2. FUNCTIONS OF THE PAST PERFECT
• The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make
it clear that one event happened before another in the past. It does not
matter which event is mentioned first - the tense makes it clear which one
happened first.
3. The past perfect tense is most often used for the
following:
a. For actions that happened before a past event
b. In reported speech
c. In if (conditional) sentences
4. a. For actions that happened before a past event
When we want to talk about an action that happened before a past event,
we often use the past perfect. Look at these examples:
o When I got home yesterday, my father had already cooked dinner.
o I didn't want to go to the movies with my friends because I had seen the
film already.
o My friend offered me an apple in class yesterday, but I wasn't hungry
because I had just eaten lunch.
o I arrived very late at the party. All my friends had already gone home.
o As soon as she had done her homework, she went to bed.
o I was very tired as I hadn't slept well for several days.
o Had you seen the film before?
Notice how often words like already, just, never etc. are used with the past
perfect.
5. b. In reported speech
The past perfect is common when we report people's words or thoughts ..,
as in the following examples:
o John said that he had never eaten sushi before.
o She told me that she had finished, but I knew she had not.
o She wondered why he had been so unkind to her.
o He told me he hadn't done his homework, but he was hoping to finish it on
the bus.
o I thought I had sent her a birthday card, but I was wrong.
6. c. In if (conditional) sentences
The past perfect tense is used in unreal or hypothetical situations, as in the
following sentences:
o If I had known you were in Frankfurt, I would have called you. (but I didn't
know you were here so I didn't call you!)
o If I had had enough money, I would have bought you a better present. (but
I didn't have enough money.)
o I would have been very angry if you had laughed when I got the answer
wrong. (but you didn't laugh, so I wasn't angry.)
7. In these examples, Event A is the event that happened first and Event B is the second or more
recent event:
Event A Event B
John had gone out when I arrived in the office.
Event A Event B
I had saved my document before the computer crashed.
Event B Event A
When they arrived we had already started cooking.
Event B Event A
He was very tired because he hadn't slept well.
8. FORMING THE PAST PERFECT
The Past Perfect tense in English is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb to have (had)
+ the past participle of the main verb.
Subject had past participle
Affirmative
She had given
Negative
She hadn't asked.
Interrogative
Had they arrived?
Interrogative Negative
Hadn't you finished?
9. PAST PERFECT + JUST
'Just' is used with the past perfect to refer to an event that was only a short time earlier than before
now, e.g.
The train had just left when I arrived at the station.
She had just left the room when the police arrived.
I had just put the washing out when it started to rain.
10. Exercises
Past Perfect - Positive and Negative
Make the positive or negative past perfect simple
1) When I arrived at the cinema, the film …………… (start).
2) She …………… (live) in China before she went to Thailand.
3) After they ………….. (eat) the shellfish, they began to feel sick.
4) If you ……………. (listen) to me, you would have got the job.
5) Julie didn’t arrive until after I …………….. (leave).
6) When we ……………… (finish) dinner, we went out.
7) The garden was dead because it ………………….. (be) dry all summer.
8) He ………….. (meet) her somewhere before.
9) We were late for the plane because we ………….. (forget) our passports.
10) She told me she …………… (study) a lot before the exam.
11) The grass was yellow because it ………………. (not/rain) all summer.
12) The lights went off because we ……………. (not/pay) the electricity bill.
13) The children ………………. (not/do) their homework, so they were in trouble.
14) They ……………… (not/eat) so we went to a restaurant.
15) We couldn’t go into the concert because we ……………… (not/bring) our tickets.
