Using the past perfect. Past Perfect is the past perfect tense in English. Complete action

As we know, the British love order in everything, and the English language is no exception. In their opinion, every action should have its own order. In Russian, we use one tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then go back to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman will never tolerate such “chaos” in his speech. If he forgot about important event, which happened before everyone else, then he will report it in a specially designated time called Past Perfect. About him today and we'll talk. C"mon!

What is Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tense is the past perfect tense. We usually use it to talk about an action that ended at or before some point in the past.

For example: When he read the book, he went to bed.

What was the first action? First he read the book and then went to bed. That is, by the time he went to bed, he had already read the book. To show that the first action ended before the second happened, we need to use the Past Perfect in the first part of the sentence - “When he had read the book, he went to bed.” In other words, we use the Past Perfect to show the order of actions, i.e., that one action in the past occurred before another.

How is Past Perfect formed (formulas + examples)

• Statement. The predicate in the Past Perfect consists of two parts: the auxiliary verb " had" And third form of the main verb(To correct verb add the ending “- ed", and we take the irregular form from the third column of the table of irregular verbs).

• Negation. In a negative sentence between the auxiliary verb " had" and the particle " appears as the main verb not».

As with many other tenses, the Past Perfect has shortened forms that are used in colloquial speech. IN affirmative sentence " had» unites With pronoun, V negative- with the particle " not" For example:

I'd come.
You'd finished.
I hadn't come.
You weren't finished.

• Question. An interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb " had", followed by subject And main verb.

Past Perfect marker words

If a sentence contains the following words, then it belongs to the Past Perfect Tense:

by- To;
hardly… when / no sooner… than- as soon as I barely had time;
after- after;
earlier- earlier, before - before;
first- first;
when- When;
just- just now;
already- already;
yet- already, not yet.

Table Past markers Perfect

Marker	Example	Translation
by	Unfortunately, most of the audience didn’t stay by the end of the play.	Unfortunately, by the end of the performance most of the audience left.
hardly...when	Hardly had they crossed the road when the accident happened.	They had barely crossed the road when the accident happened.
no sooner...than	No sooner he had came in than he heard congratulations and his friends gathered around him.a	As soon as he entered, he heard congratulations and friends gathered around him.
after	After the boy had done his hometask he went out to play football with his friends.	After the boy did homework, he went for a walk.
earlier	She knew how to cook a cake because she had made it earlier.	She knew how to bake a cake because she had made it before.
before	James easily won this game because he had played it many times before.	James played this game easily as he had played it many times before.
first	First we had taken all our bags, then understood that we forgot our tickets on the table.	First we took our things, and then we realized that we had forgotten the tickets on the table.
when	John had sat to work when his boss called for him.	John sat down at his desk to work when his boss called him.
just	I just had sat to have lunch when my friend called me.	I had just sat down to lunch when my friend called me.
already	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and told that she bought a cake too.	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and said that she also bought a cake.
yet	I hadn’t served the table yet when the guests came.	I had not yet set the table when the guests arrived.

Cases of using Past Perfect:

• The past perfect shows an action that happened before another action or a specific moment in the past. Another action in the past is most often denoted by the Past Simple, and special words may be used: “ by"(to some time/moment), " after"(after), " before"(before, before), " when" (When), " earlier" (earlier), " first"(first, first).

Before Anna called her husband she had finished all the work. - Before Anna called her husband, she finished all the work.

Nota bene: if actions are placed in chronological ok, then you need to use Past Simple:

Anna finished all work and called her husband. - Anna finished all the work and (then) called her husband (chronological order).

• The Past Perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed by the Past Perfect has become reason that another action has taken place.

He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He didn't eat for eight hours.

She couldn’t buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card. - She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes because she lost her credit card.

• Past Perfect is used after " if" V conditional sentences third type ( third conditional). This type of conditional shows regret about the past. We could have done something in the past if we had fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.

If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. - If I knew about your problem, I would help you.
If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. - If you read the morning newspaper, you would agree with me.

• Past Perfect is used in the constructions " hardly … when" And " no sooner … than" These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use back order words, as in the question. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the words “as soon as...”, “I didn’t have time...”, “as soon as I...”.

Hardly had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. - The plane had barely landed at Miami airport when it started to rain.
No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. - Before I had time to chew my sandwich, someone knocked on the door.

• Enumeration of actions happened in the past until the time of the story generally:

I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog had scratched the furniture, had torn the wallpapers and had eaten my lunch on the table. - I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog ​​scratched the furniture, tore the wallpaper and ate my lunch on the table.

Formation Past Perfect Passive

Like most tenses, the Past Perfect has passive design .

• Statement: subject + had been + verb 3 forms + [by object].

The test had been finished by the end of the day.- The test was completed by the end of the day.
The picture had been painted by the Monday. - The picture was painted by Monday.

Negation: subject + had + not + been + verb 3 forms + [by object].

The test had not been finished by the end of the day. - The test was not completed by the end of the day.
The bicycle had not been repaired by 2 o’clock. - The bicycle was not repaired by two o'clock.

Question: had + subject + been + verb 3 forms + [by object]?

Had the questions been discussed before the exam?- Were the questions discussed before the exam?
Had the picture been painted by the Monday?- Was the picture painted by Monday?

Present Perfect vs Past Perfect

Very often, when translating from Russian into English, you can get confused in choosing the right tense, because they both have similar features. Let's look at the table to get rid of doubts about the differences between Present Perfect and Past Perfect.

Difference between Present Perfect and Past Perfect

Indicates that the action expressed present time Perfect, completed by now or during the present time: The shopping center has just opened. - Shopping mall just opened.	Indicates that an action expressed by the Past Perfect happened before another action or a specific moment in the past: We came to the office, but the administrator had already gone away. - We arrived at the office, and the administrator had already left.
Shows that the action occurred in the past, it is unknown and no matter when exactly, but its result is visible in the present: He knows her name. They have already met. - He knows her name. They've already met.	Shows that an action occurred in the past and caused or led to another action occurring in the past: My brother felt hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday. - My brother was hungry. He hasn't eaten since yesterday.

Nota bene: We recommend that you read the short theory again and complete the task in our online simulator so that you never have doubts about using the Past Perfect again.

Conclusion

So, today we looked at the forms of formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect, both active and passive voice. We remembered which markers you should pay attention to, and figured out how not to confuse the Present Perfect and Past Perfect. But the most important thing to remember is that next to the Past Perfect there must be another action in the past.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with other tenses of the English language

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Past Perfect– past perfect tense. It denotes an action that is performed before a certain time in the past or before the beginning of another action (event) in the past.

It can be said that Past Perfect- this is an analogue of Present Perfect, only for the past. If in the Present Perfect the action took place at the present moment, then in the Past Perfect - at some point in the past.

For Past Perfect typical use of adverbs already, yet, ever, never, as for Present Perfect. These adverbs show which action happened earlier, which means for which action the Past Perfect must be used.

Example

By the time Mary got to the office, her boss had already left. - By the time Mary arrived at the office, her boss had already left.

Education Past Perfect

Past Perfect is formed using the second form of the verb to have - had and the third form of the semantic verb (Past Participle). The third form of regular verbs is formed using the ending - ed, and for incorrect ones see Irregular verbs .

I had done.
He had done.
They had done.

Had I done?
Had he done?
Had they done?

I hadn't done.
It hadn't been done.
They hadn't done.

Short form
had not = hadn’t

Using the Past Perfect

1. The action happened before a certain time in the past

Examples

By 1995, he had become a famous artist. - By 1995, he became a famous artist.
Those. he became a famous artist at a certain time in the past.

2. The action occurred before another time (event) in the past

In this case, Past Perfect is used to describe an earlier action (event), and Past Indefinite - a later one.

Examples

I didn’t want to go to the cinema yesterday, because I had already seen the film. - I didn’t want to go to the cinema yesterday because I had already seen this film.
Those. I saw this movie before, until yesterday.

Adverb already shows which action happened first. This helps to understand for what action you need to use Past Perfect.

Past Perfect– past perfect tense. Its peculiarity is that it is not used independently in speech and is necessarily tied to another action. Why do the British need this? The reason lies in their love of order and organization. In Russian, we use one tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then go back to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman will never allow such “chaos” in his speech. If he forgot about an important event that happened before everyone else, he will report it at a time specially designated for this - Past Perfect.

How is the past perfect formed?

Statement

Predicate in Past Perfect consists of two parts: an auxiliary verb had and the third form of the main verb (we add the ending to the regular verb - ed, and take the irregular form from the third column).

Negation

In a negative sentence between an auxiliary verb had and the particle appears as the main verb not.

As in many other times, in Past Perfect There are shortened forms that are used in colloquial speech. In an affirmative sentence had combined with a pronoun, in the negative – with a particle not. For example:

• I'd done.
• You'd decided.
• I hadn't done.
• You hadn't decided.

Question

An interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb had followed by a subject and a main verb.

In order to consistently study Past Perfect, we have divided all its functions into three levels. In the green block you will find what you need to know on entry level, in yellow – medium, in red – high.

Using the Past Perfect

Entry level

Past Perfect always goes hand in hand with another action in the past. Past Perfect shows an action that occurred before another action or a specific point in the past. Another action in the past is most often indicated Past Simple, and special words may be used: by... (at some time/moment), after(after), before(before, before) when(When), earlier(earlier), first(first, first).

We arrived at the station at 7.30, but the train had left. – We arrived at the station at 7:30, but the train was already left. (first the train left, then we arrived at the station)

He had been a usual clerk before he became a successful businessman. - He was an ordinary clerk before that, How became a successful businessman.

Often Past Perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed Past Perfect, caused another action to occur.

He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He didn't eat eight o'clock.

She couldn’t buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card – She couldn’t buy a new pair of shoes because lost credit card.

Time Past Perfect similar in meaning to Present Perfect with the difference that the time of action does not take place in the present (now), but in the past (then).

They are not at home. They have gone shopping. →They were not at home. They had gone shopping.
Their No Houses. They gone for shopping. → Their there wasn't Houses. They gone for shopping.

Another common feature Present Perfect And Past Perfect– adverbs just(just now), already(already), yet(already, yet).

They were moving to another country, but they hadn't told their parents yet. – They moved to another country, but haven't said yet about this to your parents.

The most common mistake made with Past Perfect– use this tense where it is not necessary, most often instead Past Simple. For example, when we talk about a simple action that happened a long time ago. Remember that Past Perfect only works when there are two actions.

I learned English at school. - I learned English at school.
I had learned English before I entered the university. - I learned English before that, How entered the university.

Where else is the past perfect found?

Intermediate level

1. Past Perfect shows that an action began in the past and continued until a certain point in the past. Prepositions already familiar to us are often used here. for(during) and since(since).
   

   He didn't want to drive that car anymore. He had driven it for 30 years. “He didn’t want to drive that car anymore.” He drove her 30 years old.

   Her speech was impressive. She had worked on it since Monday. “Her speech was impressive. She worked over it since Monday.

   This feature is not fully applicable to Past Perfect, she belongs by right Past Perfect Continuous. Past Perfect in this sense it is used with stative verbs (), that is, verbs that cannot "last".

   Before we talked, Mary had been upset for three days. She had been crying all this time. – Before we talked, Mary was upset for three days. She cried all this time.

2. IN Past Perfect, as in Present Perfect, there is a function with which we talk about personal experience. The difference is that Past Perfect we use when we're talking about about our past experiences.
   

   The last week of my holidays was the worst week I had ever had. – The last week of my vacation was the worst week I have ever had. was.

   By the time I moved to Dublin I had written seven books and I was working hard on the eighth. – By the time I moved to Dublin, I wrote seven books and actively working on the eighth.

Complex cases of using Past Perfect

High level

1. Past Perfect used after if in conditional sentences of the third type (). This type of conditional shows regret about the past. We could have done something in the past if we had fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.
   

   If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. – If I knew about your problem, I would help you.

   If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. – If You read morning newspaper, you would agree with me.

2. Past Perfect used in structures hardly ... when And no sooner ... than. These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use reverse word order, as in a question. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the words “as soon as”, “I didn’t have time”, “as soon as I did”.
   

   Hardly had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. – Barely airplane landed at Miami airport, How it started to rain.

   No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. – Didn't have time I chew your sandwich How someone knocked on the door.

3. In modern English Past Perfect are increasingly being replaced by Past Simple, this is especially true for American English. We can use Past Simple instead of Past Perfect, if the sequence of events is clear from the context. In such sentences there are words after(after), before(before), earlier(earlier), first(first, first), etc.
   

   After he had finished repairing his car, he took a shower. = After he finished repairing his car, he took a shower. – After He finished repairing the car, he took a shower.

   I agreed to meet her though I was angry with her as we had quarreled earlier. = I agreed to meet her though I was angry with her as we quarreled earlier. “I agreed to meet her, although I was angry with her, because we had a fight.

   This rule does not work with the conjunction when(when): changing tense may change the meaning of the entire sentence.

   When we came home, she had cooked already prepared dinner. (Past Perfect means dinner was done before we got home)

   When we came home, she cooked dinner. - When we came home, she prepared dinner. (Past Simple shows that first we came home and then she cooked dinner)

The more complex time seems, the less meaning it has. This rule also applies to Past Perfect. The main thing to remember is that next to Past Perfect there must be another action in the past. To better remember this time, take the test and download the table, which you can always look at and refresh your knowledge.

(*.pdf, 183 Kb)

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Test

Past Perfect - past perfect tense in English

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