This document discusses the past perfect tense, including its form and usage. The past perfect tense is used to indicate that an action was completed before another past action. It is formed using "had" plus the past participle. The past perfect tense is used to show the sequence of past events, in reported speech where the original statement was in the simple past or present perfect, and to avoid confusion with the present perfect or past simple tenses.

1. Sentence Synthesis &
Transformation
PAST
PERFECT
TENSE

2. The Perfect Tense Family
The PERFECT form of the verb phrase contains
'has'/'have'/'had' + past participle
For example,
has eaten, have worked (present perfect tense)
had slept (past perfect tense)
The PERFECT tense refers to something which
happened before or leading up to another time or
event : it is retrospective (looking backward)

3. past now
1 2
The Present Perfect relates to a happening in the past that
continues to the present (and will perhaps continue beyond
the present into the future).
E.g. "I've been here since yesterday." ("I'm still here now.")
Present Perfect Tense
future
present perfect

4. past past
1 2
We use the Past Perfect to show one happening in the
past (marked 1 above)[expressed by the Past Perfect]
happened before another happening in the past
(marked 2 above) [expressed by Past Simple].
E.g. He had been elected before he became President (in 1990).
Past Perfect Tense
now future
past perfect simple past

5. Form of Past Perfect Tense [1]
The active form of this tense is made with
'had' + a past participle
e.g. When we arrived at Ali's home, we
found that he had gone to visit his relatives.

6. Other Forms of
Past Perfect Tense [2]
Past Perfect Continuous
I'd been singing I had been dancing
Past Perfect Passive
She'd been caught He had been arrested

7. Perfect Tense in
To-Infinitive & -ING Clauses
TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
E.g. I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble.
OR
HAVING + PAST PARTICIPLE
E.g. Having read all your books, I have been
longing to meet you.

8. When To Use the
Past Perfect Tense (1)
Past Perfect Tense is used to show
which of the two past actions
happened first
It shows the Sequence of Actions

9. Example 1
James fell ill after he had eaten some
unwashed fruit.
What happened first ?
He had eaten unwashed fruit.
What happened next?
He fell ill.

10. Example 2
After he had taken some medicine, he
began to feel better.
What happened first ?
He had taken some medicine.
What happened next ?
He began to feel better.

11. When to Use the
Past Perfect Tense (2)
Used in reported (indirect) speech
and
questions, when a verb in the original
(direct) speech was in the Simple
Past or Present Perfect Tense

12. Reported Speech
Example 1
The girl said, "I have lost my wallet."
(DIRECT SPEECH)
The girl told us (that) she had lost her
wallet.
(REPORTED SPEECH)

13. Reported Speech
Example 2
The eye-witness said, "The driver of the
yellow car did not stop at the traffic lights."
(DIRECT SPEECH)
The eye-witness said that the driver of the
yellow car had not stopped at the traffic
lights.
(REPORTED SPEECH)

14. Reported Speech
Example 3
"Where did you find the books?" the
teacher asked Mei Mei.
(DIRECT SPEECH IN QUESTION FORM)
The teacher asked Mei Mei where she
had found the books.
(REPORTED SPEECH)

15. COMMON ERRORS
The Past Perfect can be confused with the Present
Perfect or Past Simple.
Remember, the Past Perfect relates two different
times in the past, whereas the Present Prefect
relates to a time in the past to the present.
A guard helped me out of the pool, I have almost drowned
in the water. (Present Perfect) 

... I had almost drowned...(Past Perfect)
Last year, we had visited New York. (Past Perfect)
... we visited New York.(Past Simple)
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