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Past Perfect Tense Explained

The document discusses the past perfect tense in English grammar. It explains that the past perfect uses had/hadn't plus the past participle to talk about events that happened before another time in the past. It provides examples of how to form the past perfect and discusses using it versus the past simple tense to clarify the order of past events. The document also notes that 'd can be short for either had or would and how to distinguish between them based on the verb form that follows.

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Lara Kraf
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332 views2 pages

Past Perfect Tense Explained

The document discusses the past perfect tense in English grammar. It explains that the past perfect uses had/hadn't plus the past participle to talk about events that happened before another time in the past. It provides examples of how to form the past perfect and discusses using it versus the past simple tense to clarify the order of past events. The document also notes that 'd can be short for either had or would and how to distinguish between them based on the verb form that follows.

Uploaded by

Lara Kraf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Past Perfect Form: Introduces the past perfect tense form along with examples and explanations for formation using 'had' with past participle.
  • Past Perfect Use: Explains the uses of the past perfect tense, highlighting situations when the past perfect is used to describe events prior to other past events.
  • Common Mistakes: Alerts readers to typical errors with the past perfect tense, especially contractions, and provides correct usage guidance.
  • Comparison: Past Perfect or Past Simple?: Discusses differences between the past perfect and past simple tenses, illustrating the choice of tense in different contexts with examples.

Past perfect form and use – Grammar chart

Past perfect form


We make the past perfect with had/hadn’t + past participle: -ed for regular verbs and
the 3rd column form for irregular verbs.

 I hadn’t been there before.


 She had never worked.

The past perfect is the same for all persons.

 I/you/he/she/it/we/they had left when I arrived

We can contract had to ‘d.

 I called him, but he’d gone to a meeting. 

 
Past perfect use
We use the past perfect when we are talking about the past and then we want to talk
about something that happened earlier in the past.

 When I got out of work I saw that somebody had stolen my car. 


 Yesterday my mother told me that she had seen you in the park.

Past perfect or past simple?


We use the past simple to describe a series of past event in chronological order, and
we use the past perfect to make clear that one of the events happened before. Compare
these two sentences:

 When I arrived, she left. (=She left after I arrived.)


 When I arrived, she had left. (She left before I arrived)

Be careful with this common mistake!


The contraction ‘d can be had or would. Remember that we use an infinitive form
after would and a past participle after had.

 I‘d love to go to your party. (= would)


 I noticed that he‘d eaten my cake. (= had)

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