The past perfect tense in English is a verb tense that is 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, terms of use, and specific examples. So let's get started!
Past Perfect Tense: Terms of Use
English is incredibly rich in times. Perhaps the most difficult part of studying grammar for a Russian-speaking person is the development of all the features of the use of a particular time.
So, the past perfect time in English is formed through the construction of had + past participle. The latter should be a past tense verb. If it is correct, just add the ending -ed in it , if it is incorrect, refer to the help of the second column of the table of irregular verbs. For example, to lock - translate "lock" - Past Perfect of this verb - had locked.
Do not forget about the correct word order in the sentence. So, in the past perfect tense in English sentences are formed as follows.
Affirmative sentence: You studied English before moving to New York.
You had studied English before you moved to New York.
The interrogative sentence is formed by "inverting" the main and auxiliary verbs.
Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
Translation: Did you learn English before moving 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 did not study English before moving to New York.
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. 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 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.
Transfer:
- I never saw such a beautiful beach until I arrived in Kauai.
- I did not have money because I lost my wallet.
- Tony knew Istanbul so well because he visited the city several times.
- Susan studied Thai before she moved Thailand?
- She understood the film only because she had read the book.
- Christina never attended the opera until last night.
Try the following perfect past tense exercise in English: translate the sentences above from Russian to English again, but on your own.
Small feature of Past Perfect Tense
With verbs that are not used in a long form and some mixed verbs, we use Past Perfect to show that a particular event or action began in the past and continued until another action in the past. For instance:
- 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.
Transfer:
- This car served us ten years before it broke.
- When Alex finished his studies, he had already lived in London for more than eight years.
- They were not sure 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 types of verbs, the words to live, to work, to study and learn can sometimes be used in similar cases, although they are not verbs that are not used in tenses expressing the duration of an action or event.
The note
Even if the past perfect time does not apply to a specific action at a specific time, its use is still mandatory.
Compare the examples below. Here, Past Perfect Tense indicates a lack of experience, not an action at a specific time. However, Past Simple Tense cannot be used. For instance:
- 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 Past Perfect - right.
Translation: She never saw bears before she moved to Alaska.
Place of adverbs in a sentence
The examples below show the placement of grammatical adverbs such as close (translation is close), always (always), just (just, simple), never (never), still (still), etc. in the sentence. For instance:
- You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
- Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
Transfer:
- You previously studied English before moving to New York.
- Before moving to New York, did you study English beforehand?
Now, knowing the peculiarities of using adverbs (just, still, close (translation - only, still, close), we will move on to the topic of Active & Passive Voice in Past Perfect.
Active - Passive
It is also important to be careful about using Past Perfect Tense in active or passive form. For instance:
- George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license - the proposal was built in an active form.
- Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license - the offer is built in a passive form.
Transfer:
- George repaired a lot of cars before getting a mechanic license.
- Many cars were repaired by George before he was licensed as a mechanic.
The rule for past perfect tense in English testifies: 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 this happened before a certain time in the past.
How to Form Past 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 participle of the past main verb. For example: subject + auxiliary verb had + main verb predicate in the form of participle in the past tense = past perfect tense.
For instance:
- to lock - translate "lock" - had locked;
- to live - “lived” - had lived;
- to think - had thought.
Some examples of past perfect tenses 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.
Transfer:
- She met him before the party.
- The plane flew off by the time I got to the airport.
- I wrote a letter before he apologized.
- Kate wanted to watch a movie, but she did not have money for a ticket.
More about 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 in the following cases.
To show that one action happened before the other in the past:
- She stayed up all night because she 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.
Transfer:
- She did not sleep all night because she found out bad news.
- They lost in most games because they did not train enough.
- Anthony met Ryan before you introduced him to us at the party.
- You studied Italian before moving to Rome.
To show that an action has occurred 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.
Transfer:
- She founded her company until 2008.
- He had never played football until last week.
- They announced their engagement until last year.
- I fell asleep until eight o’clock.
Keep in mind that in Past Perfect Tense the order of events does not matter, because time clearly shows which event happened earlier and which later.
Another use of past perfect tense includes communicating speech. Examples of this use are the following sentences:
- The teacher asked if we had studied for the exam.
- The usher asked 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.
Transfer:
- Master asked if we were prepared for the exam.
- The ticketer asked if we had purchased tickets.
- My neighbor asked if we had seen his dog.
- The director said that we have a long meeting.
The past perfect tense can also be used to show dissatisfaction with the past. Examples of using 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.
Transfer:
- I'm sorry I didn’t tell the truth.
- She was sorry that she did not see her friend.
- The boy regretted not asking another question.
The past perfect tense can also be used with the adverb just. In combination with Past Perfect, it makes it clear that the event or action was just committed. 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.
Transfer:
- She left just as the ambulance arrived.
- He just managed to put the dog on a leash when we got there.
- The bus was poisoned just as we reached the stop.
- I just went outside, and the rain had already begun.
When to use Past Perfect Tense.
Past Perfect Tense Examples
Below are suggestions that will serve as examples of past perfect tenses 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.
Transfer:
- I had never seen such a beautiful sunset before I went to the island.
- We could not stay overnight at the hotel, as we did not book a room in advance.
- She was never at 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 had been studying 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 the last one flew out of the yard.
- We just called home when my mother informed us about the return of the car.
- She visited several doctors before finding out what was the problem with her arm.
- If we had called in advance, we would not have to wait so long for an order at the table.
What makes Past Perfect great?
The importance of past perfect tense
The past perfect tense is used to convey past actions and events. Past Perfect Tense demonstrates the past regarding other times or other events in the past. It is often used to report events that have already occurred or have already been made.