Past Perfect
FORM
[had + past participle]
Examples:
You
had studied English before you moved to New York.
Had
you studied English before you moved to New York?
You
had not studied English before you moved to New York.
Complete List of Past
Perfect Forms
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 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.
We
were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
A: Had
you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
B:
Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
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.
Examples:
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.
Although the above use of
Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous
uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work,"
"teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even
though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.
IMPORTANT
Specific Times with the Past Perfect
Unlike with the Present
Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past
Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.
Example:
She
had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them
in 1996.
MOREOVER
If the Past Perfect
action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the
Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the
sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you
what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both
sentences below are correct.
Examples:
She
had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them
in 1996.
She
visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in
1996.
HOWEVER
If the Past Perfect is
not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional.
Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of
experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple
Past cannot be used.
Examples:
She
never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
She
had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct
ADVERB
PLACEMENT
The examples below show
the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still,
just, etc.
Examples:
You
had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
Had
you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
ACTIVE
/ PASSIVE
Examples:
George
had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
Many
cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Passive
Past Perfect Forms
Positive
|
Negative
|
Question
|
I had
finished.
You had
finished.
We had
finished.
They had
finished.
He had
finished.
She had
finished.
It had
finished.
|
I had not
finished.
You had
not finished.
We had
not finished.
They had
not finished.
He had
not finished.
She had
not finished.
It had
not finished.
|
Had I finished?
Had you finished?
Had we finished?
Had they finished?
Had he finished?
Had she finished?
Had it finished?
|
