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fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M14.234 10.162L22.977 0h-2.072l-7.591 8.824L7.251 0H.258l9.168 13.343L.258 24H2.33l8.016-9.318L16.749 24h6.993zm-2.837 3.299l-.929-1.329L3.076 1.56h3.182l5.965 8.532l.929 1.329l7.754 11.09h-3.182z\"\u002F>",{"id":47,"title":48,"author":49,"body":50,"cefrLevel":635,"date":49,"description":636,"exercises":637,"extension":742,"faqs":743,"gcseTier":49,"intro":49,"language":756,"lastUpdated":49,"meta":757,"navigation":758,"path":759,"seo":760,"stem":761,"verbSlugs":49,"__hash__":762},"pages\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpast-perfect.md","Past perfect tense: had plus past participle, and when English actually needs it",null,{"type":51,"value":52,"toc":623},"minimark",[53,57,62,65,71,128,146,208,217,221,224,229,236,239,257,272,276,283,289,320,323,327,330,390,393,397,403,420,440,444,447,493,497,500,560,564,567,613],[54,55,56],"p",{},"The past perfect is the tense learners either never use or use everywhere. Both\nhabits come from the same misunderstanding: that it is simply a more past version\nof the past simple. It is not. The past perfect has one job, and it is a job of\norder, not of distance. It says that of two things in the past, this one came\nfirst.",[58,59,61],"h2",{"id":60},"how-to-form-the-past-perfect","How to form the past perfect",[54,63,64],{},"One auxiliary, one participle, no changes by person.",[54,66,67],{},[68,69,70],"strong",{},"had + past participle",[72,73,74,93],"table",{},[75,76,77],"thead",{},[78,79,80,84,87,90],"tr",{},[81,82,83],"th",{},"Subject",[81,85,86],{},"Auxiliary",[81,88,89],{},"Past participle",[81,91,92],{},"Example",[94,95,96,114],"tbody",{},[78,97,98,102,105,108],{},[99,100,101],"td",{},"I \u002F you \u002F he \u002F she \u002F it \u002F we \u002F they",[99,103,104],{},"had",[99,106,107],{},"finished",[99,109,110],{},[111,112,113],"em",{},"I had finished.",[78,115,116,118,120,123],{},[99,117,101],{},[99,119,104],{},[99,121,122],{},"gone",[99,124,125],{},[111,126,127],{},"She had gone.",[54,129,130,131,134,135,138,139,141,142,145],{},"That is genuinely all of it. Unlike the present perfect, there is no ",[111,132,133],{},"have"," and\n",[111,136,137],{},"has"," to choose between: everybody gets ",[111,140,104],{},". The past participle is the same\nform you already learned for the present perfect, so if you know ",[111,143,144],{},"gone, seen,\neaten, written, taken",", you know the past perfect too.",[147,148,149,166,177],"ul",{},[150,151,152,155,156,159,160,162,163],"li",{},[68,153,154],{},"Negative:"," ",[111,157,158],{},"not"," goes after ",[111,161,104],{},". ",[111,164,165],{},"I had not seen it. She hadn't arrived.",[150,167,168,155,171,173,174],{},[68,169,170],{},"Question:",[111,172,104],{}," goes first. ",[111,175,176],{},"Had you met before? Where had he gone?",[150,178,179,155,182,184,185,188,189,192,193,195,196,199,200,203,204,207],{},[68,180,181],{},"Short form:",[111,183,104],{}," contracts to ",[111,186,187],{},"'d"," in speech. ",[111,190,191],{},"I'd finished. They'd left.","\nCareful: ",[111,194,187],{}," is also short for ",[111,197,198],{},"would",", so it is the verb after it that tells\nyou which one you are hearing (",[111,201,202],{},"I'd gone"," = had; ",[111,205,206],{},"I'd go"," = would).",[54,209,210,211,216],{},"If you are shaky on the participles themselves, the list on the\n",[212,213,215],"a",{"href":214},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpresent-perfect","present perfect"," page is the same one.",[58,218,220],{"id":219},"the-one-job-a-past-before-the-past","The one job: a past before the past",[54,222,223],{},"Picture two points behind you. The past simple marks the nearer one. The past\nperfect marks anything that had already happened by the time you got there.",[54,225,226],{},[111,227,228],{},"When I arrived, the film had started.",[54,230,231,232,235],{},"Two past events. The film started first, my arrival came second, and the tenses\nalone tell you that. Swap them and the meaning changes completely: ",[111,233,234],{},"When I\narrived, the film started"," means I sat down and then it began.",[54,237,238],{},"That is the whole tense. Everything below is a variation on it.",[147,240,241,247,252],{},[150,242,243,246],{},[111,244,245],{},"She was tired because she had worked all night."," (Working came first.)",[150,248,249],{},[111,250,251],{},"By the time we reached the station, the train had gone.",[150,253,254],{},[111,255,256],{},"It was the first time I had eaten alone.",[54,258,259,260,263,264,267,268,271],{},"Notice the anchor in each one. A past perfect almost never stands by itself: it\nneeds a past-simple event, or a time expression like ",[111,261,262],{},"by the time"," or ",[111,265,266],{},"by 1990",",\nto be earlier than. A sentence like ",[111,269,270],{},"I had gone to the shop"," on its own leaves\nthe reader waiting for the other half.",[58,273,275],{"id":274},"when-you-do-not-need-it","When you do not need it",[54,277,278,279,282],{},"Here is the part most guides skip, and it is the reason so much learner writing\nis full of unnecessary ",[111,280,281],{},"hads",".",[54,284,285,288],{},[68,286,287],{},"If the order is already obvious, use the past simple."," English does not\nrequire the past perfect whenever two things happen in sequence. It uses it when\nthe sequence would otherwise be unclear.",[147,290,291,297,310],{},[150,292,293,296],{},[111,294,295],{},"I got up, made coffee and read the news."," Three events in the order given. No\npast perfect anywhere, and none wanted.",[150,298,299,155,302,305,306,309],{},[111,300,301],{},"After she finished work, she went home.",[111,303,304],{},"After"," has already fixed the order,\nso ",[111,307,308],{},"had finished"," adds nothing. It is not wrong, just heavy.",[150,311,312,315,316,319],{},[111,313,314],{},"Before the rain started, we got the washing in."," Same again: ",[111,317,318],{},"before"," does the\nwork.",[54,321,322],{},"So the test is not \"did this happen first?\" but \"would a reader get the order\nwrong without it?\" If the answer is no, leave it in the past simple.",[58,324,326],{"id":325},"past-perfect-vs-present-perfect","Past perfect vs present perfect",[54,328,329],{},"These two are the same shape with a different anchor, and swapping them is a\ncommon slip.",[72,331,332,342],{},[75,333,334],{},[78,335,336,339],{},[81,337,338],{},"Present perfect",[81,340,341],{},"Past perfect",[94,343,344,358,370,378],{},[78,345,346,352],{},[99,347,348,349],{},"Looks back from ",[68,350,351],{},"now",[99,353,354,355],{},"Looks back from a ",[68,356,357],{},"past moment",[78,359,360,365],{},[99,361,362],{},[111,363,364],{},"I have lost my keys.",[99,366,367],{},[111,368,369],{},"I had lost my keys.",[78,371,372,375],{},[99,373,374],{},"(So I cannot get in now.)",[99,376,377],{},"(So I could not get in then.)",[78,379,380,385],{},[99,381,382],{},[111,383,384],{},"She has never flown.",[99,386,387],{},[111,388,389],{},"She had never flown before that day.",[54,391,392],{},"Take any present perfect sentence, move the viewpoint into the past, and it\nbecomes a past perfect. That is the entire relationship between them.",[58,394,396],{"id":395},"the-past-perfect-continuous","The past perfect continuous",[54,398,399,400,282],{},"When the length of the earlier action is the point, use ",[68,401,402],{},"had been + -ing",[147,404,405,410,415],{},[150,406,407],{},[111,408,409],{},"She had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.",[150,411,412],{},[111,413,414],{},"We had been walking since morning, so our feet hurt.",[150,416,417],{},[111,418,419],{},"He was out of breath because he had been running.",[54,421,422,423,426,427,430,431,435,436,439],{},"Compare ",[111,424,425],{},"she had waited an hour"," (the wait is a completed block) with ",[111,428,429],{},"she had\nbeen waiting for an hour"," (you feel the hour). The continuous also explains\nvisible results: wet clothes, tired legs, a red face. As with the\n",[212,432,434],{"href":433},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpast-continuous","past continuous",", state verbs stay out of it:\n",[111,437,438],{},"I had known her for years",", never \"had been knowing\".",[58,441,443],{"id":442},"where-else-the-past-perfect-turns-up","Where else the past perfect turns up",[54,445,446],{},"Three structures need it as a matter of grammar, not choice.",[448,449,450,467,485],"ol",{},[150,451,452,155,455,458,459,462,463,282],{},[68,453,454],{},"The third conditional.",[111,456,457],{},"If I had known, I would have called."," The ",[111,460,461],{},"if","\nhalf is always past perfect. See\n",[212,464,466],{"href":465},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fconditional-sentences","conditional sentences",[150,468,469,472,473,476,477,480,481,282],{},[68,470,471],{},"Reported speech."," A past simple or present perfect in the original shifts\nback one step: ",[111,474,475],{},"\"I saw him\""," becomes ",[111,478,479],{},"she said she had seen him",". See\n",[212,482,484],{"href":483},"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Freported-speech","reported speech",[150,486,487,155,490],{},[68,488,489],{},"After it was the first \u002F second \u002F best time.",[111,491,492],{},"It was the first time she\nhad driven at night.",[58,494,496],{"id":495},"common-mistakes","Common mistakes",[54,498,499],{},"Ranked by how often they actually turn up.",[448,501,502,515,527,539,548],{},[150,503,504,155,507,510,511,514],{},[68,505,506],{},"Using it everywhere.",[111,508,509],{},"I had woken up, I had eaten breakfast and I had gone\nto work."," A plain sequence needs the past simple: ",[111,512,513],{},"I woke up, ate breakfast\nand went to work."," Overuse is far more common than underuse.",[150,516,517,155,520,523,524],{},[68,518,519],{},"The wrong half is earlier.",[111,521,522],{},"When the film had started, I arrived"," says the\nfilm waited for you. The earlier event takes the past perfect: ",[111,525,526],{},"When I\narrived, the film had started.",[150,528,529,155,532,535,536],{},[68,530,531],{},"Past simple instead of the participle.",[111,533,534],{},"I had went, she had did, they had\nsaw."," The past perfect needs the participle: ",[111,537,538],{},"gone, done, seen.",[150,540,541,155,544,547],{},[68,542,543],{},"Have instead of had.",[111,545,546],{},"When I arrived, the film has started."," Mixing a\npresent-perfect auxiliary into a past sentence breaks the timeline.",[150,549,550,155,553,556,557],{},[68,551,552],{},"Past perfect with a stated present time.",[111,554,555],{},"I had finished it today."," If the\ntime is now, you want the present perfect: ",[111,558,559],{},"I have finished it today.",[58,561,563],{"id":562},"practice","Practice",[54,565,566],{},"Choose the past simple or the past perfect. Answers are below.",[448,568,569,580,589,598,604],{},[150,570,571,572,576,577,579],{},"When we ",[573,574,575],"code",{},"___"," (get) home, somebody ",[573,578,575],{}," (break) a window.",[150,581,582,583,585,586,588],{},"She ",[573,584,575],{}," (not want) to see the film because she ",[573,587,575],{}," (see) it before.",[150,590,591,592,594,595,597],{},"He ",[573,593,575],{}," (open) the letter and ",[573,596,575],{}," (read) it.",[150,599,600,601,603],{},"By the time the doctor came, the child ",[573,602,575],{}," (fall) asleep.",[150,605,606,607,609,610,612],{},"After the rain ",[573,608,575],{}," (stop), we ",[573,611,575],{}," (walk) into town.",[54,614,615,618,619,622],{},[68,616,617],{},"Answers:"," 1. got ... had broken 2. did not want ... had seen 3. opened ...\nread (a plain sequence, so no past perfect) 4. had fallen 5. stopped ... walked\n(",[111,620,621],{},"after"," already fixes the order, so the past simple is enough)",{"title":624,"searchDepth":625,"depth":625,"links":626},"",2,[627,628,629,630,631,632,633,634],{"id":60,"depth":625,"text":61},{"id":219,"depth":625,"text":220},{"id":274,"depth":625,"text":275},{"id":325,"depth":625,"text":326},{"id":395,"depth":625,"text":396},{"id":442,"depth":625,"text":443},{"id":495,"depth":625,"text":496},{"id":562,"depth":625,"text":563},"B1","How the English past perfect works: had plus a past participle, the past-before-the-past job it does, when the past simple is enough, and the had been doing form.",[638,680,714],{"type":639,"instructions":640,"items":641},"which-one","Choose the past simple or the past perfect for each sentence.",[642,647,652,657,662,667,672,677],{"prompt":643,"answer":644,"options":645},"When we arrived, the film ___ .","had started",[644,646],"started",{"prompt":648,"answer":649,"options":650},"She ___ the door and went out.","opened",[649,651],"had opened",{"prompt":653,"answer":654,"options":655},"I could not get in because I ___ my key.","had lost",[654,656],"lost",{"prompt":658,"answer":659,"options":660},"He ___ me the truth an hour later.","told",[659,661],"had told",{"prompt":663,"answer":664,"options":665},"By the time she called, we ___ .","had left",[664,666],"left",{"prompt":668,"answer":669,"options":670},"They were hungry because they ___ nothing all day.","had eaten",[669,671],"ate",{"prompt":673,"answer":674,"options":675},"First I ___ the letter, then I read it.","found",[674,676],"had found",{"prompt":678,"answer":664,"options":679},"The house was cold. Somebody ___ a window open.",[664,666],{"type":681,"instructions":682,"items":683},"fill-blank","Put the verb into the past perfect.",[684,688,692,695,699,703,707,710],{"prompt":685,"answer":686,"hint":687},"The train ___ before we reached the station.","had gone","go",{"prompt":689,"answer":690,"hint":691},"She was sure she ___ him somewhere before.","had seen","see",{"prompt":693,"answer":308,"hint":694},"By nine o'clock they ___ their dinner.","finish",{"prompt":696,"answer":697,"hint":698},"I did not know his name because we ___ .","had not met","not meet",{"prompt":700,"answer":701,"hint":702},"The shop was closed. It ___ at six.","had closed","close",{"prompt":704,"answer":705,"hint":706},"He was cold because he ___ home in the rain.","had walked","walk",{"prompt":708,"answer":664,"hint":709},"When I woke up, the others ___ .","leave",{"prompt":711,"answer":712,"hint":713},"She could not pay. She ___ her money at home.","had forgotten","forget",{"type":715,"instructions":716,"pairs":717},"match","Match each opening to the half that says what happened first.",[718,721,724,727,730,733,736,739],{"left":719,"right":720},"When we got there,","the party had finished.",{"left":722,"right":723},"She was angry because","I had forgotten her birthday.",{"left":725,"right":726},"By the time the bus came,","we had waited an hour.",{"left":728,"right":729},"The room was clean because","somebody had washed the floor.",{"left":731,"right":732},"He could not drive home because","he had lost the car keys.",{"left":734,"right":735},"I did not eat with them because","I had eaten before.",{"left":737,"right":738},"The dog was dirty because","it had been in the field.",{"left":740,"right":741},"She knew the town well because","she had lived there as a child.","md",[744,747,750,753],{"q":745,"a":746},"What is the past perfect tense?","The past perfect shows that one past action happened before another past action. It is formed with had plus the past participle, and the form is the same for every person: I had finished, she had gone, they had left. Think of it as a step further back from the past simple.",{"q":748,"a":749},"When do I need the past perfect instead of the past simple?","Only when the order of two past events matters and is not already obvious. When I arrived, the film had started tells you the film began first. If a word like before or after already makes the order clear, or if you are just listing events in the order they happened, the past simple is enough.",{"q":751,"a":752},"What is the difference between the past perfect and the present perfect?","They do the same job from different places in time. The present perfect looks back from now (I have lost my keys, so I cannot get in). The past perfect looks back from a moment in the past (I could not get in because I had lost my keys). Change the viewpoint and you change the tense.",{"q":754,"a":755},"What does had been doing mean?","That is the past perfect continuous, and it puts the emphasis on how long something went on before a past moment. She had been waiting for an hour when the bus finally came. Use the plain past perfect for the completed action, and had been plus -ing when the length of it is the point.","english",{},true,"\u002Fenglish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpast-perfect",{"title":48,"description":636},"english\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpast-perfect","8VJQ_m_XsSFGA_UgMawK9g7rU-KPyUftHC_efCT0xRI",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":764},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":766},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]