Understanding the nuances of grammar can significantly enhance one’s ability to communicate effectively. Among the myriad of verb tenses, the past perfect tense stands out as a crucial tool for conveying precise temporal relationships in English. The past perfect tense plays a vital role in narrating events that occurred before another action or point in the past. In this post, we will discuss the different uses of the past perfect tense, exploring its formation, usage, and importance in crafting clear and coherent narratives.

The Past Perfect to Express Past Events before Another Past Events

The Past Perfect is used to say that something had already happened before something else happened in the past. Let’s see the following examples :

• When I arrived at the party, John had already gone home.
• Paul didn’t want to come to Venice with us because he had already been to Venice twice.
• He had left before I got to his office.
• After he had left, I got to his office.
• When I got home, the children had already slept.
• When I got home, Mom had already locked the door.

Past Perfect as the Past Form of Present Perfect

The Past Perfect is also the past form of the Present Perfect.  Let’s see the following examples:

• I’m not thirsty. I’ve just had a drink. (the Present Perfect)
• I wasn’t thirsty. I’d just had a drink. (the Past Perfect)

Let’s see  other examples :

• The boy is so thin. He hasn’t eaten good food for months. (the Present Perfect)
• The boy was so thin. He hadn’t eaten good food for months. (the Past Perfect)

Past Perfect as the Indirect Speech of  Present Perfect

In indirect speech, we use the past perfect to replace the present perfect.

Examples

Direct speech:

John: “I have been to Stockholm many times.”

Ben: “He’s just left.”

Indirect Speech:

John told me (that) he had been to Stockholm many times.

Ben said (that) he’d just left.

Form/Construction

The Past Perfect is formed by had + the past participle. The past participle is mostly from Verb I (the infinitive) + d or ed. Let’s see the following table:

Verb I (the infinitive)	Verb III the past participle	Verb I (the infinitive)	Verb III the past participle
die enjoy invite work stop	died enjoyed invited worked stopped	arrive walk want need like	arrived walked wanted needed liked

Some of the past participles are irregular. They do not end in d or -ed. Let’s see the following table:

Verb I (the infinitive)	Verb II	Verb I (the infinitive)	Verb II
buy catch get go leave meet	bought caught got gone left met	see sell take teach tear tell	seen sold taken taught torn told

 

Before and After

When we use before or after , we often use Past Simple instead of Past Perfect. We know the time relationship clearly.

Examples

Sue had left before James came.  ⇒  Sue left before James came.

After my brother had left, I went to the bathroom. ⇒ After my brother left, I went to the bathroom.

Both of the tenses are acceptable.

Past Perfect Exercises

Exercise I

In this exercise, you have to make sentences using the words in the bracket. See the following example first !

• I wasn’t hungry. ( I-just-have-lunch ) ………………. I had just had lunch.

 

1. We arrived at the football field late. (the match-already-begin) ……………………………………
2. Tony and Sally weren’t eating when I came.        (they-finish-their-lunch) …………………..
3. The house was very quiet when I got home.        (everybody-go-to-bed) ……………………
4. Jill wasn’t at home when I arrived. ( she-just-go-out)  ………………………….
5. I didn’t recognize Mrs. Taylor. ( she-change-a lot )     ……………………………
6. Jane couldn’t see his brother off.  (his plane-take off) ………………………….
7. I came home late last night, so (my wife-sleep) …………………..
8. (The thief – disappear) before the police arrived. ……………….
9. Before we came here, (what-you-do-to this statue?) ……………
10. Before he could run away, (the police-already come)…………..

 Exercise II

Correct the verb in the parentheses.

1. Bill told me that he (has loved) Hillary all his life.
2. She said that she (has known) Bill for many years.
3. Did she say she (has fallen) in love with someone else before she met him?
4. Before we got married, we (have known) each other for five years.
5. Five years after we (have saved) our money, we decided to buy a house.
6. Before my step father married my mother, Mom (has got) me from her previous marriage.
7. The rain (has stopped)  a few minutes before the football match started.
8. The bus (has left) before I reached the bus stop.
9. (Has she waited) long here when you arrived?
10. I couldn’t talk to her because she (has already gone).

Exercise III

Complete the sentences with your own words.

1. After I ……….., I …………….
2. When I …………..,  my husband had already ……
3. Last week we went ………….. Before that, We had never ……….
4. My wife …… after I had already ……..
5. Before I ……   this morning, my father ………

 Answers

Exercise I

1. The match had already begun.
2. When I came, they had finished their lunch.
3. When I got home, everybody had gone to bed.
4. She’d just gone out.
5. I didn’t recognize Mrs. Taylor because she had changed a lot.
6. Jane couldn’t see his brother off.  His plane had already taken off.
7. I came home late last night, so my wife had already slept.
8. The thief had already disappeared before the police arrived.
9. Before we came here, what had you done to the statue?
10. Before he could run away, the police had already come.

Exercise II

Correct the verb in the parentheses.

1. Bill told me that he had loved Hillary all his life.
2. She said that she had known Bill for many years.
3. Did she say she had fallen in love with someone else before she met him?
4. Before we got married, we had known each other for five years.
5. Five years after we had saved/ saved our money, we decided to buy a house.
6. Before my stepfather married my mother, Mom had got/got me from her previous marriage.
7. The rain had stopped/stopped  a few minutes before the football match started.
8. The bus had left/left before I reached the bus stop.
9. Had she waited long here when you arrived?
10. I couldn’t talk to her because she had already gone.

Exercise III

Different answers are possible.

1. After I had watched the last reality show on TV last night, I went to bed.
2. When I arrived home,  my husband had already cooked our dinner.
3. Last week, we went to Cartagena. Before that, we had never been to American countries.
4. My wife didn’t answer my call  after I had already called her a few times.
5. Before I left  this morning, my father had already gone to the airport.

Download the exercises here.(Requires a google account)