How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?
How do we use the past perfect tense?

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		conjugated in simple past tense		past participle
		had		V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	had		finished	my work.
+	You	had		stopped	before me.
-	She	had	not	gone	to school.
-	We	had	not	left.
?	Had	you		arrived?
?	Had	they		eaten	dinner?

When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I had	I'd
you had	you'd
he had she had it had	he'd she'd it'd
we had	we'd
they had	they'd

The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:

We had
or
We would

But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:

We had arrived (past participle)
We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

How do we use the past perfect tense?
The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example: * The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left. Look at some more examples: * I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten. * They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours. * I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before. * "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived." "Really? Where had she gone?" You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past. For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you: * "You are too late. The train has left." Later, you tell your friends: * "We were too late. The train had left." We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered: Look at these examples: * He told us that the train had left. * I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong. * He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain. * I wondered if I had been there before. * I asked them why they had not finished. Past Perfect FORM [had + past participle] Examples: * You had studied English before you moved to New York. * Had you studied English before you moved to New York? * You had not studied English before you moved to New York. Complete List of Past Perfect Forms USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past. Examples: * I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai. * I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet. * Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times. * Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand? * She only understood the movie because she had read the book. * Kristine had never been to an opera before last night. * We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance. * A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006? B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before. USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs) With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action 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. * They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years. Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs. IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary. Example: * She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996. MOREOVER If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct. Examples: * She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996. * She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996. HOWEVER If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used. Examples: * She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct * She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: * You had previously studied English before you moved to New York. * Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York? ACTIVE / PASSIVE Examples: * George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active * Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license. Passive