(a) Sam arrived at 10:00.

T he past perfect expresses an

Ann left at 9:30. activity that was com plete before
c In other words, Ann h a d already le ft another activity or time in the
6
cd
I C/3 when Sam arrived. past.

(b) By the time Sam got there, Ann h a d already left. In (a): 1st: Ann left.
2nd: Sam arrived.

Adverb clauses with by the time are frequently used with

the past perfect in the main clause, as in (b ).*

(c) Sam h a d le ft before Ann got there. If either before or after is used in the sentence, the past
(d) Sam le ft before Ann got there. perfect is often not necessary because the time
relationship is already clear. T he simple past may be
(e) A fter the guests h a d left, I went to bed.
used, as in (d) and (f).
(f) A fter the guests left, I went to bed.
note: (c) and (d) have the same meaning;
(e) and (f) have the sam e meaning.

(g) A ctual spoken words: I lo s t my keys. The past perfect is commonly used in reported s p e e c h .**
If the actual spoken words use the simple past, the past
(h) R eported words: Jenny said that she h a d lo s t her
perfect is often used in reporting those words, as in (h).
keys.
Comm on reporting verbs include tell (someone), say, find
out, learn, and discover.

(i) Written: Bill felt great that evening. Earlier in the day,
Annie h a d c a u g h t one fish, and he h a d c a u g h t
three. They h a d h a d a delicious picnic near the lake
and then h a d g o n e swimming again. It h a d been a
nearly perfect vacation day.
T he past perfect is often found in more formal writing such
as fiction.
In (i), the fiction writer uses the simple past to say that an
event happened {Bill felt great), and then uses the past
perfect to explain what had happened before that event.

( j) I ’d finished. You’d finished. Had is often contracted with personal pronouns in

We’d finished. T hey’d finished. informal writing.

S he 'd finished. H e ’d finished. note: I ’d finished. I ’d = I had

I t ’d finished. I ’d like to go. I ’d = I would

*F o r more information about by the time, see C hart 17-2, p. 368.

** F o r more information about verb form usage in reported speech, see Chart 12-7, p. 261.

50 CHAPTER 3