The past perfect tense in English is a verb tense used to show that an action was repeated several times in the past before another moment in the past. Read the article below for a detailed description of time, usage rules and specific examples. So let's get started!
Past Perfect Tense: Terms of Use
The English language is incredibly rich at times. Perhaps the most difficult part of learning grammar for a Russian-speaking person is mastering all the features of using a particular tense.
Thus, the past perfect tense in English is formed through the construction had + past participle. The latter must be a verb in the past tense. If it is correct, just add the ending -ed to it, if it is incorrect, refer to the help of the second column of the table of irregular verbs. For example, to lock - translation "to lock" - Past Perfect of this verb - had locked.
Don't forget about the correct word order in a sentence. So, in the past perfect tense in English, sentences are formed as follows.
Affirmative sentence: You studied English before you moved to New York.
You had studied English before you moved to New York.
An interrogative sentence is formed by "inverting" the main and auxiliary verbs.
Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
Translation: Did you study English before you moved to New York?
Negation in Past Perfect Tense is formed by adding the negative particle not to the auxiliary verb have in the past tense (had) form.
You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
You didn't study English before you moved to New York.
A completed action before something in the past
The past perfect tense in English expresses the idea that a certain event happened before another action in the past. That is, with its help, we show the sequence of certain moments in the past. So for example:
- 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 beforeshe moved to Thailand?
- She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
- Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
Translation:
- I never saw such a beautiful beach until I came to Kauai.
- I didn't have any money because I lost my wallet.
- Tony knew Istanbul so well because he visited the city several times.
- Did Susan study Thai before she moved to Thailand?
- She only understood the movie because she read the book.
- Christina never went to the opera until last night.
Try the following exercise for the past perfect tense in English: translate the sentences above from Russian into English again, but on your own.
A small feature of Past Perfect Tense
With non-prolonged verbs and some mixed verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that a certain event or action started in the past and continued until another action in the past. For example:
- 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.
Translation:
- This car served us for ten years before it broke down.
- When Alexcompleted his studies, he had already lived in London for more than eight years.
- They were unsure about selling the house because they had owned it for over forty years.
Although the aforementioned use of the past perfect tense is usually limited to the above verb types, the words to live (to live), to work (to work), to study (to teach) and to learn (to study) can sometimes also be used in such cases, although they are not verbs that are not used in tenses expressing the duration of an action or event.
Note
Even if the past perfect tense does not refer to a specific action at a specific time, its use is still mandatory.
Compare the examples below. Here, the Past Perfect Tense indicates a lack of experience rather than an action at a certain time. However, the Past Simple Tense cannot be used. For example:
- She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska - using Past Simple is incorrect.
- She had never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska - using the Past Perfect is correct.
Translation: She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska.
The place of adverbs in a sentence
The examples below show the placement of such grammatical adverbs as close (translation - close), always (always), just (only, simply), never (never), still (still), etc. in a sentence. For example:
- You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
- Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
Translation:
- You pre-learned English before you moved to New York.
- Did you study English before moving to New York?
Now, knowing the features of the use of adverbs (just, still, close (translation - only, still, close), let's move on to the topic of Active & Passive Voice in Past Perfect.
Active - passive state
It is also important to pay attention to the use of Past Perfect Tense in active or passive form. For example:
- George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license - offer built in active form.
- Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license - passive sentence.
Translation:
- George repaired many cars before getting his mechanic's license.
- Many cars were repaired by George before he got his mechanic's license.
The rule for the past perfect in English is: Past Perfect Tense is used to show that an action happened before another action in the past.
It can also be used to show that it happened before a certain time in the past.
How to formPast Perfect Tense
To form the past perfect tense, you use the past tense of the verb "to have", which is, and add it to the past participle of the main verb. For example: subject + auxiliary verb had + main verb past participle predicate=past perfect.
For example:
- to lock - translation of "lock" - had locked;
- to live - “to live” - had lived;
- to think - "think" - had thought.
Some examples of the past perfect can be seen in the following sentences:
- She had met him before the party.
- The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.
- I had written the email before he apologized.
- Kate had wanted to see the movie, but she did not have money for the ticket.
Translation:
- She met him before the party.
- The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.
- I wrote the letter before he apologized.
- Kate wanted to see the movie but didn't have the money for a ticket.
More on other uses of Past Perfect Tense.
Using the past perfect tense
There are several situations where you can use the past perfect tense. It is appropriate to use it in the following cases.
To show that one action happened before another in the past:
- She stayed up all night becauseshe had received bad news.
- They lost many of the games because they had not practiced enough.
- Anthony had met Ryan before you introduced him to us at the party.
- You had studied Italian before you moved to Rome.
Translation:
- She stayed up all night because she got the bad news.
- They lost most games because they didn't practice enough.
- Anthony met Ryan before you introduced him to us at the party.
- You studied Italian before you moved to Rome.
To show that an action happened before a certain time in the past:
- She had established her company before 2008.
- He had never played football until last week.
- They had gotten engaged before last year.
- I had fallen asleep before eight o'clock.
Translation:
- She founded her company before 2008.
- He never played football until last week.
- They announced their engagement before last year.
- I fell asleep before eight o'clock.
Keep in mind that in Past Perfect Tense the order of events does not matter, as time clearly shows which event happened first and which happened later.
Another use of the past perfect includes reported speech. Examples of this usage are the following sentences:
- The teacher asked if we had studied for the exam.
- The usherasked if we had purchased our tickets.
- My neighbor asked if we had seen her dog.
- The boss had said it would be a long meeting.
Translation:
- The teacher asked if we had prepared for the exam.
- Ticketer asked if we had tickets.
- My neighbor asked if we had seen his dog.
- The director said we have a long meeting ahead of us.
The past perfect can also be used to show dissatisfaction with the past. Examples of using the Past Perfect in such cases are:
- I wished I had told the truth.
- She wished she had seen her friend.
- The boy wished he had asked another question.
Translation:
- I'm sorry I didn't tell the truth.
- She wished she could see her friend.
- The boy regretted not asking another question.
The past perfect can also be used with the adverb just (just). In combination with the Past Perfect, it makes it clear that an event or action has just taken place. Here are some examples:
- She had just left the scene when the ambulance arrived.
- He had just put the dog on the leash when we got there.
- The bus had just left when we got to the stop.
- I had just gone outside when it started to rain.
Translation:
- She left just as the ambulance arrived.
- He had just put the dog on a leash when we got theregot there.
- The bus got poisoned just as we got to the bus stop.
- I just went out and it started to rain.
When should Past Perfect Tense be used.
Past perfect examples
The following sentences are examples of the past perfect tense in English.
- I had never seen such a beautiful sunset before I went to the island.
- We were not able to stay overnight at the hotel since we had not reserved a room in advance.
- She had never been to the symphony before last night.
- Marc knew Philadelphia so well because he had lived there for five years.
- He understood the math test because he had been tutored all week.
- I did not have any cash because I had lostmy purse. I had been to Mexico once before.
- If I had seen him, I would have told him the news.
- Before he did his homework, he had stayed after school for help.
- She had lived in California before moving to Texas.
- The cat had chased the bird before it flew out of the yard.
- We had just called home when my mom texted us about returning the car.
- She had visited several doctors before she found out what the problem was with her hand.
- If we had called ahead, we would not have needed to wait so long for a table.
Translation:
- I have never seen such a beautiful sunset before I went to the island.
- We couldn't stay overnight at the hotel,as we didn't book the room in advance.
- She had never been to the symphony until last night.
- Mark knew Philadelphia so well because he lived there for five years.
- He was able to solve the math test because he studied all week.
- I didn't have cash because I lost my wallet.
- I was once in Mexico.
- If I met him, I would give him the news.
- Before he did his homework, he stayed after school for help.
- Before she moved to Texas, she lived in California.
- The cat chased the bird before it left the yard.
- We just called home when my mom told us the car was back.
- She visited several doctors before she found out what the problem was with her hand.
- If we had called ahead of time, we wouldn't have had to wait so long to order at the table.
What is so special about Past Perfect?
Importance of the past perfect tense
The past perfect tense is used to convey actions and events in the past. Past Perfect Tense shows the past in relation to other times or other events in the past. It is often used to report events that have already happened or have already been done.
