The past perfect tense expresses:
-
A finished action before a second action in the past
-
Emphasis on the duration of an action before another action or moment in the past
-
A finished action before a second action in the past
The alien, DeToX, had finished all the routine checks before landing on planet Earth.
-
The duration of an action before another action in the past
DeToX had studied humans for many years before he travelled to Earth.
Past Perfect Keywords
Many keywords can help you recognize situations where the past perfect is used.
| A word | A combination of words | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| because | when | before | by the time... |
| after | already | just | prior to... |
| never | until | since | |
When you’re describing many actions that happened in chronological order in the past, use the simple past.
For example:
When Charlie arrived, he sat down with Chloe, ordered a coffee, and they talked for a few hours.
However, if you want to specify an action was finished before another happened, use the past perfect.
For example:
When Charlie arrived, Chloe had already ordered a hot chocolate.
It’s possible to use the past perfect as the third conditional, for unreal and imaginary situations.
If DeToX had gone to sleep earlier, the alien would not be tired today.
Points to remember when forming affirmative past perfect sentences
-
Use the past tense of to have (had)
-
Use the past participle form of the main verb.
Affirmative form contractions:
|
I'd bought a new spaceship. |
You'd researched the planet for years. |
She'd left everything behind. |
DeToX had seen beautiful cities on its planet, but that was before the alien landed in Quebec City.
It had always wanted to try a Beaver Tail but DeToX never had the chance on its planet.
Points to remember when forming negative past perfect sentences
-
Use the auxiliary verb had.
-
Place the function word not after had.
-
Use the past participle of the verb.
DeToX had not seen a movie theatre before crashing into one.
By the time DeToX’s planet called back, it still had not visited all of Quebec City.
Contractions are often used in the negative form.
Points to remember when forming questions in the past perfect
-
Place the auxiliary had before the subject.
-
Use the past participle of the verb.
For information questions only:
-
Place a question word at the beginning.
-
Yes/no questions
| Had | subject | verb | object*? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Had | the aliens | finished | the project when DeToX came back? |
| Had | they | planned | their itinerary before they left? |
-
Information questions
| Question word |
had | subject | verb | object*? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What | had | DeToX | eaten | before going to Quebec City? |
| Why | had | the alien | disappeared? |
*The object is used only when necessary.