesterday you gave me the beautiful flowers of your garden. Who had grown
the flowers? I think you had done it
, didn't you
?
Yes, I had . |
Yesterday you gave me beautiful flowers from your garden. Who grew these flowers? I think you did it, didn't you? |
| Did you call your girlfriend? I called her, but she hadn't come home yet. Why didn't she come home yet? (colloquial form) = why had she not come home yet? (official form) She was very busy with work. |
Did you call your girlfriend? I called her, but she hasn't come home yet. Why hasn't she come home yet? She was very busy at work. |
| Do you speak to your neighbors again? Yes, they apologized for the words that they had said then . |
Are you talking to your neighbors again? Yes, they apologized for the words they said then. |
| Mother had known
the truth before
I told her it hadn't she
?
yes, she had . |
Mom knew the truth before I told her, didn't she? Yes, I knew. |
| yesterday, we hadn't done this exercise. Translate the text today. | We didn't do this exercise yesterday. Translate text today. |
| Had
your sister cooked
a pie or
a cake when you returned? She had cooked a cake and ten muffins. |
When you came back, did your sister make a pie or cake? She made a cake and 10 cupcakes. |
| Did they buy their car last week? No, they didn't. They had bought it the week before . |
Did they buy their car last week? No, they bought it the week before last. |
We looked at examples of various sentences in the past perfect, and learned how to compose them according to grammatical patterns. In order for the new information not to be forgotten after 30 minutes, but firmly settled in our head, it is necessary to complete several. Good luck in improving your English and see you soon!
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Related exercises:
Intermediate Lesson "Past Perfect Narrative Sentences"
Intermediate Lesson "Negative Past Perfect Sentences"
Intermediate lesson "Interrogative sentences Past Perfect"
Mistakes when using the Past Perfect
Method of formation Past Perfect
had + past participle
For example:
You had studied
You studied
Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
You studied English before moving to New York?
You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
You did not study English before moving to New York.
Verb conjugation in Past Perfect
| Number | Face | positive form | negative form | Interrogative form |
| single | 1 | I had finished. | I had not finished. | Had I finished? |
| 2 | You had finished. | You had not finished. | Had you finished? | |
| 3 | He had finished. She had finished. It had finished. |
He had not finished. She had not finished. It had not finished. |
Had he finished? Had she finished? Had it finished? |
|
| plural | 1 | You had finished. | You had not finished. | Had you finished? |
| 2 | We had finished. | We had not finished. | Had we finished? | |
| 3 | They had finished. | They had not finished. | Had they finished? |
For forms of irregular verbs, see the third column (the past participle column) in the list of irregular verbs.
Using the Past Perfect
An action that has already taken place up to a certain point in the past
The Past Perfect describes an action that has already ended before the start of another action that happened in the past. The Past Perfect also describes actions that have already taken place up to a certain point in the past, which is either indicated by a circumstance of time or context.
For example:
I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
I never saw such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
I didn't have money because I lost wallet.
Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
Tony knew Istanbul so well because visited there several times.
Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
Susan ever studied Thai before you moved to Thailand?
She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
She understood the film only because read book.
Christine had never been to an opera before last night.
Christine until last night never was at the opera.
We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
We couldn't get a number because did not book in advance.
"Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?" "Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before."
Have you ever was in the US before going there in 2006? - Yes I was there before once.
An action that began before a specified moment in the past and continued up to that moment (indefinite verbs)
The Past Perfect is used with non-long group verbs and with mixed group verbs, which cannot be used in a long tense, to indicate an action that began in the past and continued until the start of another action in the past, or until some specified moment in the past.
For example:
We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
A car was We've had it for ten years since it broke down.
By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
By the time Alex graduated, he stayed in London for over eight years.
They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
They were very reluctant to sell the house because they owned they are over forty years old.
Although the use of the Past Perfect in this sense is limited to non-continuous verbs and mixed verbs, which cannot be used in the continuous tense, verbs live, work, teach And study can also sometimes be used in this way, although they are not verbs of the non-long group.
Important: the exact point in time in the Past Perfect
Unlike the Present Perfect, in the Past Perfect you can use the exact moment in time when the action was performed, although such use is not required.
For example:
She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before
She once visited in 1993, before moving in with them in 1996.
Important
If the action expressed in the Past Perfect really happened at the exact moment in time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when the sentence contains words such as before- before, before, before; after- after. Adverbs of time before And after already show which action happened first, so using the Past Perfect in this case is optional. For this reason, both of the following sentences are valid.
For example:
She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
She visited her Japanese relatives one in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
She once visited their Japanese relatives in 1993 before I moved in with them in 1996.
but
If the action expressed in the Past Perfect does not refer to any specific point in time, the use of the Past Perfect is mandatory. Compare the examples below. In the case of using the Past Perfect, the absence of experience experienced rather than the action itself is emphasized. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used in this case.
For example:
She never saw Wrong.)
She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. ( Right.)
She never saw bear before moving to Alaska.
