These slides will help you to understand the past perfect tense more easily and effectively . Learn better with us 

1. the
Past Perfect
tense
What is this tense . . .
. . . and when do we use it in English?
Prepared by: Junaid Iqbal

2. Meaning of Past Perfect:
~Use 1: Completed Action Before Something in the Past
•The Past Perfect expresses the idea that
something occurred before another action in
the past.
•It can also show that something happened
before a specific time in the past

3. Examples:
~Use 1: Completed Action Before
Something in the Past
1. She only understood the
movie because she had
read the book.
2. I had never seen such a
beautiful sunset before I
went to Hawaii.

4. Meaning of Past Perfect:
~Use 2: Duration Before Something in the Past
•We can also use the Past Perfect to show
that something started in the past and
continued up until another action in the past.

5. Examples:
~Use 2:
Duration Before Something in the Past
1. We had owned our car
for 10 years before it
finally died.
2. They had been married
for 5 years when they
had their first child.

6. Meaning of Past Perfect:
~Important Note:
Specific Times with the Past Perfect
•Unlike with the Present Perfect Tense, it is
possible to use specific time words or phrases
with the Past Perfect.
•Although this is possible, it is usually not
necessary.

7. Example:
~Specific Times:
Often, you can use the
simple past OR the past
perfect.
•She had visited the U.S.
once in 2000 before she
moved here in 2005.
2. She visited the U.S.
once in 2000 before she
moved here in 2005.

8. Past Perfect tense
How do we make the
present perfect tense
in English?
Can you think of the
grammar rule?

9. Form:
This grammar has 2 parts:

10. Negative Form:
had not + verb (past participle)
OR
hadn’t + verb (past participle)
Example:
The teacher hadn’t finished
correcting papers when the
students started to arrive.

11. The structure of the
past
:perfect tense is
subject
+
+
I
You
auxiliary
verb
had
had
main verb
finished
stopped
.my work
before
.me
- .to school
-
She
We
had
had
?
not gone
not .left
?arrived
?
Had
Had
you
they eaten ?dinner

12. Look at this
.example
After he had taken
his music lesson,
he made a
.telephone call

13. Ali had repaired
his car
before he went
.fishing

14. Make similar sentences using after and before.
Finish work-watch
TV
After I had finished
work , I watched TV
Before I watched TV , I
had finished my work.

15. Make similar sentences using by the time and as
soon as
Eat breakfast-go to school
By the time I went to school,I
had eaten my breakfast.
As soon as I had eaten my
breakfast, I went to school

16. Make similar sentences using by the time and as
soon as
Police arrive-thief escape
By the time the police arrived,
the thief had escaped.
As soon as the thief had
escaped , the police arrived.

17. :So it is correct to say
After he had finished the
meeting , he made a
.telephone call
Before he made a telephone
call , he had finished the
meeting.

18. More Practice:
Complete each sentence with the
past perfect form of the verb given.

19. Karen (finish)
making dinner by the time
her husband came home.
When I arrived at the store,
it (close)
already.

20. Eg:1) When I arrived at the cinema, the film [had
started] (start).
2) After they [ ](eat) the cake, they began to feel
sick.
3) The garden was dead because it [ ](be) dry all
summer.
4) The lights went off because we [
](not/pay) the electricity bill.
5) They [ ](not/eat) so we went to a restaurant.
6) When she went out to play, she [ ](do /
already)her homework.
7) The children collected the chestnuts that [
](fall)from the tree.
8 you [ ](not/study) for the test, so you were very
nervous.

21. The End