PAST PERFECT

SIMPLE
AFFIRMATIVE

I had [I’d] visited the Louvre before, so I knew where the Mona
Lisa was.
They had [They’d] studied English before they went to London.
Henry changed careers because he had [he’d] worked as an
accountant for many years and was bored.

NEGATIVE
Sujeto + “had” + “not” + participio pasado…
I had not [hadn’t] visited the Louvre before so I didn’t know where
the Mona Lisa was.
They had not [hadn’t] studied English before they went to London.
Henry changed careers even though he had not [hadn’t] worked as
an accountant for long.

QUESTIONS
“Had” + sujeto + participio pasado…?
How did you know where the Mona Lisa was? Had you visited the Louvre
before?
Had they studied English before they went to London?
 USES OF PRESENT PAST PERFECT
1. Usamos el pasado perfecto para referirnos a una acción o evento que
comenzó en el pasado y que es anterior a otra acción también en el pasado.
La acción que ocurrió primero es en pasado perfecto y la que sigue en
pasado simple.

Ejemplos:
I’d read the book before I saw the movie.
Donna had just left when you called.
Had you ever flown before the trip to France?

2. Se usa para acciones que ocurrieron antes de un tiempo específico en el

pasado.

Ejemplos:
I had already woken up when the alarm clock rang at 7am.
He hadn’t been to France before the trip in 2008.

3. También, como en el presente perfecto, con algunos verbos usamos el

pasado perfecto para situaciones que empezaron en el pasado y que
siguieron hasta un punto específico en el pasado.

Ejemplos:
She had only owned one car before she bought her new BMW.
I’d been depressed for a long time before I changed jobs.
 PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS

AFFIRMATIVE

I had [I’d] been studying English for 2 years when I went to

London.
Lindsay had been working at the store since 2005 when it closed
They were surprised when the airline lost their baggage as they
had [they’d] been traveling for weeks without a problem.

NEGATIVE
Sujeto + “had” + “not” + “been” + verbo+ing…
I had not [hadn’t] been studying English long when I went to
London.
Lindsay had not [hadn’t] been working at the store for long when
it closed.
They had not [hadn’t] been traveling long before they had their
first problem.

QUESTIONS
“Had” + sujeto + “been” + verbo+ing?
Had you been studying English for a long time before you went
to London?
Had Lindsay been working at the store for a long time when it
closed?
USES OF PRESENT PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
1. Usamos el pasado perfecto continuo para referirnos a algo que habíamos
estado haciendo (en proceso) cuando otra acción lo interrumpió. El pasado
perfecto continuo se utiliza para la acción en proceso y el pasado simple para
la acción que interrumpe. Cuando nos referimos a algo que hemos estado
haciendo en un período de tiempo, por lo tanto, solemos usar las preposiciones
de tiempo “for” o “since”.

Ejemplos:
I’d been working for hours when I fell asleep at my desk.
Frank bought a new car. He’d been looking for one since last year.
We’d been arguing for days when Elizabeth found a resolution.

2. Se utiliza para demostrar causa y efecto en el pasado.

Ejemplos:
She was tired because she’d been working too much.
They were angry because they’d been waiting for me for hours.