Past Perfect Tense is translated as "past perfect tense".

We use this tense to say that an action in the past has ended. to or before some time in the past.

For example:

When I watched the series, I went to bed.

What was the first action? First I watched the series, and then went to bed. That is by that time, When I went to bed, I already watched the series.

To show that the first action ended before the second happened, the Past Perfect must be used in the first part of the sentence.

In other words, we use the Past Perfect to show the sequence of actions, that is, what one past action happened before another.

Look at the picture:

That is, by the time I watched the movie (second act), I had already read the book (first act).

Bonus: Do you want to learn English tenses easily? Sign up and find out how easy it is to learn tenses and start speaking English in 1 month using the ESL method!

As you can see, it is not difficult to understand and remember this time. Now let's figure out how to form such sentences correctly.

Formation of the Past Perfect tense in English

The Past Perfect is formed using had(this is the past tense form of the verb have) and the past tense of the verb.

Verbs in the past tense

There are regular and irregular verbs in English. Depending on the verb, this form is formed as follows:

• if the verb is correct, then we add the ending -ed to it: cook - cooked, finish - finished.
• if the verb is irregular, then we put it in the 3rd form: do - done, eat - eaten

There is no rule by which one can determine the correct or irregular verb in front of us. The only way to find out is by looking it up in a dictionary or memorizing it.

The same is true for the forms of irregular verbs. They must be memorized or looked up in a dictionary.

Past Perfect Time Formation Scheme:

Actor + had + regular -ed verb or 3rd form of an irregular verb

I
You
We		done
They	had	worked
She		played
He
It

Important: Usually The past perfect is used in complex two-part sentences. Moreover, we use the Past Perfect in the part of the sentence that refers to the action that happened first (before the other).

In another part, the time is most often used Past simple - past simple.

The two parts of the sentence are connected by the words:

after- after
before- before
when- when
by the time- by that time

She had done her homework before he called.
She had done her homework before he called.

After they had eaten breakfast they went to work.
After breakfast, they went to work.

Abbreviations

We can abbreviate had in a sentence. It will look like this:

had = 'd

I 'd cooked dinner when they arrived.
I cooked dinner when they arrived.

Negative sentences in Past Perfect in English

To make the sentence negative, you need to add the negative particle not to the auxiliary verb had.

The outline of such a proposal would be:

Actor + had + not + regular -ed verb or 3rd form of an irregular verb

I
You
We			done
They	had	not	worked
She			played
He
It

He had not worked before he graduated from an university.
He didn't work until he graduated from university.

We had not read the book before we went to bed.
We didn't read this book before we went to bed.

Reduction

We can abbreviate had and not as follows:

had + not = hadn't

For example:

I hadn't called him before he wrote me.
I didn't call him before he texted.

Interrogative sentences with Past Perfect in English

To form an interrogative sentence, you need to put the auxiliary verb had in the first place. The outline of such a proposal would be:

Had + character + regular -ed verb or 3rd form of an irregular verb?

	I
	you
	we	done?
Had	they	worked?
	she	played?
	he
	it

Had they finished work before they left?
Did they finish work before leaving?

Had he drunk coffee before he went to work?
Did he drink coffee before he went to work?

So, we have analyzed the theory, and now let's move on to practice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. I watched TV after reading a book.
2. She had breakfast before going to school.
3. They got married before they bought a house.
4. When the rain stopped, we went for a walk.
5. We went to the cinema after we had dinner.
6. He went home after finishing work.

The palette of the English system of times is simply replete with diversity. Some of the shades shine brighter, some dimmer. One of the most saturated can be called Past Perfect. How, with the help of grammatical constructions and the lexical diversity of this tense, to make speech expressive?

The past completed tense, as Russian-speaking “students” often call it, carries a certain sense of completeness. In other words, for example, when describing an event, we often make comments about what happened before the main action. “When my mother came, I already fell asleep” - in this sentence there are two past tenses - “came”, “fell asleep”. Which one happened first? The second means that we will express it Past Perfect.

Education

This form is one of the simplest. Yes, you will need an auxiliary verb. "had" + V 3 or Ved. Remember that all verbs in English can be grouped into regular and irregular. The latter have 3 forms, which, well, what to do, you have to learn by heart. All of them are placed in the table of irregular verbs. At this time, we need the 3rd column - V 3. If the verb is correct (it is not in the table), then we add the ending -ed.

I had worked. - work - the correct verb
I had taught. - teach is an irregular verb.

Let's take a closer look at the formation of all types of sentences in paste perfect using the example of to ask.

In writing, and in colloquial speech, abbreviated forms are often used, which facilitate the process of perception.

I had = I'd, you had = you'd, he had = he'd
had not = hadn't

I had written a composition by six o'clock. = I'd written a composition by six o'clock. I had written the composition by 6 o'clock.

I had not written a composition by six o'clock. = I hadn't written a composition by six o'clock. I had not written an essay by 6 o'clock.

As you can see, there is nothing terrible and difficult in education. It is worth remembering once that in the question had is placed before the subject, and in negation not is added to this auxiliary verb. It is important to remember that had is not translated.

Using The Past Perfect Tense

This time is not difficult in terms of use, if you only clearly understand the situations of its use. Some sentences often use signal words such as just, already, never, yet.

1. The action ended before another event in the past. The sentence can be complex (consist of two), one of which (dependent) is introduced by the unions when, before, after, or simple, in which the preposition by is used as an indicator of the end of the action.

• With the help of prepositions by the end of the year, by 3 o'clock, by Monday, by the time, before, after.

They had finally got their long-awaited pay rise by the end of the year. By the end of the year, they finally got the long-awaited pay raise.

Before he opened the door, he had called his sister. — Before he opened the door, he called his sister.

By that time they had finished their work. By that time they had already finished the work.

• Structures often used no sooner ... than (as soon as), hardly ... when (hardly, as), scarcely ... when (as soon as, so immediately), barely ... when (barely, like), which, by their meaning, can transform the sentence (inversion). As a rule, they are emotional in nature.

I had scarcely opened the window when the wind came blowing in. - As soon as I opened the window, the wind immediately began to blow.

Jack had no sooner arrived than he was told to come back. - Jack did not have time to arrive, as he was told to return.

• If there is no signal word in the sentence, then you will have to carefully read the context .

I tried to pnone Ann this morning. But there was no answer. She had gone out. I tried to call Anna this morning. But, there was no answer. She's already gone.

The rules for Past Perfect distinguish the following context patterns, remembering which it will be easier for you to use the desired form.

a. After designs: this/that/it was, the first/second/only/ best/ worst time smth happend:

It was the second serious mistake he had made in that job. — It was his second serious mistake he made in his work.

Those were the first things she had bought since Chrismas. It was the first thing she bought since Christmas.

B. With verbs that convey hope, plan, expectation, intention (but not fulfilled).

I had intended to visit a museum, but I ran out of time. I was going to visit the museum, but I didn't have enough time.

C. In indirect speech, with verbs such as say, tell, ask, inform, wonder. Moreover, Past Perfect is used in the subordinate clause.

I wondered if Jim had a chance to discuss the problem with them. I asked if Jim had the opportunity to discuss this problem with them.

2. An action that started before another action but is still ongoing. Here, stative verbs or, as they are also called, non continuous verbs are often used. All the little secrets of these verbs are revealed in the article "".

I knew he had been married for nearly 50 years ago. I knew that he got married about 50 years ago.

George made no answer and we found that he had fallen asleep for some time. George didn't answer and we found that he had been asleep for some time.

How to distinguish Past Perfect from other tenses?

past perfect	past simple	Present Perfect
When the sequence of actions is violated (action precedes). Before I ate, I played and slept. The verb in the main clause in the Past Simple	Everything goes in order (actions are performed chronologically) Played, slept, ate.	When the action in the main clause is in the present
Was Ann at home when he came? No, she had already gone to work. Was Anya at home when he came? No, she already left for work (first she left, then he came)	Was Ann at home when he came? Yes, but she went to work soon. Was Anya at home when he came? Yes, but soon she left for work. (He came, then left - actions one after another)
I wasn't thirsty. I had drunk a cup of tea. - I didn't want to drink. I just had a cup of tea.		I' m not thirsty. I' ve just drunk a cup of tea. - I don't want to drink. I just had a cup of tea.
His car was dirty. He hadn't washed it for weeks. Yesterday he cleaned it. — His car was so dirty. He hasn't washed her in weeks. He washed it yesterday.		His car is dirty. He hasn't washed it for weeks. — His car is so dirty. He hasn't washed her in weeks.

According to the rules for the Past Perfect, this tense can be used in the passive voice. All uses Past Perfect Passive the same, but the shape of the structure is slightly different. The negative and the question are built according to the same principle as in the active voice (after had - not, and auxiliary ch. had before lying)

I + had + been + V3 (Ved)

He (she, it) + had + been + V3 (Ved)

You + had + been + V3 (Ved)

They + had + been + V3 (Ved)

We + had + been + V3 (Ved)

I had been introduced to his friends before. “I was introduced to his friends earlier.

By three o'clock the dinner had been cooked. By 3 o'clock dinner was ready.

This article had been translated when they phoned. The article was translated when they called.

Well, as you can see, Past Perfect grammar is not too difficult. You look at the sentence, determine which of the actions happened first, and put in the correct form. If you learn how to use this time correctly, then believe me, you can tell any story or just retell the story in English without any problems.

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past perfect tense, sometimes it is called the past, refers to those English tenses that do not have exact analogues in Russian. To better understand the meaning of the Past Perfect, you can draw a parallel with the Present Perfect.

past perfect- This is an analogue of Present Perfect, only for the past. If in the Present Perfect the action has taken place by now, then in the Past Perfect - by some point in the past. This moment in the past can be expressed by another past action, which can be mentioned in a subordinate clause, or indicated in a separate sentence, as well as an adverb of time. It is often translated into Russian by the perfect past tense verb what did you do?

Past Perfect Education

Basic meaning of Past Perfect

Very often in sentences with a verb in the Past Perfect one can find characteristic adverbs and circumstances of time, namely:

Sentence examples

By the time they were rescued they had already spent three days without food and water. By the time they were rescued, they had already gone 3 days without food or water. I knew about the accident because I had watched the news the night before. I knew about the incident because watched the news last night.

Sentence examples

I had learned to read before I went to school. I learned to read before I went to school. When we arrived at the cinema the film had already started. When we arrived at the cinema, the film had already begun.

Sentence examples The Vikings had sailed to North America a thousand years ago. The Vikings sailed to North America thousands of years ago. The Chinese had built the Great Wall over two thousand years ago. The Chinese built the Great Wall of China about two thousand years ago. 2. past perfect used in indirect speech Sentence examples Sally said that she had lost her keys. Sally said she lost her keys. Martin replied that he had tried to call Dave the day before. Martin replied that he had tried to call Dave the day before. 3. past perfect should also be used in conditional sentences of the third type (unreal, implied condition referring to the past). Sentence examples If I had heard the weather forecast I would have taken an umbrella. If I had heard the weather forecast, I would have taken an umbrella. If we had taken the map, we wouldn't have got lost in the mountains. If we took a map, we would not get lost in the mountains. 4. Also past perfect used in sentences I wish, if only to express regret about something in the past. Sentence examples I wish I had sent her a birthday present. Too bad I didn't send her a birthday present. If only I hadn't spent so much money! If only I hadn't spent so much money! Now watch the video on Past Perfect:

How to get out of the past and return to the earlier past? It is not a time machine that comes to the rescue, as one might think initially, but a solution that is much simpler and more interesting at the same time: Past Perfect Simple time - Past Perfect, which is studied in grades 6-7.

General information

There are three tenses in English: Past (past), Present (present) and Future (future). In this regard, the Russian language is in solidarity with its brother. But there are also disagreements between them - temporary forms. Depending on what kind of action we have before us - regular, long-term or completed, four aspects are distinguished in each of the three times: Simple (Simple), Continuous (Long), Perfect (Perfect), Perfect Continuous (Long Perfect).

Today, the focus is on the rules for using Past Perfect Simple - Past Perfect Tense.

Past Perfect rules and examples

If it seems that the work is easy to do, then it certainly turns out to be difficult. Conversely, complex problems always have simple solutions. This unwritten rule also applies to the Past Perfect. It is not as complicated as it seems. The first thing to remember is that this time is never used on its own. It always "works" cohesively, side by side with another action in the past, and indicates that the action expressed by it happened before another action or before a certain time. Consider two examples:

• We came to the bus stop and the bus left - We came to the bus stop and the bus left.
• We came to the bus stop, but the bus had left - We came to the bus stop, but the bus left.

Before using this or that temporary form, it is necessary to understand what happened first and what happened second, or two actions happened simultaneously. In the first case, we managed to get on the bus we needed and use Past Simple (Simple Past), i.e. the events in this sentence happened sequentially one after another. In the second example, we were late and missed the bus we needed - it had already left. In other words, the action happened before we arrived, and therefore the Past Perfect form is used here.

Use cases

There are other less common cases of using the past perfect tense:

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• To explain what happened : the action expressed by the verb-predicate in the Past Perfect is the "culprit" of what happened later (He was not able to buy a new book as he had lost his credit car - He could not buy a new book because he lost his credit card)
• To describe your past experiences (By the time I bought my new flat I had worked hard for several years - By the time I bought my new flat, I had worked hard for several years).

Time markers

Past Perfect time markers include the following circumstances, conjunctions and prepositions:

• By the time - by the time (By the time they came home, my mother had baked an apple pie - By the time they got home, mine had baked an apple pie);
• After - after a certain moment (She fell asleep after I had left her - She fell asleep after I left her);
• Before - until a certain point (She had never been to London before she came here last month - She had never been to London the way she came here last month);
• When - when (The train had left when he arrived at the station - The train left when it arrived at the station);
• Just - just now (When she entered the room I had just heard the news - When she entered the room, I just heard the news);
• Already - already (I had already finished with my dinner when he knocked on the door - I had already cooked dinner when he knocked on the door);
• Yet - more (She moved to another city but she had not told her parents about it yet - She moved to another city, but has not yet told her parents about it);
• For - during (He thought that he was not able to drive a car anymore because he had not driven it for 20 years - He thought that he could no longer drive a car, because he had not driven it for 20 years)
• Since - since (Her new book was wonderful because she had worked on it since last year - Her new book was wonderful because she had been working on it since last year).

Adverbs yet (yet), just (just now), already (already) are a common feature for the two tenses Present Perfect (Present Perfect) and Past Perfect (Past Perfect).

Formation of the affirmative form

The temporary form Past Perfect (Past Perfect) is formed according to a certain pattern: had + Participle II(Past participle or third form of the verb). Regular verbs form Participle II (Past Participle) with the ending - ed: to use - used (use - used). If the verb belongs to the group of irregular verbs, then the required form must be taken from the third column of the table of irregular verbs: I had opened (I opened), she had studied (she taught), we had bought (we bought).

Negation

The negative form Past Perfect (Past Perfect) is formed with the help of a negative particle not (not), which is placed between the auxiliary verb had and Participle II(Past participle):

I had not opened (I did not open), she had not studied (she did not teach), we had not bought (we did not buy).

Question

In an interrogative sentence in English, the word order changes. In the time Past Perfect (Past Perfect) in the question, the auxiliary verb comes first had, followed by the subject (pronoun or noun) and the main verb expressed by Participle II (Past Participle):

Had I opened? (did I open?), Had she studied? (did she teach?), had we bought? (we bought?).

In special questions, the scheme is preserved with the only difference - in the first place are interrogative words (Who? - Who?; What? - What?; Which? - What?; When? - When?; Where? - Where?; Where? - Where? ; Why? - Why?; How? - How?; How much / many? - How much?): What had I opened? (What did I discover?), Where had she studied? (Where did she go to school?), When had we bought? (When did we buy?).

What have we learned?

Today we got acquainted with the Past Perfect (Past Perfect), which is one of the tense forms of the past tense in English, and denotes an action in the past that preceded another action in the past. We also learned about its features, when it is used in a sentence and with what time markers.

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As we know, the British love order in everything, and the English language is no exception. In their opinion, each action should have its own order. In Russian, we use the same tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then return to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman will never tolerate such "chaos" in his speech. If he forgot about an important event that happened before everyone else, then he will report it in a specially designated time for this called Past Perfect. About him today and will be discussed. C "mon!

What is Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tense is the past perfect tense. We usually use it to talk about an action that ended at or before some point in the past.

For example: When he read the book, he went to bed.

What was the first action? First he read a book and then went to bed. That is, by the time he went to bed, he had already read the book. To show that the first action ended before the second happened, in the first part of the sentence, you need to use the Past Perfect - “When he had read the book, he went to bed.” In other words, we use the Past Perfect to show the sequence of actions, that is, that one action in the past happened before another.

How Past Perfect is formed (formulas + examples)

• Statement. The predicate in the Past Perfect consists of two parts: the auxiliary verb " had" and third form of main verb(to the correct verb we add the ending "- ed", and we take the form of the wrong one from the third column of the table of irregular verbs).

• Negation. In a negative sentence between the auxiliary verb " had"and the main verb appears particle" not».

As in many other tenses, the Past Perfect has abbreviated forms that are used in colloquial speech. AT affirmative sentence " had» unites With pronoun, in negative- with particle " not". For example:

I'd come.
You'd finished.
I hadn't come.
You hadn't finished.

• Question. An interrogative sentence begins with the auxiliary verb " had", followed by subject and main verb.

Past Perfect Marker Words

If the sentence contains the following words, then it refers to the Past Perfect Tense:

by- to;
hardly… when / no sooner… than- as soon as, barely, I did not have time;
after- after;
earlier- earlier, before - before;
first- first;
when- when;
just- just now;
already- already;
yet- already, not yet.

Past Perfect marker table

Marker	Example	Translation
by	Unfortunately, most of the audience hadn't stayed by the end of the play.	Unfortunately, by the end of the performance, most of the audience left.
hardly...when	Hardly had they crossed the road when the accident happened.	As soon as they crossed the road, an accident happened.
no sooner… than	No sooner he had came in than he heard congratulations and his friends gathered around him.a	As soon as he entered, he heard congratulations and friends gathered around him.
after	After boy had done his hometask he went out to play football with his friends.	After the boy did his homework, he went for a walk.
earlier	She knew how to cook a cake because she had made it earlier.	She knew how to bake a cake because she had made it before.
before	James easily won this game because he had played it many times before.	James played the game easily as he had played it many times before.
first	First we had taken all our bags, then understood that we forgot our tickets on the table.	At first we took things, and then we realized that we forgot the tickets on the table.
when	John had sat to work when his boss called for him.	John sat down to work when his boss called him.
just	I just had sat to have lunch when my friend called me.	I had just sat down to have lunch when my friend called me.
already	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and told that she bought a cake too.	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and said that she also bought a cake.
yet	I hadn't served the table yet when the guests came.	I had not yet set the table when the guests arrived.

Cases of using Past Perfect:

• The Past Perfect shows an action that happened before another action or a specific moment in the past. Another action in the past is most often indicated by Past Simple, and special words can be used: “ by"(to some time/moment)," after" (after), " before"(before, before)," when" (when), " earlier" (before), " first» (at first, at first).

Before Anna called her husband she had finished all the work. Before Anna called her husband, she finished all the work.

Nota bene: if actions are put in chronological okay, then you need to use Past Simple:

Anna finished all work and called her husband. - Anna finished all the work and (then) called her husband (chronological order).

• The Past Perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed by the Past Perfect has become cause that another action has taken place.

He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He hasn't eaten in eight hours.

She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card. She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes because she lost her credit card.

• The Past Perfect is used after " if» in conditional sentences of the third type ( third conditional). This type of conditional shows regret about the past. We could do something in the past if we fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.

If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. - If I knew about your problem, I would help you.
If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. - If you read the morning paper, you would agree with me.

• Past Perfect is used in constructions " hardly … when" and " no sooner … than". These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use back order words, as in the question. Such sentences are translated into Russian with the help of the words "as soon as ...", "I did not have time ...", "I barely ...".

Hardly had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. - As soon as the plane landed at Miami airport, it started to rain.
No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. - Before I could chew my sandwich, someone knocked on the door.

• Enumeration of actions in the past that happened before the time of the story generally:

I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog had scratched furniture, had torn the wallpapers and had eaten my lunch on the table. - I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog ​​scratched the furniture, tore the wallpaper and ate my dinner on the table.

Education Past Perfect Passive

Like most times, Past Perfect has passive construction .

• Statement: subject + had been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].

The test had been finished by the end of the day.- The test was completed by the end of the day.
The picture had been painted by the Monday. - The picture was drawn by Monday.

Negation: subject + had + not + been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].

The test had not been finished by the end of the day. - The test was not completed by the end of the day.
The bicycle had not been repaired by 2 o'clock. - The bike had not been repaired by two o'clock.

Question: had + subject + been + verb 3 shapes + [by object]?

Had the questions been discussed before the exam?- Were the questions discussed before the exam?
Had the picture been painted by the Monday?- The picture was drawn by Monday?

Present Perfect vs Past Perfect

Very often, when translating from Russian into English, you can get confused in choosing the right time, because they both have similar features. Let's look at the table to get rid of doubts about the differences between Present Perfect and Past Perfect.

Difference between Present Perfect and Past Perfect

Indicates that the action expressed by the Present Perfect time has completed by now or in the present time period: The shopping center has just opened. - The mall just opened.	Indicates that the action expressed by the Past Perfect time happened before another action or a certain moment in the past: We came to the office, but the administrator had already gone away. - We came to the office, and the administrator had already left.
Shows that the action happened in the past, it is unknown and no matter when exactly, but its result is visible in the present: He knows her name. They have already met. - He knows her name. They have already met.	Shows that an action happened in the past and became the cause, led to the fact that another action happened in the past: My brother felt hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday. - My brother was hungry. He hasn't eaten since yesterday.

Nota bene: We recommend that you read a little theory again and complete the task in our online simulatorso that you never again have doubts about using Past Perfect.

Conclusion

So, today we examined the forms of formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect, both in the active and in the passive voice. We remembered which markers you should pay attention to, and figured out how not to confuse the Present Perfect and Past Perfect with each other. But the most important thing to remember is that next to the Past Perfect there should be one more action in the past.

We offer you to get acquainted with other tenses of the English language

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