9.

1 Past Perfect

We form the Past Perfect using had + -ed past participle.

I
’d (had) eaten.
You/We/They
hadn’t finished.
He/She

I
Had he/she/it gone home already?
you/we/they

You can give short answers to yes/no questions.

Had they already finished? Yes, they had./No, they hadn’t.

© Oxford University Press

 9.1 Past Perfect

Use

1 We use the Past Perfect to express an action in the past which

happened before another action in the past.

When I arrived at 9.00, Maria had already eaten dinner.

This happened before I arrived.

Chen called. Orla went home. Maria ate dinner. I arrived.

When Maria ate dinner, Orla had already gone home.

When Orla went home, Chen had already called.

© Oxford University Press

 9.1 Past Perfect

2 We use the Past Simple to express actions in the order they happened.
Action 1
I worked all day. Action 2
He finished university. I wanted to rest.
He moved to Berlin.
The Past Perfect expresses an action before another time in the past.
Action 2
I wanted to rest because … Action 1
When he moved to Berlin … I had worked all day.
he had finished university.
3 If it is clear that one action was completed before, it isn’t necessary to
use the Past Perfect.
She phoned me after she arrived.
She phoned me after she had arrived.

© Oxford University Press