Past perfect

Do you know how to use phrases like They'd finished the project by March or Had you finished work when I called?

Look at these examples to see how the past perfect is used.

He couldn't make a sandwich because he'd forgotten to buy bread.
The hotel was full, so I was glad that we'd booked in advance.
My new job wasn't exactly what I’d expected.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1: Grammar B1-B2: Past perfect: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

Time up to a point in the past

We use the past perfect simple (had + past participle) to talk about time up to a certain point in the past.

She'd published her first poem by the time she was eight.
We'd finished all the water before we were halfway up the mountain.
Had the parcel arrived when you called yesterday?

Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions

We can use the past perfect to show the order of two past events. The past perfect shows the earlier action and the past simple shows the later action.

When the police arrived, the thief had escaped.

It doesn't matter in which order we say the two events. The following sentence has the same meaning.

The thief had escaped when the police arrived.

Note that if there's only a single event, we don't use the past perfect, even if it happened a long time ago.

The Romans spoke Latin. (NOT ~~The Romans had spoken Latin.~~)

Past perfect with before

We can also use the past perfect followed by before to show that an action was not done or was incomplete when the past simple action happened.

They left before I'd spoken to them.
Sadly, the author died before he'd finished the series.

Adverbs

We often use the adverbs already (= 'before the specified time'), still (= as previously), just (= 'a very short time before the specified time'), ever (= 'at any time before the specified time') or never (= 'at no time before the specified time') with the past perfect.

I called his office but he'd already left.
It still hadn't rained at the beginning of May.
I went to visit her when she'd just moved to Berlin.
It was the most beautiful photo I'd ever seen.
Had you ever visited London when you moved there?
I'd never met anyone from California before I met Jim.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2: Grammar B1-B2: Past perfect: 2

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Language level

Intermediate: B1

Hello Goncharush,

Both forms are possible and I can't think of any context in which only one would be possible.

There is no need to change 'last'.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

In your grammar section you wrote: “I work in Italy” Reported speech: He told me that he works in Italy. It isn’t always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now – he still works in Italy – we can use the present simple in the reported sentence. My question is whether it is possible to change the tense (he worked in Italy) and will the sentence still have the same meaning.

Hello Goncharush,

You are right in thinking that both 'works' and 'worked' are grammatically correct in this case. When the verb is in the present simple, it indicates that he still works there at the time of speaking. When the verb is in the past simple, the meaning is ambiguous: it could indicate the same as the present simple, or it could be speaking only about the past. Context should usually make the meaning clear, though it's also possible for the sentence to be unintentionally ambiguous.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi I have learnt that when we are talking about how long something is happening we use the past perfect continues, is this true? if it's true why the structure of this phrase?: It had not rained for three months, so the land was very dry. it shouldn't be: it hadn't been raining for three months,so the land was very dry. please correct me if I have redacted wrong

Hello andreus1999,

Simple forms can include duration:

I lived in Paris for many years.

We use progressive aspect when an action is interrupted by another event:

I was living in Paris when my brother got married.

There are other uses of progressive aspect. You can read about them on this page.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi learn English team I was searching on the internet and I found this sentence: yesterday we had walked to school but later rode the bus home. But then the sentence was corrected and had walked changed with walked Why here the past perfect changed to past

Hi Aya salah,

It's really difficult for us to explain this without the context, as there are so many possibilities and to explain them takes quite a bit of effort on our part. But, to try to help you, note that the past perfect doesn't make sense if there isn't some other past reference point. I suppose that's why this sentence was corrected this way.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you a lot Mr. Kirk for the response. Thanks for The LearnEnglish Team

Hello I want to comment and ask questions to get help from you on other topics too..for example on "tag questions" or any other topics but as i see no one has commented on the mentioned topic..can we ask our questions here for other topics too? Thank you a lot...

Hello bakh.sh85,

You are welcome to ask us questions about question tags or other topics. We only ask that you ask them on the most relevant page you can find. For example, to ask about question tags, the most logical page would be our question tags page, but since there is no space for comments there, the next most relevant is probably questions and negatives.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, Mr. Peter It helped a lot and still it may be confusing to me the use of some words like 'before' , 'until' and 'by the time" and "when". For example, if I say "When she called, I went out." it means both actions happened at the same time OR "When she called, I had gone out." it means the second part happened before the first part which is 'When she called, ... '. AND please tell me if the following sentences can be both correct or not: Until 1800, most immigration had been from Britain. Until 1800, most immigration was from Britain.

Hello bakh.sh85,

The relationships between different verb forms are quite nuanced. For example:

When she called, I went out. [I left at the moment she called, possibly as a result of the call]

When she called, I had gone out. [I was not at home when she called]

When she called, I was going out. [I was in the process of leaving when she called]

Both the sentences about immigration are possible. Without knowing the context in which they are used, I cannot say which is better.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, may I clarify one thing? When we are looking forwards from past, are we allowed to use past perfect for sequencing actions? For example can we say: "He said that I would receive a confirmation e-mail that the reimbursement had been made". Thank you

Hi elaliyev,

The sentence is correct – well done.

However, please note that the past perfect is not used because the actions are in sequence. To describe a sequence of actions we use the past simple:

I read the documents again before I made the phone call.

We use the past perfect because there is some relationship between the earlier action and the later one. It may be that the earlier action causes or allows the later one, or influences it in some way. In your example, the email is sent as a result of the reinbursement, and so the past perfect is appropriate as it signals this relationship.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks very much Peter

hello sir, pls tell me the difference between the given sentences--- 1.India had invited trump to attend republic day celebrations in 2019 2. India invited trump to attend republic day celebrations in 2019. as we know that past perfect is used when we have two separate events one after the other but i dont think that this condition is followed here sir. and if it so then when such sentences could be formed?

Hello shubhamgupta,

You're right in thinking that there are separate events that occur in a sequence, but this doesn't mean that they both have to be mentioned in the same sentence. I expect that somewhere in the sentences before sentence 1, another event, subsequent to the invitation, is mentioned.

You can see some additional example sentences on this page.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello In an English grammar book, I saw some time signals for past perfect as following: before + past simple + past perfect after + past perfect + past simple until + past simple + past perfect by the time + past simple + past perfect So can these words be the clues for "past perfect" and "past simple" tenses? P.s. I am not sure about the accuracy of the tenses of all the words I mentioned... plz help

Hello bak.sh85,

There are tendencies which work like this but please remember that they are not fixed rules. It is perfectly fine to use before + past simple + past perfect, for example, but it is also fine to use before + past simple + past simple. Pattterns like this can be misleading if you follow them as if they were rules. The context is key.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot Sir for your response...

regarding my previous question about time reference words, can this word "by" follows these rules? by the time + past perfect + past simple/ by the time + past simple + past perfect or both past simple... E.g. By the time Josh had reached the age of 18, he had already lived in several different countries. E.g. By the time he phoned her, she had found someone new. As you said the context is the key and there is no fixed rule, so how non-native English speakers will recognize them? especially students... Thanks a lot

Hi bakh.sh85,

Like Peter, I'm a little hesitant to speak about 'rules', but I can say that your sentences are both correct and natural-sounding. I'd encourage you to focus on the meaning that the verb forms communicate to help remember them.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

hi, this sentence has been taken from an explanation "to put a smoke" means to make it difficult for someone to achieve something they had planned to do . "to put a smoke" means to make it difficult for someone to achieve something they planned to do . what is the difference between these two ? and if i would have to write " had" as in the first case what does it signify? thank you for your time

Hello shubhamgupta,

The first sentence, with the past perfect verb, puts more emphasis on the fact that the planned action was to happen earlier than the other one. You could use either sentence with no difference in meaning in most any context I can think of.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, "A baby boy, wrapped in a green blanket, was abandoned near a 7-Eleven outlet in xxx on Sunday (Oct 7)" 1) Is the "was abandoned" in the sentence a past perfect? 2) Is it used because the baby boy was abandoned and now rescued? 3) Will the meaning change much if they use simple past (abandoned, instead of was abandoned)? My understanding if they use a simple past, it mean the baby is still abandoned there... Well, thanks!

Hi jityo,

1) 'was abandoned' is a passive construction in the past simple
2) We often use the passive voice when the subject of the verb is unknown. In this situation, we don't know who abandoned the child and the passive voice communicates this.
3) It's grammatically correct to say 'A baby boy abandoned', but it doesn't make much sense, since in general babies aren't even able to walk and therefore cannot abandon anyone or anything.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

my daughter, in her school exam, filled only "laughed" in the following sentence. The children laughed when they saw the clown. But the techer says it should be filled with "had laughed" . Should this sentence be formed in past perfect. I think it should be simple past. Pl advise.

Hello katarey65,

The use of the past perfect is dependent on the context in which the action occurs. It describes one or more actions which occur before another action, and which in some way have an effect on, cause or change the later action.

In your sentence in isolation the correct forms is 'laughed', not 'had laughed'. However, there could be a context which makes 'had laughed' possible.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

The X-ray treatments____ up to the time he was dismissed from the hospital. In this sentence, which tense is correct? “were” or “had been”? Thank you in advance.

Hi Callista,

Either form can work in that sentence. 'had been' emphasises the sequence (first treatments, then dismissal) more, but both are correct.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hellow. You came at 9:30 am my dear, you were already late the Office was closed , we normally close the office at 8:30 am, try next time during weekdays where we work up to 1:00 pm. Is my sentence correct ? Is it necessary to use past perfect or we may also use past simple to explain things happened before in sequence?

Hello Aisha na Shadee,

The tenses in your sentence are all correct. Yes, the past simple can be used to narrate a sequence of past events; the past perfect wouldn't be appropriate here.

I would recommend breaking up the sentence into shorter pieces. For example, after 'late' and before 'try'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir, is there any section at this site for active & passive voices?

Hi Imran 26,

There are several pages on this topic and also references to it on various skills pages. To find pages on particular topics you can use the search facility. Just type in, for example 'passive' and you will see a list of results:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/search/apachesolr_search/passive

You can also use our grammar pages. Click on the Verbs section and then look for the link to active and passive voice on the right.

You can also look at our Intermediate Grammar pages, which has a link to passives.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, can you tell me if the following sentence is correct: She is ok now but she had been feeling sick for over a week AFTER she went to a doctor. ( this sentence is from an exercise book and another option instead of AFTER was ONCE. Which word is more suitable in the context: after or once? Can we use AFTER with past perfect continuous? Thanks a lot!

Hello Thomas2300,

I think 'after' is the better of the two options. 'Once' would suggest that the visit caused her to feel sick; 'after' simply tells us that the visit did not solve the problem immediately.

You can use the past perfect coninuous following 'after'.

Generally, we do not comment on examples from other sources. We're happy to discuss our own examples and the information on our pages, but if you have a question about something in other materials you really need to ask the author. We don't know the context and may not agree with what is being explained.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, thank you very much for your prompt response.

Hello, Could you please tell me if this is correct, "They are not speaking about this during the lessons." ? I'd like to know how to talk about something which is ongoing. The lessons occurred in the past, and are still occurring. I wish to say that in general they do not speak about a certain thing during the lessons, as in they did not in the past and the do not in general so they will not in the future either. So I guess my question is, how do we speak about something in general, but in a continuous form because it is something that happens during something else. Is it possible? Sorry for the long and convoluted comment.

Hello megank333,

The meaning here, if I understand you correctly, is a general one with reference to the lessons. In other words, you are not talking about a particular lesson or lessons, but rather something which is true during all lessons. The correct form here is the present simple (for general truths/typical behaviour) followed by a limiting time phrase:

They don't speak about this during the lessons.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

hi , pls give me a clear picture of how to use " had " in simple past tense. will be really thankful for this.

Hi shubhamgupta,

You could say, for example, 'I had a red bicycle when I was little.' Could you please be more specific? It's just that there are many, many ways in which 'had' can be used in the past simple. we'd also ask you to ask this question on our past simple page rather than here on our past perfect page.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, could you help me please? What’s the difference between those two sentences? “She had been married for three years when her son was born.” “She was married for three years when her son was born.” Thanks a lot, take care!

Hello zeynepucar,

It's hard to be certain without seeing the broader context, but the second sentence does not look correct to me. The first sentence describes a state in the past which ran up to an point later in the past, and which may have continued.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you for your replies, much appreciated.

Hi Kirk, Thank you so much for your reply, this is very useful! Could I ask you one more question please: Is it common to use 'just' in combination with the Past Perfect or is it mostly used in combination with the Present Perfect, meaning an action a short while ago in the recent past? Thank you in advance once more!

Hi parachutist,

I'd say it's common with both the present perfect and the past perfect. The present perfect is used a lot more often than the past perfect, however, so if you looked at the number of occurences of each tense in a specific corpus, particularly of spoken English, I suspect you'd see it more occurences with the present perfect.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Could you help me please? Is it correct to say: When I arrived at the party, Ann had just left. Or should I say: When I arrived at the party, Ann had already left. I was told that the adverb just is usually used in combination with the Present Perfect and not with the Past Perfect. Thank you in advance.

Hi parachutist,

Both of these sentences are correct but describe the event with a different focus. 'Ann had just left' means she had left a short time before I arrived. 'Ann had already left' means that she left sometime before I arrived -- 'already' adds a bit of emphasis to the idea that she left earlier. In many cases, we could use either one of these sentences to speak about the same thing -- the choice of one or the other really depends on how we want to describe it.

'just' is probably more often used with the present perfect, but it can be used with other tenses (including the past perfect) as well. If you read the example sentences on the page I linked to, you'll see what I mean.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

In the exercise it has exactly stated: "Do NOT use continuous tenses." But during the penultimate case correct answer was: "had been burgled" Is it the crooked description or I've missed something? I would have attached a screenshot if I had the opportunity. But presume the question is already clear without.

Hi sergey_34,

'had been burgled' is not a continuous form, but rather a passive form. A continuous form is one like 'had been being burgled' -- the -ing word makes it a continuous tense.

I've included a couple of links to pages that I think might be useful for you, but if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask us.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team