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Past Perfect

 



Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense describes a completed activity in the past. It is used to emphasize that an action was completed before another action took place. For example:

  • John had baked a cake before you arrived.
  • They had painted the fence before I had a chance to speak to them.



More Examples of the Past Perfect Tense


Here are some more examples of the past perfect tense (shaded):
  • Silverfinger had taken the pill before the team reached him.
    • (First: He took the pill. Next: The team reached him.)
  • I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
    • (First: I called the police. Next: I investigated the noise.)
  • The weather changed, but the team had planned its next move.
    • (First: The team planned. Next: The weather changed.)

Forming the Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is formed:
"had"
 + 
[past participle]
  • I had jumped
  • I had met

Forming the Past Participle (Regular Verbs)


If it's a regular verb, the past participle is the same as the simple past tense. In other words, it is formed like this:

Add "ed" to most verbs:
  • jump > jumped
  • paint > painted

If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add "ed":
  • chat > chatted
  • stop > stopped

If the final consonant is "w," "x" or "y," don't double it:
  • sew > sewed
  • play > played
  • fix > fixed

If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add "ed":
  • incur > incurred
  • prefer > preferred

If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], just add "ed":
  • open > opened
  • enter > entered
  • swallow > swallowed

If the verb ends "e," just add "d":
  • thrive > thrived
  • guzzle > guzzled

If the verb ends [consonant + "y"], change the "y" to an "i" and add "ed":
  • cry > cried
  • fry > fried

Forming the Past Participle (Irregular Verbs)


If it's an irregular verb, the past participle is formed in all sorts of different ways. Here are some examples:
  • arise > arisen
  • catch > caught
  • choose > chosen
  • know > known

You just have to learn them.

Read more about irregular verbs (includes a list of the most common irregular verbs).

The Negative Version


If you need the negative version, you can use the following construction:
"had not"
 + 
[past participle]
  • Silverfinger had not taken the pill before the team reached him.
  • I had not called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
  • The weather changed, and the team had not planned its next move.
Remember that "had not" is sometimes written as the contraction "hadn't."

The Question Version


If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:
"had"
 + 
[subject]
 + 
[past participle]
  • Had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?
  • Had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?
You can use the following word order for a question-word question:
[question word]
 + 
"had"
 + 
[subject]
 + 
[past participle]
  • Why had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?
  • Where had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?

Using Contractions

Don't forget that in speech and writing (especially informal writing), you will encounter the following contractions:
  • I had > I'd
  • You had > You'd
  • He had > He'd
  • She had > She'd
  • It had > It'd
  • We had > We'd
  • They had > They'd
Also, for the negative version, you will commonly see "hadn't" instead of "had not."


Exercises – Past Perfect Simple

Fill in the correct form of the past perfect simple or past simple as in the examples.

  1. After Loren had turned on the alarm, she locked the door. (turn on)
  2. By the time Simone arrived, the police had already left. (arrive)
  3. Had you known about the contract they signed? (know)
  1. After the company _____Joe, he began to work on his first project. (hire)
  2. _____you _______ the news before you saw it on TV? (hear)
  3. Michael didn’t want to see the movie because he _______ the book yet. (not read)
  4. The concert ______ already _______when we _______ the stadium. (begin/ enter)
  5. Until Anne ________ Mark, she ____ never ______in love. (meet, be)
  6. Bill __________ for years before he finally _______. (smoke/ quit)
  7. _______ Sara ever _______to London by herself before then? (drive)
  8. How many fish ______ the boys _____ by the time it started raining? (catch)
  9. You ________ them to go to the beach, hadn’t you? (forbid)
  10. The girls _______ in weeks? That’s why they ______ so much afterwards. (exercise / hurt)

Answers:

  1. had hired
  2. Had/heard
  3. hadn’t read
  4. had/begun/entered
  5. met/had/been
  6. had smoked/quit
  7. Had/driven
  8. had/caught
  9. had forbidden
  10. hadn’t exercised / hurt

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