Past Perfect: The “Before-Before” Tense
The past perfect tense is like a flashback in a movie. It helps us talk about an action that happened before another action in the past.
How to Form the Past Perfect
It’s easy to form the past perfect tense:
- Use the word “had.”
- Add the past participle of the main verb.
Examples:
- I had eaten breakfast before I went to school.
- She had finished her homework by the time her mom came home.
- They had never seen snow until they moved to Canada.
When to Use the Past Perfect
We use the past perfect tense to show the order of two past events.
- The past perfect shows the earlier action.
- The simple past tense shows the later action.
Examples:
- When I arrived at the station, the train had already left. (First the train left, then I arrived.)
- She was sad because she had lost her phone. (First she lost her phone, then she felt sad.)
Keywords to Look For:
These words often signal that we need to use the past perfect:
- By the time…
- Before
- After
- Already
- Until
- When
Let’s Practice!
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Complete the Sentence:
- By the time the concert started, the band ______ (to soundcheck) for an hour. (had soundchecked)
- She _____ (to eat) dinner before she watched the movie. (had eaten)
- We _____ (not to study) enough, so we failed the test. (hadn’t studied)
-
Tell a Story:
- Think of a time when you did two things in the past.
- Tell your partner about it using both past simple and past perfect tenses.
Example:
I woke up late this morning (past simple). I had forgotten to set my alarm clock! (past perfect)
Challenge:
Write a short story about a surprising event. Use the past perfect to describe what happened before the surprise.
