Tenses · Upper-intermediate (B2)
Past perfect
The past before the past: When I arrived, the film had already started.
The rules
Form: had + past participle: I had eaten. She hadn’t seen it. Had they left? Continuous: had been + -ing (I had been waiting for an hour).
Use: to show that one past action happened before another past action or time: When we got to the station, the train had left. Compare: When we got there, the train left (= it left as we arrived).
Common with already, just, never, by the time, after, before: By the time I was 20, I had lived in four countries. Also in reported speech and third conditionals.
Examples
- I had never flown before that trip.
- She was upset because she had lost her wallet.
- By 2010 they had opened five shops.
- After we had finished dinner, we went for a walk.
Common mistakes
✗ When I arrived, she already left.
✓ When I arrived, she had already left.
The earlier action needs the past perfect.
✗ I had went there before.
✓ I had gone there before.
Use the past participle.
Practice
I didn’t go to the cinema because I ___ the film.
Quiz
1.When I woke up, it ___ snowing.
2.Complete the sentence.
3.The past perfect shows an action before another past action.
4.Put the words in the right order.