Past Perfect Tense | Examples & Exercises
The past perfect tense is used for verbs describing past actions that took place before another past action or up to a certain point in the past.
To form the past perfect tense, use “had” with the past participle of the main verb (e.g., “Mai had finished her homework”).
You don’t need to change the form of past perfect verbs for different subjects (e.g., “I had gone,” “they had gone”).
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I had talked | I hadn’t talked | Had I talked? |
| You had talked (singular) | You hadn’t talked (singular) | Had you talked? (singular) |
| He/she/it had talked | He/she/it hadn’t talked | Had he/she/it talked? |
| We had talked | We hadn’t talked | Had we talked? |
| You had talked (plural) | You hadn’t talked (plural) | Had you talked? (plural) |
| They had talked | They hadn’t talked | Had they talked? |
How to use the past perfect
The past perfect tense (also known as the pluperfect) has a few uses:
- It can describe a past event that happened before another past event.
- It can describe something that occurred up to a certain point in the past.
- It can be used in conditional sentences to talk about a hypothetical consequence to something that didn’t happen.
To form the past perfect tense, place the auxiliary verb “had” before the past participle of the main verb.
She had studied French for three years but still couldn’t understand him.
If I had known, I would have said something.
Present perfect vs past perfect
The past perfect tense describes past actions that were completed before another past action or up to a certain point in the past.
The present perfect tense, however, is for actions that began in the past and have some connection or relevance to the present, such as a recently completed action, an experience, a change that happened over time, or an action or state that may continue.
I had been to Croatia three times before I turned 30.
I have been a teacher for 10 years. [I’m still a teacher now.]
I had been a teacher for 10 years when I changed careers.
Simple past vs past perfect
The simple past tense is used to describe actions that took place in the past.
The past perfect tense is used for past actions that occurred before another past action or up to a certain point in the past.
I had cleaned the house when Dave called.
How to form negatives
To form a negative past perfect statement, place the auxiliary verb “had” and the adverb “not” (or the contraction “hadn’t”) before the past participle of the main verb.
They hadn’t packed even though they would be leaving in an hour.
I hadn’t bought her a present, so I gave her some money.
How to form questions
To ask a yes or no question in the past perfect tense, place the auxiliary verb “had” before the subject and the past participle of the main verb.
Had he read the book before seeing the movie?
You can add interrogative pronouns or interrogative adverbs (e.g., “why,” “who,” “how”) before “had” to ask more detailed questions about past actions or events that happened before a particular point in the past.
Why had she booked the tickets before they agreed to go?
Past perfect exercises
Test your understanding of the past perfect tense with these exercise questions.
Frequently asked questions about the past perfect tense
- What is the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?
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The present perfect and the present perfect continuous (present perfect progressive) are both verb tenses that are used to refer to the current effects of a past action or event. There are some differences between the two tenses, though:
- The present perfect is used to refer to past occurrences that may continue in the present (e.g., “I have traveled to six countries”).
- The present perfect continuous describes occurrences that started in the past and are ongoing (e.g., “I have been trying to talk to the doctor since last week”).
- What is the past perfect continuous?
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The past perfect continuous is a past tense verb form used to describe actions that started in the past and continued until another point in the past. For example, “she had been running for an hour and was feeling exhausted.”
To form the past perfect continuous, place the auxiliary verbs “had” and “been” before the present participle (the “-ing” form) of the main verb (e.g., “They had been cooking”).
There are three other past tense forms: the simple past, past continuous (aka past progressive), and past perfect.
- What is the past perfect form of “go”?
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The past perfect tense is used for verbs describing past actions that took place before another past action or up to a certain point in the past.
To form the past perfect tense, place the auxiliary verb “had” before the past participle of the main verb.
The past participle of “go” is “gone,” and the past perfect form of “go” is “had gone” (e.g., “he had gone”).
