In this English lesson we’ll take a look at how we use the past perfect tense to talk about something that happened before another moment in the past.
What Is the Past Perfect Tense?
The past perfect tense is “the past of the past”. When you are already telling a story in the past and want to step back even further, use had + the past participle of the verb.
- “When I arrived at the station, the train had already left.”
- “She was tired because she hadn’t slept well.”
- “By the time we got to the cinema, the film had started.”
- “Had you met him before the party?”
How to Form It
- Positive: subject + had + past participle – I had eaten. / She’d eaten.
- Negative: subject + hadn’t + past participle – I hadn’t eaten.
- Question: Had + subject + past participle? – Had you eaten?
- Short answers: Yes, I had. / No, I hadn’t.
Good news: had is the same for every subject (I had, she had, they had). In speech we usually shorten it to ‘d: I’d, you’d, she’d, we’d, they’d.
Note: ‘d can also mean would. Look at the next word. After had you’ll see a past participle (I’d finished). After would you’ll see the base verb (I’d like a coffee).
When Do We Use It?
- An earlier action before a later past action: “I couldn’t get in because I had lost my keys.”
- Experience up to a moment in the past: “It was the best meal I had ever eaten.”
- Reported speech: “She said she had seen the film.”
- Regrets and imagined pasts with if and wish: “If I had known, I would have come.” / “I wish I had studied harder.”
Useful Words: Already, Just, Never, By the Time
- already: “The shop had already closed.”
- just (a moment before): “I had just sat down when the phone rang.”
- never … before: “I had never seen snow before that day.”
- by the time: “By the time I woke up, everyone had left.”
- before / after: “After she had finished work, she went to the gym.”
Past Perfect or Past Simple?
Use the past simple for actions that happen in order, one after another. Use the past perfect tense to show that one thing happened earlier than the other. One small change makes a big difference:
- “When I arrived, she left.” (I arrived, and then she left.)
- “When I arrived, she had left.” (She left first. I missed her!)
Note: with before and after the order is already clear, so the past simple is fine too: “After she finished work, she went to the gym.” Both are correct.
What Had Happened?
“What had happened?” is the question behind every good story. We use the past perfect to explain the reason for a past situation:
- “Why was Tom so happy?” “He had passed his driving test.”
- “Why was the floor such a mess?” “The dog had knocked over the flowers.”
- “Why were you late this morning?” “I had missed the bus.”
Example: Lisa’s Terrible Morning
Lisa had a job interview last Monday. Almost everything went wrong before she got there.
- When I woke up, I saw that my alarm hadn’t gone off.
- By the time I got to the bus stop, the bus had already left.
- I wanted to buy a coffee, but I had left my purse at home.
- When I finally arrived, the receptionist said they had moved my interview to the afternoon.
- I had never been so stressed in my life!
- Luckily, I had prepared well, and I got the job.
Note:
Lisa tells the main story in the past simple (woke up, got, wanted, arrived). She uses the past perfect tense each time she steps back to something that happened before that moment.
Try It Yourself
Have a go at these using the past perfect tense. You can write about real life or just use your imagination. Have some fun with it!
- Think of the last time you were late. What had happened?
- What had you already learned before you started school?
- Had you studied English before you found this website?
- Finish the sentence: “When I got home yesterday, …”
- Finish the sentence: “By the time I was ten, I had …”
More Tense Lessons
- All 9 English Tenses – The Complete Guide
- Present Simple Tense – Daily Routine
- Present Continuous Tense – What Are You Doing?
- Present Perfect Tense – Have You Ever…?
- Past Simple Tense – What Did You Do?
- Past Continuous Tense – What Were You Doing When…?
- Future Simple Tense – What Will You Do?
- Future Continuous Tense – What Will You Be Doing…?
- Future Perfect Tense – What Will You Have Done?
Frequently Asked Questions
Use had + the past participle of the verb for every subject, for example: I had eaten, she had gone, they had finished.
The past simple describes a finished action in the past. The past perfect shows that one action happened before another past action or time, for example: The train had left when I arrived.
Yes. Pluperfect is an older name for the same tense.
Test Yourself
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