How to form the Past Perfect: table
had + the past participle (V3): worked, seen, gone. Had is the same for all persons; the short form is ’d: I’d, she’d. Irregular participles are in the irregular verbs table.
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Positive | She had (she’d) finished. |
| Negative | She hadn’t finished. |
| Question | Had she finished? |
| Short answer | Yes, she had. / No, she hadn’t. |
When to use the Past Perfect
An action before another past action
The later action is Past Simple, the earlier one Past Perfect.
When I arrived at the party, Anna had already gone home.
I didn’t recognise him — he had changed a lot.
Before a past moment: by
By 2020 she had visited twenty countries.
By the time the doctor arrived, the pain had already gone.
Experience up to a past moment
It was my first flight. I had never been on a plane before.
Reported speech, wish and conditionals
The Past Simple and Present Perfect become the Past Perfect in reported speech; it is also used after I wish about the past and in the third conditional.
She said she had lost her phone.
If I had known, I would have helped.
Past Perfect signal words
- by the time
- by 2020
- before
- after
- already
- just
- never … before
- when
- until
- as soon as
If before / after already make the order clear, the Past Simple is fine: I left after he arrived. The Past Perfect is needed when the order would otherwise be unclear.
Past Perfect or Past Simple?
| Sentence | What happened |
|---|---|
| When I arrived, the film started. | I arrived, then the film started |
| When I arrived, the film had started. | the film started earlier: I was late |
Common mistakes
What learners of English often say. On the left — the mistake, on the right — the correct version.
Wrong:
When I came, they already left.Right: When I came, they had already left.
The earlier action needs the Past Perfect.
Wrong:
She had went home.Right: She had gone home.
After had use V3, not V2.
Wrong:
I had seen him yesterday.Right: I saw him yesterday.
No second past action: no Past Perfect.
Wrong:
Did you had finished?Right: Had you finished?
Had itself moves to the front.
Check yourself
Quiz: Past tenses
24 questions with an explanation after every answer. Free, no sign-up.
I worked · I was working · I had worked · I had been working