The past perfect tense is used to talk about actions that were completed before some point in the past. The past perfect tense is used to talk about something happened before something else. The past perfect tense is formed using the auxiliary “had” followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Examples:
- When the police arrived the place, the thieves had already left.
- When we arrive, the train had left.
subject + had + past participle
AFFIRMATIVE FORM
Example:
- I had eaten apples.
- I had seen him.
- I had completed the task.
- You had finished the work.
- We had swum.
- They had gone out.
- He had started.
- He had left his book.
- She had eaten apples.
- She had done her homework.
- Past perfect is used to refer an action which is started in the past and already completed in past. The words “for” and “since” are mostly used in these sentences.
Example:
- I had known him for 3 years.
- She had lived in France since 1948.
NEGATIVE FORM
The past perfect tense is formed using the auxiliary “had” together with the negative construct “not” followed by the past participle of the main verb.
subject + had + not + past participle
Example:
- I had not eaten apples.
- I had not done the exam.
- We had not seen each other before.
- You had not completed the task.
- They had not submitted the assignments.
- She had not eaten oranges.
- My friends had not traveled to Venice.
- She had not forgotten to call him.
- He had not done his homework.
- Eliza had not made the kite.
INTERROGATIVE FORM
To make the interrogative/ question form in past perfect tense, send the auxiliary “had” to the beginning of the sentence and leave the rest of the sentence as it is.
Examples:
- Had I seen him before?
- Had we finished the work?
- Had they traveled to Venice?
- Had they written the exam?
- Had she met you before?
