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Past Perfect – Usage

An action completed before another action in the past. Past Perfect tense in English expresses the idea that a given action occurred and was completed before another action in the past. It can also de

An action completed before another action in the past

Past Perfect tense in English expresses the idea that a given action occurred and was completed before another action in the past. It can also demonstrate that something happened before a specific moment in the past.

For example:

  • I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
  • I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
  • Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
  • Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
  • She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
  • Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
  • We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
  • A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
  • B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

Duration before something in the past

With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, Past Perfect is used in English to express an action that began in the past and continued until another action in the past.

For example:

  • We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
  • By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
  • They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

The described usage of Past Perfect is usually limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, but the words live, work, teach and study are sometimes used in this way, even though they are not Non-Continuous Verbs.

Important

If the action in the past in Past Perfect did not occur at a specific moment, Simple Past can be used when the words before or after are present in the sentence. These words usually express what happened first, which is why Past Perfect is only another option.

For example, both sentences are correct:

  • She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
  • She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

However, Past Perfect cannot be used in English in this case if the action did not occur at a specific moment.

Placement of adverbs

  • You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
  • Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?

Passive voice:

  • Active: George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.
  • Passive: Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.

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