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? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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 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: Grammar B1-B2: Past perfect: 2

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

B1 Intermediate

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:

She had talked to John before she came to the meeting.
First she had talked to John and then she had talked to Paul before the meeting.

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

Dear Team,

Context: I am talking about my grandfather, who died 30 years ago. I am talking about a particular experience with my grandfather. But I am relating to what he did, when he was alive. But I am saying it to my friends, as it is my current experience.

Question:

I have never seen that my grandfather had a good result for his hard work.

I never saw that my grandfather had a good result for his hard work.

Which of the above sentences is grammatically correct?

Please help me in this regard.

Thanks,

kingson

Hello kingson,

The second option (never saw) seems best here to me as the time frame is a closed one - your grandfather is no longer alive so you have no chance of seeing him get new results, whether good or bad.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Peter

Thank you again for your valuable feedback.

Heidi, who can already add, subtract and draw figures and write sentences, 1)was reading/ 2)had been reading books for 7 years old when she was just two.

What’s the difference between 1 and 2?

Andi