Past Perfect Tense
The Past Perfect is a common tense in English. You should understand it, and know it well.
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How do We Use this Tense?
PERFECT here means "complete, finished".The Past Perfect is a form of the verb that shows the action was complete before some time in the past.
It does not mean the action was "perfect" (100%). It means the action was finished.
Here
are the
different usages of this tense:
- An action that happened before a specific time in the past
-
A state that started in the past, and continued up to some time
in the past
Note: this is a broader use of this tense.
It is usually used with states, not actions.
For example: Kate had sold her apartment before she moved to New York.
The action closest to the present is in the Simple Past, and the action that came before it is in the Past Perfect.
Make sure you also read:
Past Perfect Tense, Common Uses with Examples
Examples of Typical Time ExpressionsAn action that happened
before another action in the past
(The verbs are
in bold)
He studied so much because he had
received a lot of homework.
He had seen
the ball before he hit it.
They had practiced before they did it.
He had worked very hard before he finally won.
She said she had bought the hat in Paris.
An action that happened before
a specific time in the past
They had already scored before the 9
o'clock break.
He had finished building
his house before 1999.
She had never played basketball before 2002.
A state that
started in the past,
and continued up to some time in the past
He had liked her before this happened.
She had wanted a cat, but received a fish.
The report had been
ready before you spilled the coffee!
He had been
healthy until he started overeating.
He had owned a car for 5 years before he switched to bicycle.
Examples of
Typical Time Expressions
- Just
- Already
- Yet
- Ever
- Never
- once
- 3 times
- before
- until then
- in 1974
- since
- for
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