Past Perfect

Introduction

The past perfect tense is often used in English when we are relating two events which happened in the past. It helps to show which event happened first. This page will explain the rules for forming and using the tense.

Forming the past perfect tense

This tense is formed using two components: the verb HAVE (in the past tense), and the past participle form of a verb. With a regular verb the past participle ends with -ED (just like the simple past). Irregular verbs have a special past participle form that you have to learn. Here are the rules, using the regular verb "arrive" and the irregular verb "eat":

Subject	HAVE	Past Participle	Contraction
I	had	arrived. eaten.	I'd arrived. I'd eaten.
You	had	arrived. eaten.	You'd arrived. You'd eaten.
He	had	arrived. eaten.	He'd arrived. He'd eaten.
She	had	arrived. eaten.	She'd arrived. She'd eaten.
It	had	arrived. eaten.	It'd arrived. It'd eaten.
We	had	arrived. eaten.	We'd arrived. We'd eaten.
They	had	arrived. eaten.	They'd arrived. They'd eaten.

Using the Past Perfect

The past perfect is used to show you which of two events happened first. Imagine that two things happened in the past:

Past Event	I went to see the movie.
Past Event	We discussed the movie in class.

Here, we don't know which order the events happened in. That may be important -- perhaps I went to see the movie after the discussion, or maybe I saw the movie before the discussion. There are many ways to make this sequence clear, and the past perfect is one of them. This is how we do it:

I went to see the movie. We had discussed the movie in class.

Here, we know that the discussion took place first — even though the sentence describing it comes afterwards. We discussed the movie, and then I went to see it. This can be very useful when you are telling a story or relating a sequence of events. At any point in your story, you can jump back to a previous event, and your reader will not be confused because the past perfect will make it clear that the event happened previously.
Here is another example:

Simple Past	I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there. (Judy was probably still living in Japan when I called her.)
Past Perfect	I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy had lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there. (Judy no longer lived in Japan — she returned from there before I applied for the job.)

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.

Past Perfect 1

In this short exercise, you will practise recognizing the correct form of the past perfect tense.

Click on the button beside the correct answer.

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1. What is the correct past perfect form of "It is hot"?
   1.   It had be hot.
   2.   It had been hot.
   3.   It had hot.
   4.   It was hot.
2. What is the correct past perfect form of "We can rent a car"?
   1.   We could rent a car.
   2.   We had rented a car.
   3.   We had been able to rent a car.
   4.   We 'd rent a car.
3. What is the correct past perfect form of "I do the laundry"?
   1.   I did the laundry.
   2.   I had did the laundry.
   3.   I had done the laundry.
   4.   I have done the laundry.
4. What is the correct past perfect form of "We visit Paris"?
   1.   We'd visited Paris.
   2.   We'd visit Paris.
   3.   We'd visiting Paris.
   4.   We've visited Paris.
5. What is the correct past perfect form of "She makes some delicious cookies"?
   1.   She had make some delicious cookies.
   2.   She had made some delicious cookies.
   3.   She has made some delicious cookies.
   4.   She made some delicious cookies.

   Past Perfect 2

   In this exercise, you will practise forming the past perfect. Based on each first sentence, complete the following past perfect sentence by filling in the spaces. You can use the full form or the contracted form.

For example:
First, I washed the car. Then, I drove to the mall. --> "After I had washed the car, I drove to the mall."

Type your answers and click on "Check". If you need help, you can click on "Hint" to get a free letter.

1. First, we ate at the cafeteria. Then, we went to class.
   After we at the cafeteria, we to class.


2. First, Juan made himself a sandwich. Then, he poured some tea.
   After Juan himself a sandwich, he some tea.


3. First, Gunawan plugged in the headphones. Then, he played a CD.
   Before he a CD, Gunawan in the headphones.


4. First, Soriah fed the cat. Then, she called her mother.
   Soriah her mother after she the cat.


5. First, Marie did her homework. Then, she watched TV.
   Marie her homework before she TV.