Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Tense
Past Perfect Tense
My dad got home late from a meeting last night. By the time he came home, we
had already had dinner. The two hads in the same sentence is not only
confusing for ESL students, it's also difficult to pronounce. The past perfect tense
is formed by the past of the auxiliary verb have plus the past participle of the
main verb. This may not sound too complicated, but its still difficult for students
to grasp exactly why and when this tense is used.
1. Introduce the Past Perfect with a timeline
The best way to grasp the past perfect is to understand that were dealing with
two events that took place in the past, but one before the other, not
simultaneously. Draw a timeline on the board. Mark lines for different hours and
tell students this is what happened yesterday. Write down a series of events that
took place yesterday and mark them in their corresponding place in the timeline:
I left the school at 6pm.
My husband started preparing dinner at 6 and finished at 7.
I got home at 7:15
Say, When I got home, my husband had finished preparing dinner. Show your
students how the past perfect tense is formed, and make sure they understand
one past event took place before another past event.
Students continue taking turns asking each other questions and replying with
short answers.
PAST PERFECT
FORM
[had + past participle]
Examples:
You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action
in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the
past.
Examples:
Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in
advance.
A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use
the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until
another action in the past.
Examples:
We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight
years.
They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more
than forty years.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs
and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and
"study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous
Verbs.
IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect
Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases
with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.
Example:
She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them
in 1996.
MOREOVER
If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used
instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The
words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is
optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.
Examples:
She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them
in 1996.
She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in
1996.
HOWEVER
If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not
optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of
experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past
cannot be used.
Examples:
She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always,
only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's
license. Passive