We don’t use the past perfect very often in English. But it is helpful if you can use and understand it. It is used to prevent misunderstandings about the past.
We form the past perfect tense with had + the past participle of the verb.
We use had with all subjects. I/you/he/she/it/we/they/ had eaten.
| Question Word | had | Subject | had | not or 'nt | Past participle | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Everyone | had | eaten. | |||
| Negative | They | had | not | arrived. | ||
| Question | Why | had | she | left? | ||
| Past Perfect Affirmative | Past Perfect Negative | Past Perfect Questions | Past Perfect With Question Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| I had already left. | I hadn't left yet. | Had I found you yet? | What had I found? |
| You had played earlier. | You hadn't seen me. | Had you seen me? | Who had you seen? |
| He had left for work. | He hadn't left for work. | Had he left for work? | When had he left? |
| She had finished the housework | She hadn't finished the housework. | Had she finished working? | Why had she finished the housework? |
| It had just stopped raining. | It hadn't stopped raining. | Had it stopped raining when the game started? | When had it stopped raining? |
| We had eaten before you came. | We hadn't eaten for hours. | Had you eaten since breakfast? | How long since you had eaten? |
| They had driven home before we got there. | They hadn't arrived when the band started. | Had they arrived when the band started? | When had you arrived? |
To practise the past perfect tense, click below.
To learn when to use the past perfect simple tense, click here.
