The Past Perfect Simple Flashcards
Use of Past Perfect Simple
To talk about 2 events that happened at different times in the **past. **
The Past Perfect Simple tense is used to express a situation that occurred and was** complete**d before another action or situation in the past. It is often used to show the order of events in the past.
Forming Past Perfect Simple
Subject + had + past participle of the verb
Expressions Past Perfect Simple
Expressions that are often used with the past perfect simple tense include:
by the time
before
after (only when there is a change in the subject)
until
as soon as
Examples Past Perfect Simple
By the time we arrived at the cinema, the movie had already started.
She had already eaten dinner before her mother came home.
I had lived in New York for 10 years before I moved to California.
He hadn’t travelled by train until he went to Europe.
As soon as I arrived home, I realized I had left my keys at the office.
Past Perfect Simple vs Past Simple
Note:
While the Past Perfect Simple tense is used to show the order of events, it is not always necessary to use it if the order of events is clear or not important. For example, “I had finished my homework before I went out with my friends” can also be stated as “I finished my homework before I went out with my friends.” Both sentences are correct and convey the same meaning. The use of past perfect simply makes the sequence of events clearer.
Past Perfect Simple example with AFTER
After she had finished her work, she went to the gym.
In this sentence, the action of finishing work was completed before the action of going to the gym.
Notice that there is a change in subject from ‘she’ (who finished her work) to ‘she’ (who went to the gym), even though in this case it refers to the same person.
This is what makes the use of the past perfect appropriate here.
Past Perfect Simple example with UNTIL
They had lived in the same house until they got married.
In this example, the action of living in the same house was ongoing until the event of getting married happened. This sentence suggests that once they got married, they no longer lived in the same house.
