The past perfect tense is used to talk about actions that were completed before something else in the past. It can show that something occurred before another past action or express that something happened before a specific time in the past. The past perfect is also used to indicate that something started in the past and continued up until another past action. It is formed using "had" plus the past participle of the main verb.

1. PAST PERFECT TENSE
Had + Past Participle verbs

2. HOW DO WE USE IT?
 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:
She only understood
the movie because she
had read the book.
I had never seen such a
beautiful sunset before
I went to Hawaii.

4. USE 2: DURATION BEFORE SOMETHING IN
THE PAST
We can also use the past perfect to show hat something
started in the past and continued up until another action
in the past.

5. EXAMPLES:
We had owned this car for 10
years before it finally died.
They had been married for 5
years when they had their first
child

6. STRUCTURE OFTHE PAST PERFECT
He had already left when she called

7. FORM: HAD +VERB PAST PARTICIPLE
Affirmative
 Had + verb past participle
After Sophie had finished her work, she
went to lunch.
Harold had known about it for a while.
After she had moved out, I found her
notes.
Negative
 Had not + verb (past participle)
Or
 Hadn’t + verb (past participle)
 I had not eaten at that restaurant
before today.
 Samantha hadn’t had time to explain
her side of the story.
 My friends hadn’t ever gone to
France.

8. YOURTURN
 After the company _____Joe, he began to work on his first project. (hire)
 _____you _______ the news before you saw it onTV? (hear)
 Michael didn’t want to see the movie because he _______ the book yet. (not read)
 The concert ______ already _______when we _______ the stadium. (begin/ enter)
 Until Anne ________ Mark, she ____ never ______in love. (meet, be)
 Bill __________ for years before he finally _______. (smoke/ quit)
 _______ Sara ever _______to London by herself before then? (drive)
 How many fish ______ the boys _____ by the time it started raining? (catch)
 You ________ them to go to the beach, hadn’t you? (forbid)
 The girls _______ in weeks.That’s why they ______ so much afterwards. (exercisef / hurt)