Past perfect
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 when the two actions are connected in some way. The past perfect shows the earlier action and the past simple shows the later action. Usually the earlier action influences, explains or provides context for 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
In the grammar explanation it is said pp is used to talk about a time up to a certain point in the past.
She had published her first poem by the time she was eight.
This sentence means she published her poem before she was eight. Let’s say when she was 7. But if we refer to the definition “up to a point in the past” this requires the action to be ongoing until she turns eight. Since publishing is perceived as a single action it doesn’t match the definition.
Besides all this when we talk about pp the earlier action stops before the later action or continues up to that later action or point in time?
Sorry for being too long
Hello Tony1980,
The explanation is as follows:
The key point to understand is that it is not the action itself which is ongoing, but rather the time during which it happens. We don't know at which point the action (publishing the poem) happened but we know it was during the time specified.
The use of the past perfect is analogous to the present perfect. Just as the present perfect is used to describe an action in an open time frame running up to the present, so the past perfect describes an action in an open time frame running up to a point in the past. The action itself can be long or short, repeated or single. It can be completed before the later time or continue up to (and possibly after) it.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
iam so confused about question number 3 (exersice 2).as i have learnt we use the past perfect to shwo an earlier action in past and the past simple shows the tater action.
In this case we must say " first i had made....then i past simple.but the answer was completely different.could you please tell me why with more explanation.
Hello med0102,
When we want to show a sequence of actions we use past simple for each action and put them in order. For example:
This morning I woke up, got out of bed, had a shower and got dressed. I cleaned my teeth and then took the dog for a walk.
We use the past perfect, as the explanation says, to show an action was earlier, but only when the two actions are connected in some way, usually because the earlier action influences or explains the later action. For example:
I went to my friend's house and she offered me a coffee. I didn't take it, however, because I had already drunk two coffees that morning.
All the actions are in past simple to show a sequence (went > offered > didn't take) apart from one action (had drunk) which is past perfect because it is connected to and explains one of the other later actions (didn't take).
I hope that clarifies it for you.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter
It was many days since we had met last.
It had been many days since we met last.
If both of the sentences are correct what’s the difference?
Am I right in saying that “had been “ here doesn’t require a second reference point bc it’s about structure.
Hello Tony1980,
In the first sentence the meeting (had met) occurs earlier than the event or time referenced by it.
In the second sentence the meeting (met) is also an earlier time, but another it here is placed in time in reference to something else which is not included in the sentence. Presumably another event is mentioned in a later or earlier sentence which provides the time reference for the past perfect.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
The field was flooded because it
was raining
-rained , are they all correct ,and what is the difference?
had rained
Hellp Khaled.,
...was raining means that the rain was in progress at the time of speaking
...had rained means that the rain happened before the time of speaking
...rained doesn't fit the context here. Two past simples indicate a sequence in which the first action is flooding and the second raining, but the context requires the rain to be the cause of the flooding.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter
The man had been following the victim since she left school when she arrived home.
Is the sentence ok or redundant? Is “ when she arrived home “ essential to the sentence since the past perfect continuous verb in the main sentence requires it ?
Thanks in advance
Hi Tony1980,
I don't think 'when she arrived home' fits here. It suggests a closed the time reference rather than (as the perfect continuous form implies) an ongoing one. Obviously, the past perfect requires a second past time reference so if there is no other reference in the context of the sentence then I would suggest using two sentences rather than one.
The victim arrived home. The man had been following her since she left school.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team