Past Perfect

​Past Perfect

Expressing the order of events

​The use

We use the Past Perfect to talk about an action that happened before another action in the past.

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Examples: ​Ester hadn't studied for the exam so she failed => Maximo had forgotten his passport so he couldn't travel => Had they trained much before they joined the race?

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Which action happened first in each sentence? How do you know?​

Intensivo 4 | 2022

Past Perfect

​The form

We form Past Perfect with had + past participle form (you can find the list on page 173 of your books).

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Examples: ​We had done the homework at home so it was ready for the class => Tomás hadn't (had not) passed the driving test so he couldn't drive yesterday => Had Carolina written the paragraph before the deadline finished?

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What is the difference in form between sentences and questions?​

Intensivo 4 | 2022

Past Perfect

​Narrating the past

We often use Past Perfect together with Past Simple and Past Continuous to narrate or describe the order in which things happened.

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Examples: ​When I got home, my husband made dinner => When I got home, my husband was making dinner => When I got home, my husband had made dinner.

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Which time tense is used in each sentence? What happened first in each?​

Intensivo 4 | 2022

Past Perfect