Past Perfect Verb Tense in English
Past Perfect Verb Tense
English Grammar Lesson
Introduction
The perfect tense, which uses:
have
has, or
had
can sometimes be difficult for English language learners to understand.
Rule: Past Perfect Verb Tense
We use the past perfect verb tense when talking about
• a past action that
• happened before another past action.
Form: Past Perfect Verb Tense
“had” + past participle of a verb
Example 1
“By the time Ariana turned five years old, she had already learned French and Spanish.”
Here, Ariana learned French and Spanish by age 4. Age 4 and the learning of French and Spanish occurred before she turned 5.
Therefore, we use the past perfect:
“had learned”
Example 2
“My brother had decided to settle down in New York when he got a job offer in Amsterdam.”
Because we used the past perfect verb tense, we know that if my brother got the job offer on February 1, he decided to settle down in New York before February, perhaps in January.
Example 3
“It was too late — she had already left the office by the time the package arrived.”
The past perfect tense used tells us that the woman’s departure from the office occurred before the arrival of the package, which means that she was not there to get it.
To master the past perfect verb tense:
Understand why we use the perfect tense verbs;
Notice the language when spoken by native speakers;
Practice, practice, practice to train your mind and ears, so that using the past perfect tense becomes natural.
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