Past Perfect Simple
verb tense which is used to show that an action took place once or many times before another point in the past
statement is formed using had + past participle
questions are indicated by inverting the subject and had
negatives are made with not.
statement: You had studied English before you moved to New York.
question: Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
negative: You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
use
use 1
Completed Action Before Something in the Past
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.
use 2
I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)
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
We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
They felt bad about selling the house
because they had owned it
for more than forty years.
Specific Times with the Past Perfect
unlike with the present perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the past perfec
although this is possible, it is usually not necessary
She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
adverb placement
the examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
active
passive
George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.
Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.