What is the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense is used to talk about an action that was completed before another action in the past. This tense helps to show which event happened first. It is important to use the past perfect tense when describing two past events to make the order of events clear.

The past perfect tense shows that something was finished in the past before something else happened. It is often used with words like before, after, already, and yet to show the sequence of actions.

The simple past tense is different because it only talks about a single action that happened at a specific time in the past.

Definition 

The Cambridge Dictionary defines the past perfect tense as “the form of a verb that is used to show that an action had already finished when another action happened.”

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the past perfect tense “expresses an action completed before a particular point in the past, formed in English with had and the past participle.”

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that the past perfect tense “is the form of the verb that is used in referring to an action that was completed by a particular time in the past.”

The Collins Dictionary defines the past perfect tense as “a tense indicating an action as completed or a state as having ended before a specified or implied time in the past.” This tense is sometimes also called the “pluperfect tense.”

Past Perfect Tense Structure

This is used when describing an action that was completed before another past action. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb had with the past participle of the main verb.

Sentence Structure:

• Positive Sentence: Subject + had + past participle + rest of the sentence
  • Example: She had finished her homework before dinner.
• Negative Sentence: Subject + had not (hadn’t) + past participle + rest of the sentence
  • Example: She hadn’t finished her homework before dinner.
• Interrogative Sentence: Had + subject + past participle + rest of the sentence?
  • Example: Had she finished her homework before dinner?

Past Perfect Tense Formula

The basic formula is:

Subject + had + past participle + rest of the sentence

Example: I had eaten lunch before my friend arrived.

Past Perfect Tense Rules

1. The past perfect tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb had with the past participle of the main verb.
2. The word had is used with all subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
3. Regular verbs form the past participle by adding -ed to the base verb (e.g., play → played).
4. Irregular verbs have unique past participles (e.g., go → gone, write → written).
5. The past perfect tense is often used with time expressions like before, after, already, yet.
6. When describing two actions in the past, the past perfect tense is used for the first action, and the simple past tense is used for the second action.

Purpose of Past Perfect Tense

• It is used to show that an action was completed before a specific point in the past.
• It helps to clarify the sequence of events in the past.
• It can describe expectations, hopes, or regrets about the past.
• It is useful for indirect speech when reporting past events.

Examples:

1. She had locked the door before leaving the house.
2. By the time we arrived, the train had already left.
3. I had never seen such a beautiful beach before our trip.
4. They had finished their work before the deadline.
5. We had visited the museum before it closed.

Examples

• I had cooked dinner before my family came home.
• He had left the office before the meeting started.
• She had completed the project before the deadline.
• They had never traveled abroad before last summer.
• We had cleaned the house before our guests arrived.

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Exercise

Rewrite the following sentences using the past perfect tense:

1. She wrote a letter to her friend.
2. The teacher explained the topic before the students arrived.
3. They finished their homework before going out to play.
4. I saw that movie before you recommended it.
5. The rain stopped before we reached the park.
6. We ate lunch before visiting the museum.
7. The guests left before we arrived.
8. He learned to drive before turning 18.
9. She met her best friend before joining college.
10. We heard the news before reading the newspaper.

Answers

1. She had written a letter to her friend.
2. The teacher had explained the topic before the students arrived.
3. They had finished their homework before going out to play.
4. I had seen that movie before you recommended it.
5. The rain had stopped before we reached the park.
6. We had eaten lunch before visiting the museum.
7. The guests had left before we arrived.
8. He had learned to drive before turning 18.
9. She had met her best friend before joining college.
10. We had heard the news before reading the newspaper.

Past Perfect Tense Worksheet

Fill in the blanks with the correct past perfect form of the verbs in brackets:

1. She ______ (finish) her homework before she went to bed.
2. By the time we arrived, they ______ (already/leave).
3. He ______ (not/eat) anything because he had already eaten lunch.
4. When I got to the cinema, the movie ______ (start) and I missed the beginning.
5. They ______ (visit) Paris twice before they decided to move there.
6. Before he arrived at the party, she ______ (already/leave).
7. By the time we got to the restaurant, they ______ (finish) eating.
8. I ______ (not/see) that movie before last night.
9. She ______ (not/visit) her grandparents for a long time before last summer.
10. By the time they arrived at the airport, the plane ______ (already/leave).

Answers

1. had finished
2. had already left
3. had not eaten
4. had started
5. had visited
6. had already left
7. had finished
8. had not seen
9. had not visited
10. had already left

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What does the past perfect tense mean?
A: The past perfect tense is used to show that one event in the past happened before another past event.

Q2: What is the formula for past perfect tense?
A: Subject + had + past participle + rest of the sentence.

Q3: How is the past perfect tense different from the simple past tense?
A: The simple past describes one completed action, while the past perfect shows that one past action happened before another past event.

Q4: Can you give an example of the past perfect tense?
A: Yes. She had finished her homework before dinner.

Q5: Why is the past perfect tense important?
A: It helps make the order of past events clear, avoiding confusion.