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 Peter
Thank you a lot for your response
Browsing the comments here I came across this sentence:
Before our conversation yesterday, I had believed that you 1)had gone / 2)went to Harvard.
The speaker said that 1) happens before and 2) happens at the same time with believing.
Can you please add some clarification on why is that so?
Which past action or point in time does had gone refers to?
Andi
Hello Andi,
'Had gone' emphasises that the situation is not current (we are talking about a time earlier in the person's life), while 'went' may refer to a current situation or one that is finished (earlier in life).
It's difficult to say more without more context.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter
Your response is highly appreciated
Before our conversation yesterday, I had believed that you 1)had gone / 2)went to Harvard.
Is the following observation correct?
The verb believe is said to attract the subjunctive mood. Since he believed that he had gone but actually he didn’t go. It’s an imaginary situation. Past perfect subjunctive had gone refers to a past situation whereas past subjunctive went refers to a current situation.
Andi
Hello Andi,
I would avoid using the term subjunctive here. Other than that, you are almost correct. The only change needed is that 'went' can refer to a past or present situation (the person goes to Harvard now or went to Harvard in the past) while 'had gone' can only refer to the past.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello LearnEnglish Team
The phrase "First I made the salad, then I toasted the bread.", the option "had made" is incorrect because we already have the word "first" which indicates that the action is already happened before than "Toasted the bread". That's why to "had made the salad" is incorrect? It would make the phrase redundant?
Thank you
Hello joaoooaugusto,
You can use 'first' with past perfect but it needs to refer to a sequence of actions within the same time reference. For example:
We don't use 'first' with a past perfect followed by a past simple, however.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter
Thank you for your response.
He had worked for google for years when he was just 15 years old.
Can we use past perfect here to indicate that the boy worked there for example from age 10 to 15 ?? Or should we change when to before??
Andi
Hello Andi,
I think I would lean towards by the time that, but when is possible, perhaps with the addition of 'already' (He had already worked...) for clarity's sake. Before is also possible, but that might mean that he finished working for Google some time before reaching 15.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi LearnEnglish Team
Ana 1)thought her son was very talented because he had done his homework all by himself when she 2)came home.
In reference to this sentence can we say that a past perfect action can refer to two past actions??
First he did his homework then his mother Ana came home. First he did his homework then Ana thought he was very talented.
Andi
Hello Andi,
I don't think that's how the sentence works here. The two actions in the subsidiary clause (introduced by because) are related: the homework is completed before she comes home. The action in the main clause is separate and not dependent on anything else in the sentence.
Peter
The LearnEnglish TEam