Past perfect

Level: intermediate

The past perfect is made from the verb had and the past participle of a verb:

I had finished the work.
She had gone.

The past perfect continuous is made from had been and the -ing form of a verb:

I had been working there for a year.
They had been painting the bedroom.

The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past, not the present. We use the past perfect:

for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past:

When George died, he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.
She didn't want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.

For this use, we often use the past perfect continuous:

She didn't want to move. She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.

for something that happened several times before a point in the past and continued after that point:

He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.
He had written three books and he was working on another one.

when we are reporting our experience up to a point in the past:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.
I was pleased to meet George. I hadn’t met him before, even though I had met his wife several times.

for something that happened in the past and is important at a later time in the past:

I couldn't get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasn't at home. She had gone shopping.

We often use expressions with for and since with the past perfect:

I was sorry when the factory closed. I had worked there for ten years.
I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last episode.

We do not normally use the past perfect continuous with stative verbs. We use the past perfect simple instead:

Up until that moment, I'd never believed (NOT ~~been believing~~) in astrology.

Past perfect: Matching_MTYzMzM=
Past perfect and past simple: GapFillTyping_MjM0NDg=

Past perfect and hypotheses

We can also use the past perfect to make hypotheses about the past (when we imagine something). See these pages:

Average

Do you need to improve your English grammar?

Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses.

Find out more

Hi Kieran,

There is no continuous form in that sentence. The verb 'didn't want' is a negative past simple form and it is followed by an infinitive ('to move').

Continuous forms require a form of the verb 'to be' and a present participle (-ing form):

He is working hard.

She has been spending a lot of time there recently.

He will be arriving around three o'clock.

You can read more about continuous forms on this page.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

My wife says I am wrong about this: while looking for the remote, she says "I had put it on the couch." I replied, "Before doing what with it?" She said "what do you mean?" I said, frustratedly, "...never mind..." Was her use correct, and my protest out of line? I cannot stand anything less than the proprieties in language, unless I am writing questions to someone. Please help.

Hello Smokenmoses,

You are correct here. The past perfect needs to have a second reference point in the past. If we are simply describing one action in the past then we use the past simple: I put it on the couch.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

this sentence: "I wish you'd told me earlier." should not it be like this: "I wish you'd HAVE told me earlier." ? :-)

Hello Cyclorbit,

No, the correct form is as given: I wish you'd told me earlier.

When we use 'wish' to talk about an unreal present we use a past form:

I wish I was an astronaut.

When we use 'wish' to talk about an unreal past we use a past perfect form:

I wish I had studied mathematics at school.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, Could you explain why we need to use past perfect in this sentence: "Meeting her has yet been the luckiest that had happened to me"

Hi Thieuluong124,

I'm afraid that sentence is not correct. The word 'yet' does not really fit there and the use of verb forms is inconsistent. You cannot mix the present perfect ('has been') with the past perfect ('had happened') in this way. If you are quoting from a source, please check the original sentence.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team