The Past perfect-How to use The Past perfect?

The Past perfect

Past perfect, Johnny Grammar,British Council

Use  :

When we talk about something that happened in the past we sometimes want to refer back to something that happened before that time. We can use the past perfect tense (had + past participle) to do this.

 EX: I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Spain

Form:

• You had studied Arabic before you moved to Morocco.
• Had you studied Arabic before you moved toMorocco?
• You had not studied Arabic before you moved to Morocco.

> Look at these two sentences:

• Sara left the house at 9:30 am yesterday morning.
• Adam rang Sara’s doorbell at 11:15 am yesterday.

Both actions happened in the past so we use the past simple tense. But look at how we can combine the sentences.

• Adam rang Sara’s doorbell at 11:15 yesterday but Sara had already left the house.

We use the past perfect (had left) because the action happened before another action in the past (Adam rang the doorbell.)

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 2003 before she moved in with them in 2006.

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:

• John had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
• Many cars had been repaired by John before he received his mechanic's license. Passive

>Look at these 2 sentences.

• James had cooked breakfast when we got up.
• James cooked breakfast when we got up.

In the first sentence, the past perfect tells us that James cooked breakfast before we got up. In the second sentence, first we got up and then James cooked breakfast.

You can take exercise on :
Past perfect exercise
or
Verb Tense Exercise