Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Tense

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What is the Past Perfect Tense?

• The past perfect is a verb tense which is used to show that an action took place once or many times ^before another point in the past. 

Past Perfect Forms

• Positive Sentence: Subject + had + past participle + ...

• Positive Sentence: She had finished the test.

• Negative Sentence: Subject+ had not/hadn’t + past participle + …

• Negative Sentence: She hadn’t finished the test.

• Question Form: Had + Subject + past participle + …?

• Give your answer in the next slide >

Past Perfect Uses

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 Pulau Langkawi.

• I did not have any money ^because I had lost my wallet.

• A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?

• B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

Multiple Select

Choose the correct past participle.

She only understood the movie because she had read the book.

• she

• had

• read

• understood

Multiple Select

We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.

• able

• we

• had not

• booked

Past Perfect Uses

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.

^{*non-continuous verbs - These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses. e.g. to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care...}

Examples

• We had had that car for ten years ^before it broke down.

• They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

• By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

The Past Perfect Tense Usage

1. To describe an action finished before another past action

Example: Richard had gone out when his wife arrived in the office.

2. To describe an action that happened before a specific time in the past

Example: Christine had never been to an opera before last night.

3. To describe cause and effect (combine with Past Simple)

Example: I got stuck in traffic because there had been an accident.

4. To emphasize the result of activity in the past

Example: I had been to London twice by the time I got a job in New York.