The Past Perfect Tense - Past perfect tense: use, education, exercise. Past Perfect - past perfect tense Any 5 sentences the past perfect

The British are very scrupulous about delimiting periods of time. While Russian grammar is limited to past, present and future tenses, the English language system has divided each of these traditional forms into four more subforms. The result was 12 time groups, with a clearly verified scope of application of each type of structure. Today we will look at the category of the past perfect tense, study its meaning and give examples of use for the past perfect in sentences and dialogues. Despite the fact that there is no analogue to this tense in Russian, the topic does not cause any particular difficulties.

Briefly about the use of Past perfect

The main purpose of this category of time is to express the sequence of events in the past, previous experience. The predicate of the action that ended earlier is put in Perfect Past, and the verb of the second sentence usually has the form Past Simple. The completion of an event can also be expressed by a specific time indicator.

• She remembered that she had met these children before –SheI rememberedWhatshemetthesechildrenearlier.
• I had written this report by 8 o'clock – Iaddedthisreportby 8hours.

In rare situations, the continuous tense may be used instead of the simple past. This is necessary if they want to emphasize the incompleteness of the second action at the time of the end of the events preceding it.

• By that time I had read the book and was watching TV – TOthattimeIfinished readingbookAndalreadywatchedTV.

In sentences with Past Perfect Tense the opposite rule applies. The Past Perfect Continuous form cannot be used with verbs of feelings, possessions, states, relationships, therefore, with such predicates they use the simple past perfect.

• I had owned thecar for 8 years already when I decided tosellit – I had owned this car for 8 years when I decided to sell it.

And the last situation in which it is necessary to use this tense is the presence in the statement of the phrases “ scarcely…when», « nosooner...than», « hardly…when" This sentence is translated into Russian with the words “ barely... how; didn’t have time... how" Please note a slight design change: had comes before the subject.

• Scarcely had she entered the apartments, when the telephone rank – Barelyshecame inVapartment,Howrangtelephone.

Having remembered the cases of using the past perfect, we will consider example sentences and learn how to create such tense constructions ourselves.

Other English topics: If you don’t know how to learn phrasal verbs, read our recommendations

Past perfect examples

In this section, we will analyze the rules and examples of using this tense category in various everyday situations.

So, if we need to compose an expression in the Past Perfect in the form of a statement, then we should use the auxiliary verb had and the third form of the verb, also known as participle II.

In this case, the event that follows in meaning can be in either first or second place.

• It was the best film I (1) had (2) ever watched (3)– It was the best film I've ever seen.

Interrogative sentences require a slight change in construction, namely the addition of an auxiliary had to the fore.

• Had (1) you (2) cleaned(3) the room at 11 o'clock? – Youremovedroomby 11hours?

The so-called general questions are constructed according to this scheme. There are also statements with special interrogative words, negative questions, as well as expressions of doubt. We will not give separate diagrams for them; a little later we will be told about situations of such use of the past perfect, examples given at the end of the material.

Negative sentences do not change the word order of the affirmative phrase, but are also associated with the verb had. To put a negation, add the word not to this verb. Often there is a reduction in shape, and the overall design takes on the appearance of a hadn’t.

• My daughter(1)hadn't(2+3)done(4)her homework yet when I came –MydaughtermoreNotdidmyhomework when I arrived.

Regardless of the type of sentence, many examples of the past perfect often contain tense indications (words) introduced by the words by,since, just, for, already, never,yet,before, until.

Let's consolidate the ability to correctly build this structure by analyzing the most typical examples of its use.

Situation	Translation
No sooner had Mary gone at work than children early to play in the yard.	Before Mary had time to leave for work, the children ran to play in the yard.
Hadn't Jack switched off the TV-set when he left the house?	Didn't Jack turn off the TV when he left the house?
We were surprised when we learned that this movie had won a prize.	We were surprised when we learned that this film won the prize.
I hadn't watched the film by 3 o'clock because the guests arrived.	I hadn’t finished watching the film by three o’clock because guests had arrived.
Yesterday you gave me the beautiful flowers of your garden. Who had grown the flowers? I think you had done it , didn't you ? Yes, I had .	Yesterday you gave me beautiful flowers from your garden. Who grew these flowers? I think you did this, didn't you?
Did you call your girlfriend? I called her, but she hadn't come home yet. Why hadn't she come home yet? (colloquial form) = Why had she not come home yet? (official form) She was very busy with work.	Did you call your friend? I called her, but she hasn't come home yet. Why hasn't she come home yet? She was very busy at work.
Do you speak to your neighbors again? Yes, they apologized for the words that they had said then .	Are you talking to your neighbors again? Yes, they apologized for the words they said then.
Mother had known the truth before I told her it, didn't she ? Yes, she had .	Mom knew the truth before I told her, didn't she? Yes, I knew.
Yesterday we hadn't done this exercise. Translate the text today.	We didn't do this exercise yesterday. Translate text today.
Had your sister cooked a pie or a cake, when you returned? She had cooked a cake and ten muffins.	When you returned, did your sister make a pie or cake? She prepared the cake and 10 cupcakes.
Did they buy their car last week? No, they didn't. They had bought it the week before .	Did they buy their car last week? No, they bought it the week before last.

We looked at examples of various sentences in the past perfect, and learned how to compose them according to grammatical patterns. In order for new information not to be forgotten after 30 minutes, but firmly stuck in our head, it is necessary to perform several. Good luck in improving your English and see you again!

As we know, the British love order in everything, and the English language is no exception. In their opinion, every action should have its own order. In Russian, we use one tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then go back to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman will never tolerate such “chaos” in his speech. If he forgot about an important event that happened before everyone else, then he will report it in a specially designated time called Past Perfect. This is what we will talk about today. C"mon!

What is Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tense is the past perfect tense. We usually use it to talk about an action that ended at or before some point in the past.

For example: When he read the book, he went to bed.

What was the first action? First he read the book and then went to bed. That is, by the time he went to bed, he had already read the book. To show that the first action ended before the second happened, you need to use the Past Perfect in the first part of the sentence - “When he had read the book, he went to bed.” In other words, we use the Past Perfect to show the order of actions, i.e., that one action in the past occurred before another.

How is Past Perfect formed (formulas + examples)

• Statement. The predicate in the Past Perfect consists of two parts: the auxiliary verb " had" And third form of the main verb(add the ending “-” to the correct verb ed", and we take the irregular form from the third column of the table of irregular verbs).

• Negation. In a negative sentence between the auxiliary verb " had" and the particle " appears as the main verb not».

As with many other tenses, the Past Perfect has shortened forms that are used in colloquial speech. IN affirmative sentence " had» unites With pronoun, V negative- with the particle " not" For example:

I'd come.
You'd finished.
I hadn't come.
You weren't finished.

• Question. An interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb " had", followed by subject And main verb.

Past Perfect marker words

If a sentence contains the following words, then it belongs to the Past Perfect Tense:

by- To;
hardly… when / no sooner… than- as soon as I barely had time;
after- after;
earlier- earlier, before - before;
first- first;
when- When;
just- just now;
already- already;
yet- already, not yet.

Past Perfect marker table

Marker	Example	Translation
by	Unfortunately, most of the audience didn’t stay by the end of the play.	Unfortunately, by the end of the performance most of the audience left.
hardly...when	Hardly had they crossed the road when the accident happened.	They had barely crossed the road when the accident happened.
no sooner...than	No sooner than he had came in he heard congratulations and his friends gathered around him.	As soon as he entered, he heard congratulations and friends gathered around him.
after	After the boy had done his hometask he went out to play football with his friends.	After the boy did his homework, he went for a walk.
earlier	She knew how to cook a cake because she had made it earlier.	She knew how to bake a cake because she had made it before.
before	James easily won this game because he had played it many times before.	James played this game easily as he had played it many times before.
first	First we had taken all our bags, then understood that we forgot our tickets on the table.	First we took our things, and then we realized that we had forgotten the tickets on the table.
when	John had sat to work when his boss called for him.	John sat down at his desk to work when his boss called him.
just	I just had sat to have lunch when my friend called me.	I had just sat down to lunch when my friend called me.
already	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and told that she bought a cake too.	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and said that she also bought a cake.
yet	I hadn’t served the table yet when the guests came.	I had not yet set the table when the guests arrived.

Cases of using Past Perfect:

• The past perfect shows an action that happened before another action or a specific moment in the past. Another action in the past is most often denoted by the Past Simple, and special words may be used: “ by"(to some time/moment), " after" (after), " before"(before, before), " when" (When), " earlier" (earlier), " first"(first, first).

Before Anna called her husband she had finished all the work. - Before Anna called her husband, she finished all the work.

Nota bene: if actions are placed in chronological ok, then you need to use Past Simple:

Anna finished all work and called her husband. - Anna finished all the work and (then) called her husband (chronological order).

• The Past Perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed by the Past Perfect has become reason that another action has taken place.

He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He didn't eat for eight hours.

She couldn’t buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card. - She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes because she lost her credit card.

• Past Perfect is used after " if"in conditional sentences of the third type ( third conditional). This type of conditional shows regret about the past. We could have done something in the past if we had fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.

If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. - If I knew about your problem, I would help you.
If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. - If you read the morning newspaper, you would agree with me.

• Past Perfect is used in the constructions " hardly … when" And " no sooner … than" These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use back order words, as in the question. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the words “as soon as...”, “I didn’t have time...”, “as soon as I...”.

Hardly had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. - The plane had barely landed at Miami airport when it started to rain.
No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. - Before I had time to chew my sandwich, someone knocked on the door.

• Enumeration of actions happened in the past until the time of the story generally:

I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog had scratched the furniture, had torn the wallpapers and had eaten my lunch on the table. - I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog ​​scratched the furniture, tore the wallpaper and ate my lunch on the table.

Formation Past Perfect Passive

Like most tenses, the Past Perfect has passive design .

• Statement: subject + had been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].

The test had been finished by the end of the day.- The test was completed by the end of the day.
The picture had been painted by the Monday. - The picture was painted by Monday.

Negation: subject + had + not + been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].

The test had not been finished by the end of the day. - The test was not completed by the end of the day.
The bicycle had not been repaired by 2 o’clock. - The bicycle was not repaired by two o'clock.

Question: had + subject + been + verb 3 forms + [by object]?

Had the questions been discussed before the exam?- Were the questions discussed before the exam?
Had the picture been painted by the Monday?- Was the picture painted by Monday?

Present Perfect vs Past Perfect

Very often, when translating from Russian into English, you can get confused in choosing the right tense, because they both have similar features. Let's look at the table to get rid of doubts about the differences between Present Perfect and Past Perfect.

Difference between Present Perfect and Past Perfect

Indicates that an action expressed by the Present Perfect has been completed by now or during the present time: The shopping center has just opened. - The shopping center has just opened.	Indicates that an action expressed by the Past Perfect happened before another action or a specific moment in the past: We came to the office, but the administrator had already gone away. - We arrived at the office, and the administrator had already left.
Shows that the action occurred in the past, it is unknown and no matter when exactly, but its result is visible in the present: He knows her name. They have already met. - He knows her name. They've already met.	Shows that an action occurred in the past and caused or led to another action occurring in the past: My brother felt hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday. - My brother was hungry. He hasn't eaten since yesterday.

Nota bene: We recommend that you read the short theory again and complete the task in our online simulator so that you never have doubts about using the Past Perfect again.

Conclusion

So, today we looked at the forms of formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect, both in active and passive voice. We remembered which markers you should pay attention to, and figured out how not to confuse the Present Perfect and Past Perfect. But the most important thing to remember is that next to the Past Perfect there must be another action in the past.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with other tenses of the English language

Learn English easy and get skillful!

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

Hello, hello, my dears.

There are only three tenses in the Russian language. And the past is just the past, without any additions. But in English everything is much more complicated. Have you heard about Past Perfect? Such a small and completely inconspicuous brother of the painful Present Perfect for many.

So, if this “miracle” caused you any difficulties - or maybe you have never heard of it at all - then today I will tell you everything. Past Perfect: rules and examples- topic of the lesson. We are waiting for an explanation of the rules, many, many examples, but there will be exercises. After all, practice takes a lot of time.

How is it formedPast Perfect

Construction affirmative proposals in this tense is identical to the formation in the present perfect tense with minor changes. In short, the diagram looks like this:

Subject +had + V3 + Object.

She had done her homework by 9 p. m. - She had done her homework by 9 pm.

They had already visited the place before. - They have already come to this place before.

Let's take a short break here! Because I hope you remember that V3 is the third form of the verb. We simply add an ending to regular verbs – ed, but we remember by heart and use the form from the third column!

I will not be too lazy to remind you that English grammar can be studied in a very interesting and exciting way with the help of the course « Grammar for Beginners» or online intensive « Competently, like Shakespeare» , which is offered by the online English learning service that has gained well-deserved popularity. Lingualeo.

WITH negative sentences everything is even simpler - we just add a piece not.

Subject +had not + V3 + Object.

I hadn't had breakfast before I set off to the university. -I Not had breakfast before, how go V university.

I hadn't ’ t slept until my parents came back home. - I didn’t sleep until my parents returned home.

IN interrogative sentence the structure changes to the following:

Had +subject+V3+An object?

Had you washed your hands before you started eating the dinner? -You washed hands before those, How begin have supper?

Had you done the task before you went out to meet with your friends? -You did exercise before those, How go meet with his friend?

When to usePast Perfect

That’s what, and with understanding when to use the Past Perfect, neither I nor my students have ever had any problems. After all, everything is absolutely simple. Usually this rule is studied in the 8th grade, when students already have sufficient vocabulary, and explaining the rule does not become a test for children.

The first and most important rule:

• Past Perfect used to describe a situation that has already ended BEFORE some other action occurred in the past.

The action that had already finished before another action happened.

I was on my way to work when I remembered (action in the past) that I had forgotten (preceding action) the presentation on the table. -IwasonwaysTowork, WhenIremembered, Whatforgotpresentationontable.

Theyhad already sold (preceding action) thecarwhenI called(action in the past) . - When I called, they had already sold the car.

Sometimes, instead of a specific indication of an action, there may be an indication of time.

She had finished studies by the 1st of July. -She finished classes To first July.

We had finished the event by the end of the month.- We're doneeventby the endmonths.

• Past Perfect used when stories need to describe a chain of actions relating to the past.

The policeman said that the robbers had broken the window, had stolen the picture and had run away. I was standing there and couldn’t understand what I should do. -Police officer said, What robbers smashed window, stolen picture And ran away. I stood there and couldn’t understand what I should do.

Time indicators

At any time there are indicators. To immediately recognize the Past Perfect in a sentence, look for the following words:

1. Before - before; before.
2. Since - since then.
3. By - to.
4. For - during.
5. By the time - by the time.
6. Just - just now.
7. After - after.
8. Till\Until - until then.
9. Never - never.
10. Already - already.

In 80% of cases, one of these words will be used in a sentence. For example:

I had already prepared my presentation by the time mother prepared the dinner. - I had already finished my presentation by the time my mother prepared dinner.

She realized that she had never been to this place before. -She Understood, What never earlier Not was V this place.

But be sure to remember one thing - past perfect- this is past tense, therefore we use it only when we talk about past events! As a rule, it most often occurs in narratives and stories.

My dears, I am sure that you will have absolutely no questions left. Now you can find thousands of videos, rules and exercises in the public domain if you need more. But I hope that I was able to close all the gaps in your knowledge regarding this topic. And it’s not the easiest, believe me! But if you still have questions, please leave a comment. I will answer each one there.

In addition, I also invite you to my newsletter, where I regularly share important and useful information from my experience. Let's learn English together!

That's all for today!

Past Perfect- is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the Past Indefinite (had) and the past participle (Past Participle) of the main verb.

HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE

In the interrogative In the Past Perfect form, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject, and the main verb comes after the subject.

Negative the form is formed using the negative particle -not, which is placed after the auxiliary verb.

MeaningPastPerfect

There is no analogue to this tense in the Russian language, so this tense causes difficulties for Russian speakers.

Compare:

When I arrived at work they had already finished the meeting. (Everything is in the past tense in Russian)

In English, different verb tenses are used in similar sentences:

When I came to work they had already completed the meeting (came – Past Simple, had completed – Past Perfect)

Past perfect example sentences

Susan had left the party when he arrived. – Susan left the party when he arrived

The Past Perfect is rarely used in everyday speech.

The point of using this form is that it is important for the speaker to establish the sequence of events in the past.

UconsumptionPastPerfect

PastPerfect expresses an action in the past that occurred and ended before another past action or before some point or period of the past tense. Past Perfect is a pre-past tense because it describes a past perfect action in relation to the moment, which is also the past. This point can be indicated:

A) time notation, such as: by the end of the year - by the end of the year, by four o"clock - by four o'clock, by Friday - by Friday, by the 14th of November - by November 14, by that time - by that time, etc. .P.:

He had written only two reports by four o’clock – He only wrote two reports by four o'clock

Marina had left by the 15 th of June – Marina left (already) by June 15

By ten o'clock on Friday I had already repaired my car – By 10 o'clock I had already repaired my car

b) another past action, which is expressed by a verb in the Past Indefinite, and which occurred after the event expressed by the Past Perfect form:

When I arrived at the airport the plane had already gone – When I arrived at the airport, the plane had already taken off (the verb arrived expresses an action that happened later - it arrived at the airport, and the plane took off before that)

They had discussed the contract when I come – When I arrived, they discussed the contract

c) The moment before which the action expressed by Past Perfect took place may not be specified specifically in this sentence. It is indicated in another sentence:

She received a letter from my mother yesterday. She had not heard from her for a long time. – She received a letter from my mother yesterday. She hasn't heard from her for a very long time

Important:

In a situation where we are talking about two or more past actions that are conveyed in the order in which they occurred, they are expressed by verbs in the Past Simple (Indefinite):

I took a bath and went to bed - I took a bath and went to bed.

But if the sequence of actions is interrupted by a mention of previously performed actions, then such previously accomplished actions are expressed by verbs in the Past Perfect:

I met Jack, we had lunch and went to office but i remembered that i had promised my wife to call her – I met Jack, we had lunch and went to the office, but I remembered that I promised to call my wife

(In this example, the verbs met, had, went, remembered - indicate the sequence of actions that took place in the past in the order in which they occurred, but the verb had promised - used in the Past Perfect interrupts this chain, because he PROMISED his wife before how he met Jack, they had dinner, etc.)

She came home late in the evening. She had signed three contracts had called clients. She had dinner and went to bed – She came home late in the evening. She concluded 3 contracts and called clients. She had dinner and went to bed.

The negative form of the Past Perfect means that at a certain point in the past the action has not yet ended:

I had not read the book by Saturday - I had not yet read this book by Saturday.

When we called for Julia, she hadn't yet got up - When we went to pick up Julia, she had not yet gotten up (she was in bed).

Other uses of the Present Perfect:

a) Past Perfect is used instead of Past Perfect Continuous (with verbs not used in Continuous). Such a sentence must indicate the time during which the action took place.

Important:

Verbs expressing hope, intention, desire: hope hope, expect expect, think think, want want etc. are used in the Past Perfect form when it is implied that they didn't come true.

I had hope you would help me - I hoped that you would help me (but you didn’t).

I had thought you knew about our problem - I thought you knew about our problem (but I was wrong).

b) Past Perfect can be used in cases where Past Perfect Continuous could be used. This is done in order to focus attention not on the duration of the process, but on the very fact of the action.

When I found out about her she had lived in USA for three years – When I found out about her, she had been living (already) in the USA for 3 years.

c) Past Perfect can be used in subordinate clauses of time, the action of which is future in relation to past events. Such sentences are introduced by time conjunctions: after after, when When, assoonas as soon as,until (till) until, and so on. The speaker expects this action to be completed before the action of the main clause occurs. In this meaning, the Past Perfect is translated into Russian by the form of the future tense.

He said that he would take a vacation as soon as he had finished the project – He said he would take a vacation as soon as he finished the project

She would sit with her baby tonight after Maria had gone – She'll be babysitting her baby tonight after Maria leaves.

What do they represent? Why did they even come up with this time, because it already exists? past simple, past continuous And past perfect? The answer is quite simple: the British love specifics. They definitely need to clarify whether the action was completed or lasted for some time. Or maybe several actions or processes took place, and one action took place before all others? Hmm, somehow everything is complicated without examples.

When are past perfect continuous sentences needed?

Let's think logically to figure out what they "eat" with. We know that past perfect is pre-past tense because it talks about an action that happened before another action in the past. As the name suggests, past perfect continuous tells us not just about an event that happened in the past. There is already some process involved here that happened before something else in the past.

Example:

I had been wash ing my car when you phoned me. “I was washing my car when you called me.”

In this sentence, the speaker emphasizes that literally before the call he was busy washing the car. It was a process that lasted until the phone rang, not just a fait accompli. Such a meaning in the past tense can only be given to us by past perfect continuous.

Time past perfect continuous. Education

As you already noticed, time past perfect continuous is a kind of mix - past perfect + continuous. That is why to form it we must adhere to the following scheme:

TO BE in past perfect + verb + ING

As for questions and negatives, they are formed quite standardly. In a negative sentence you must use hadn't been, and in an interrogative to pronounce had in front of the subject.

Past perfect continuous example sentences

Let's now consider past perfect continuous example sentences.

statement	negation	question
had been cry ing (I looked at her and realized that she was crying)	I looked at her and understood she hadn't been cry ing (I looked at her and realized that she was not crying)	Had she been cry ing before you came? (Did she cry before you arrived?)
The road was wet. It had been rain ing all night (The road was wet. It rained all night)	He said it hadn't been rain ing all night (He said it didn't rain all night).	Had it been rain ing before you got up? (Was it raining before you got up?)