The past perfect is one of the more complicated and difficult English verb tenses. This lesson shows you how to use it. You can start with this video lesson. You will also see the written lesson below. You can find past perfect exercises at the bottom of this page.
Here is the video:
Past Perfect Lesson
Structure
Subject + Had + Past Participle
Here are some examples:
- I had tried sushi before I went to Japan.
- I had done my homework already.
- She had already eaten before I arrived.
- I had not known about that movie.
The past perfect always uses “had”, which “have” in the past. It is common to use a contraction with “had”:
- I’d
- You’d
- She’d
- He’d
- We’d
- They’d
You can see the contractions in these examples:
- I’d never studied Spanish before.
- We’d not met before the party.
Past Perfect Uses
Actions in the past that happen before another action or time
When you have two actions in the past, you need to show which happened first. Use the past perfect for the first action.
Use the simple past for the second action. Take a look at this situation:
- 7:00 — I ate dinner.
- 9:00 — She invited me to a restaurant.
- She invited me to a restaurant, but I had eaten dinner.
Here are some examples of the past perfect:
- I had never been to his house before I went to his party.
- I arrived at the station at 9:00 am, but the train had left.
- He had not studied English before he came to Canada.
- Had you met her before you saw her at the wedding?
You can also use a status before a time or action in the past:
- I had lived in Toronto for 8 years.
- I had been a waiter for 5 years before I went to law school.
Past Perfect and Present Perfect
Past perfect is present perfect in the past. Look at this example of how the two verb tenses interact:
(Monday)
Tom: Would you like to go out for dinner?
Jane: No. I have already eaten dinner. (Present Perfect)
(Tuesday)
Kim: Did you go out for dinner with Jane?
Tom: No. I invited her to dinner, but she had already eaten.
Past Perfect Key Words
Words that are common with present perfect can also be used in the past. These include ALREADY, YET, STILL, SINCE, and FOR. Here are some examples with these keywords:
- My teacher asked me for my project, but I had not finished it yet.
- He introduced me to his father, and I realized had already met him.
- I ate a lot of food last night for dinner, because I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
- I had not seen my sister for 3 months.
Are you ready to check your understanding? Here are some past perfect tests: