PAST SIMPLE and PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

What is Their Main Difference?

Both of them are used to talk about the past, however, PAST SIMPLE tense
describes a completed action or event that occurred at a specific time in the past, while
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE describes a completed action or event that happened before
another action or event in the past .

Examples:

● She took (past simple) the train.

Here, the speaker refers to a completed action that happened in the past.

● She had packed (past perfect simple) her stuff before she took (past simple) the train.

Here, the speaker mentions an action that happened before another action.

STRUCTURE
1. Past Simple
The simple past tense is formed by using the past form of the verb. Verbs
can be regular or irregular with regards to their past form.

1.1. Regular Verbs

They are formed by simply adding '-ed' to the base form of the verb.
(Walk → Walked → Walked)

1.2. Irregular Verbs (second column)

They must be memorized individually.
(Be- Was/Were - been)

2. Past perfect simple

It is formed by using the auxiliary verb 'had' followed by the past participle:
-ed (for regular verbs) or 3rd column (for irregular verbs) form of the main verb.

Subject + Had + Past participle

She had worked so hard. (regular verb: work + ed)
I had done it by myself. (irregular verb: do-did- done)
SIGNAL WORDS
Signal words are words that help us establish the order of events in the sentence.

Past Simple Past perfect simple

First Before

Then After

Yesterday Already

Last week By the time

- Yesterday, I went to the store to buy some groceries.

- She finished her homework and then watched a movie.

- By the time I arrived, they had already left.

- I had studied for the exam before I realized it was canceled.