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
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 after before
We can also use before + past perfect 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
Hi Jogoldfish,
Speakers sometimes simplify by using the past simple instead of the past perfect, especially when the order of events is already made clear by other information in the sentence (e.g. "earlier"). Perhaps that is why the person suggested the correction. But to be honest, I think the past perfect is acceptable here! Perhaps you can ask the person who told you that for more information?
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Dear LearnEnglish Team,
I would like to know if sentence no. 2 requires past perfect or not (sentence no. 1 provides context).
1. Last week, I ate dessert every day.
2. However, the previous week, I only ate dessert once.
I'm uncertain whether sentence no. 2 requires past perfect. On the one hand, it refers to actions anterior to a specific time in the past (last week). On the other hand, there is no ambiguity about the order of the actions, which suggests that a simple past would be appropriate.
Thank you,
Odette de C.
Hello Odette de C.,
I'm not sure I'd say that 2 'requires' the past perfect, but I would say that 'had eaten' is clearly a better option than 'ate'.
As you say, although the phrase 'the previous week' clearly specifies the time period, to my ears 'had eaten' sounds better. Perhaps it's because it provides a contrast, i.e. the change of verb form helps the reader see the change in habits. I'm not sure this is the best justification for using 'had eaten', but perhaps it's helpful.
I'm sorry I can't give you a more clear-cut answer, but as far as I can know, this is a question of style. In other words, it's something one learns from reading extensively and seeing how people tend to use this structure in many situations.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Many belated thanks, Kirk! It find that it takes a long time for the statistical regularities of the language to be discerned and correctly applied by the adult learner (at least, by this learner).
Best,
Odette de C.
Dear LearnEnglish Team,
My question related to past perfect with "until".
1. Until 1970, he was seeing a psychiatrist.
2. Until 1970, he had seen a psychiatrist.
3. Until 1970, he had seen a psychiatrist for four years.
I’m inclined to think sentence no. 3 is correct – the perfect is required by the interval of time (“for four years”) and the past by the clear indication that the entirety of the action occurred in the past.
I’m far less confident about sentence 1 and 2. Are they both grammatically correct? If so, is there a difference is meaning? If not, it would be helpful to know why.
Thank you.
Odette de C.
Hello Odette,
Only sentence 1 is correct.
The action here is a repeated one (he saw the psychiatrist a number of times over several years rather than having one long meeting) and was ongoing, so a continuous form is needed.
Until needs the action or state to be still continuing to the time mentioned whereas the past perfect tells us that the action had already concluded, so sentences 2 and 3 are incorrect. You could use by instead of until in sentence 3.
One other point to remember is that the phrase with until does not usually come at the beginning of the sentence; at the end is much more common.
For more information on the topic try this page:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/until
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
This is very helpful! Many thanks!
A follow-up question. Ongoing, repeated action -> continuous tense. Hence, as you helpfully stated, the following sentence is correct.
1. He was seeing a psychiatrist until 1970.
Does specifying the length of time "for four years" require a perfect tense? For instance, which of these sentences is correct?
2. He was seeing a psychiatrist for four years until 1970.
3. By 1970, he had been seeing a psychiatrist for four years.
If both sentence are correct, is there a difference in meaning?
Odette de C.
Hello Odette,
Both sentences are possible.
Perfect forms connect an earlier state or action with a later time. The require not only two points in time, however, but also some other connection such as a causal link or one action having an effect on another.
In your second example, the past perfect (had been seeing) implies some kind of connection with a later state or action. This may be explicit (stated in the next sentence, for example) or implicit (from the broader context). For example, you might be talking about a change in his mental state or a conclusion you want to draw about the effectiveness of the psychiatrist. Obviously this is dependent on the context in which the sentence occurs.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello!
Thank you for this lesson, could you please tell me if the sentence "Before this park was built, this building had been used a house" is correct and past perfect? Thank you in advance!
Hello DanielPero,
Yes, 'had been used' is a past perfect form of the passive voice and is correctly formed.
Whether it's the best form or not here depends on what is said before this sentence. If, for example, you'd been explaining how the building was used for something else before the building of the park, then your sentence would be using the past perfect appropriately. If not, 'was used' might be better (again, depending on the context).
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team