Form of the past perfect simple
The past perfect simple is used when talking about an action in the past that happened before another action in the past. We often use the past perfect simple with expressions like 'for' or 'since', to describe the order in which past events happened.
Past perfect simple: positive and negative
|
I / You She / He / It We / You / They |
'd (had) hadn't |
seen him before. finished work at 5 o'clock. |
Past perfect simple: question
| Where had |
I /You She / He / It We / You / They |
been before? |
Past perfect simple: short Answer
| Had he already left? |
Yes, he had. No, he hadn't. |
Past perfect simple: be careful!
The past perfect is always used with one of the past tenses to indicate the sequence of past actions.
Uses of the past perfect simple.
1. The Past Perfect is used to make clear that one action in the past happened before another action in the past.
- When I opened the fridge, I noticed that someone had finished the milk for breakfast.
- They entered the room and hardly recognized it as someone had completely changed the furniture!
- She went back home because she'd forgotten her keys.
- When it started raining, she had already got home.
- When we started the car, we realized that we had run out the petrol.
2. We use the Past Perfect only when it is strictly necessary to clarify which past action happened first. Otherwise we use the Past Simple.
Notice the use of the Past Perfect and the Past Simple in the following sentences:
- When she got to the party, Tom went home. ( First she arrived, then Tom left)
- When she got to the party, Tom had gone home. (First Tom left, then she arrived)
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To study the past simple click here.
To study the present perfect continuous click here.
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