How is the past perfect formed in English. Past Perfect: rules, examples

AT English language There are different forms of the past tense. Their difference lies in the quality of the action that took place or how long it was. A characteristic feature of the grammatical design of English speech is its logic.

Therefore, the British consider it incorrect in a monologue to jump unreasonably from one grammatical construction to another when telling about the events of the past. They call the Past Perfect tense the most intense and giving expressiveness to speech.

Features of the grammatical structure Past Perfect

If you need to talk about events that occurred in the past, when one of them happened before the other, then the past perfect tense is used. It is also called "pre-past" and past completed.

Native speakers admit that they rarely use this construction, but it sounds very good if it is grammatically correct.

Another feature of the Past Perfect grammatical structure is that it is almost never used in dialogic speech. It is mainly used in narration, most often in complex sentences when describing several actions.

Formation of the Past Perfect construction

rule Education Past Perfect is pretty simple and not cluttered with a lot of verbs. Verb to have acts as an auxiliary in the form of the past tense - had. The main verb is in the third form.

It is necessary to distinguish between the formation of the third form of irregular and regular verbs. Regular verbs are called so because when forming past tense forms, there is one rule for them: the ending -ed (-d) is attached to the verb.

The Past Perfect education formula looks like this:

For example: Everyone had paid for purchases by credit cards.

The rule for the formation of different forms of sentences will first be given in a general form to understand its construction, and then we will consider the formation of the Past Perfect construction in complex sentences.

Past Perfect in affirmative sentences

A characteristic feature of the structure of sentences in English is a strictly fixed sequence of all members of the sentence:

1. Subject.
2. Predicate.
3. Secondary Members.

If the predicate consists of two verbs, as in the case under consideration, then the auxiliary verb should come first, followed by the semantic one.

The famous American scientist had got the Nobel Price.

foreigner had spelled some words correctly.

Taxi had stopped far from my house.

Past Perfect in negative sentences

The fixed word order rule holds true for negative sentences as well. Particle not has its static place after the auxiliary verb.

At education negative form Past Perfect must be borne in mind that there are two alternatives:

• Full: had not.
• Brief: hadn't.

Word order in a negative sentence:

1. Subject.
2. Auxiliary.
3. Negation.
4. semantic verb.
5. Secondary Members.

Some students had not studied subjects carefully.

My relatives had not returned in time.

The rival company had not given us a chance.

Past Perfect in interrogative sentences

There are two types of interrogative sentences in English:

• General.
• Special.

A general question is also called a “question-doubt”, that is, the person asking the question, as it were, asks the interlocutor about the information already heard.

The word order in this case is different from the affirmative sentence:

1. Auxiliary.
2. Subject.
3. semantic verb.
4. Secondary Members.

Had you heard the last news about the price of tickets?

Had she chosen the pair of new shoes?

Had he changed the headline of his article?

A special question implies the presence of an interrogative word, that is, it is a more specific type of interrogative sentence.

The sequence of words has changed and looks like:

1. Question word.
2. Auxiliary.
3. Subject.
4. semantic verb.
5. Secondary Members.

whom had they elected as a President?

What had you done to make friends with us?

Using the Past Perfect Construction in Speech

Past Perfect is used in different speech situations, it depends on the context:

1. The action ended up to some point in the past. The border of the moment is indicated by the so-called verbal time barriers: by Sunday, by 17 o'clock.
   They had begun to work by 19 o'clock in the evening.
   My sister had read the book by Wednesday.
2. One of the actions ended before the other. A later action is described in the Past Simple. Parts of sentences with different actions can be combined with conjunctions as soon as, after, before, when and others.
   Pupils carefully made the task after the teacher had given it.
   After the tourist had known the local currency of Spain, he paid for everything in cash.
   When she returned home her parents had slept already.
   If the speaker delimits the sequence of actions in the process of his narration, then it is necessary to grammatically arrange the tenses.
   It is very difficult for people who begin to study such subtleties of English speech at first. But with regular practice, the process is gradually brought to automatism.
   Only when the dinner for my family was ready I understood that I had forgotten to salt it. After my friends had gone away I began to clean the room.
   When the performance was over, we had called a taxi.
3. The action began in the past and continued for a certain period of time until the next action in the past or during this action.
   The peculiarity of this Past Perfect position is that:
   • The Past Perfect time performs the functions of the construction Past here Perfect Continuous. This is due to the fact that Continuous is not used with state verbs.
     As for me, I had understood the things become worse.
     He had hated they impolite with people.
   • When the negative in the Past Perfect is directed to action:
     Everybody got to know that parents had not seen him since the beginning of the war.
   • When using verbs of motion:
     tourists had traveled for several days until there was a happy event.

Translation of sentences from Past Perfect into Russian

When translating a narration using the Past Perfect into Russian, one must be guided, first of all, by the basic rules for using constructions in speech and control their presence:

1. The completion of the action at the mentioned moment, indicating the date or time in the past.
2. The precedence of one action to another in the past.

Of course, there are many exceptions to the general rules when using the Past Perfect in speech, and all the nuances are mastered by directly entering the language environment.

But, despite the apparent complexity of the formation of this construction, especially in sentences with several actions, it will turn out to be much easier with regular practical use of it in speech.

The main thing is to know the rules of education (Had + Verb 3) and general rules the use of the Past Perfect in speech described above. In this case, the speaker will automatically begin to feel this construction and use it appropriately.

Past Perfect (past perfect) is used to refer to an action that took place before a certain point in the past.

Education Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to have in the past tense (had) and the past participle of the semantic verb. This form the verb is also called the "third form of the verb" and is conventionally denoted as V3 (verb 3). For regular verbs, this is the infinitive with the ending -ed, for irregular verbs, it is the third column in the Table of Irregular Verbs.

The general formula looks like this:
had + V3

I had played.
He had played.

Interrogative form: did + subject + V3:
Had I played?
Had he played?

In a special question, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject, and the necessary interrogative pronoun is used before the auxiliary verb:

Where had I played?
Why had he played?
With whom had you played?

In a question to the subject, an interrogative pronoun who placed before the predicate instead of the subject itself:

Who had played?

Negative form: had + not + V3:
I had not played.
He had not played.

Interrogative-negative form: had + subject + not + V3 or hadn "t + subject + V3:
Had I not played? = Hadn"t I played?
Had he not played? = Hadn"t he played?

In colloquial speech, the following abbreviations are used:
had = 'd
had not = hadn't = 'd not
I "d play ed.
He hadn't played ed.
He "d not play ed.
Hadn't we played ed?

affirmative form	negative form
I had played He (she, it) had play ed We had play ed You had play ed They had play ed	I had not play ed He (she, it) had not play ed We had not play ed You had not played They had not play ed
Interrogative form	Interrogative-negative form
Had I play ed ? Had he (she, it) play ed ? Had we play ed ? Had you play ed ? Had they play ed ?	Had I not play ed ? Had he (she, it) not play ed ? Had we not play ed ? Had you not play ed ? Had they not play ed?

Using Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect is used:

1. To express a past action that took place before a certain moment in the past. It is also called "prepast tense" because a past action took place before another past action. To indicate such a moment in the past, use:

a) by ten o "clock by ten o'clock,by that time, by the 11th of April by April 11, by April by April etc.:
My son had done the homework by 8 o "clock. The son did his homework by eight o'clock.
By June he had already come. By June he was back.

b) another past action that took place later (in Past Simple):
He knew that they had left the city. He learned that they had left the city. (first left, and then found out)
The rain had stopped when we reached the town. The rain stopped when we got to the city.

c) context:

While we were playing in the yard, we became hungry. It was great that I had taken some sandwiches. While we were playing football, we got hungry. Thank God I brought sandwiches with me!

When listing actions, they are used in Past Simple despite the fact that some actions happened before others:
He took the newspaper, sat down on the chair and started reading. He took the newspaper, sat down on a chair and began to read.

2. In the subordinate clause after the union after and when as after :
After the rain had stopped, we went for a walk. After the rain stopped, we went for a walk.

3. In the main clause, when the subordinate clause begins with a unionbefore, before, because The action in the main clause happened before the action in the clause:
We had prepared supper before our mom returned. We had already cooked dinner before my mother returned.

3. To express a long-term action that began in the past and continued until a certain moment in the past or at a moment. The proposal must contain prepositions since with or for .

a) with verbs that are not used in Continuous (for more details, see Verbs without Continuos forms):
He had been away for several months before his first letter came. Before the first letter came from him, he had already been absent for several months.

b) with some verbs instead of Past Perfect Continuous, if the speaker wants to focus not on the duration, but on the fact of the action.
The Ivanovs had lived in Moscow for five years when I met them. The Ivanovs had been living in Moscow for five years when I met them.(important fact)
The Ivanovs had been living in Moscow for five years when I met them. The Ivanovs had been living in Moscow for five years when I met them.(duration, process is important)

4. With adverbs:
hardly ... when
scarcely ... when barely... how
no sooner ... when

At the same time, in the following subordinate clause, Past Simple is used:
Had hardly (scarcely) come, when the film

Such sentences, as a rule, have an emphatic meaning and are used with inversion.
Hardly had he come, when the film started. As soon as he arrived, the film began.

Cases of using Past Perfect Tense

1. An action that took place up to a certain point in the past.
2. After unions after and when in the meaning of after
3. In the main clause, the subordinate clause of which begins with before.
4. A long action that began in the past and continued until a certain moment in the past or at the moment (instead of Past Perfect Continuous)
5. In a complex sentence with hardly ... when, etc. adverbs.

Like any time of the Perfect category, the Past Perfect Tense reflects the completeness and completeness of a certain action. But its main difference from that is that there is no connection with the present, and all attention is focused on an action that has already taken place before some other action in the past.

The Past Perfect tense is used quite often, and is typical for both modern colloquial American English and classic version, which is British.

Example sentences in the Past Perfect look like this:

• He had already learned everything when we came - He already learned everything when we came
• The situation wasn't so bad as I had feared The situation wasn't as bad as I feared.

As can be seen from the examples presented, the essence of this time is to display an action that happened in the past, and it has no connection with the present time, but only shows the result that remains in the past tense.

Past Perfect Education

In many ways, the way Past Perfect Simple is formed is similar to the Present Perfect formation scheme. There is also an auxiliary verb here, only unlike Present, it is one, and this had, i.e., in fact, this is the past form of the verb have (has). The form of the main verb will also be represented as Past Participle, or, as it is also called, the third form of the verb. So, the Past Perfect Active formula looks like this:

Had + V(3) (–ed)

• He had finished his article before we came -He finished my article before topics, How we came
• When Jack called for I had already prepared all the necessary material -When Jack stopped by, I already cooked the whole necessary material

This past tense is simple: if the speaker wants to emphasize the completion of one action before another, then this is the tense that should be used.

Questions and negatives

General issues

In order to form general questions in the Past Perfect, it is enough to be guided by the same principle as with any other perfect tense. A general question is one that begins either with an auxiliary verb or with the verb to be. Because the past perfect tense in English has its own auxiliary verb, then and begin general question will be with had:

• Had you explained everything before he left? -You to him Everybody explained before Togo, How is he gone?
• Had they already found out all the details of that strange case when you came? -They already figured out Everybody details Togo strange affairs, when you came?

Special questions

Past Perfect interrogative sentences of a special type, characterized in that the speaker wants not only to hear the answer "yes" or "no", but to receive more specific information, are also simple in their education. In view of the fact that the initial position in the sentence is occupied by a special question word ( why, where, when, etc. ), and it is called special. Past Perfect examples of sentences with a special question look like this:

• why had you done all this hard work before we came? Why did you do all this hard work before we got here?
• Where had she been before she returned home?Where was she before she came home?

negatives

The negative with the perfect is formed even more simply: here, the particle not must go immediately after the auxiliary verb, and the rest of the structure of the sentence will remain unchanged. Often, a compressed form of negation is used for reduction (had not = hadn't):

• The rain hadn't stopped before we went away -Rain not ceased before Togo, How we left
• We hadn't completed the task when the bell rang –We hadn't finished the task when the bell rang

Cases of using Past Perfect

The past perfect tense in English is relevant in the following situations:

1. Precedence

To indicate an action completed up to a certain moment, and the reference here can be either some other action, which will be expressed through and the subordinate part, when the completion of one action is clear from the situation. Typical time markers in this case are adverbs such as before, after, as well as all those words that are typical for any perfect: just, never, ever, yet, etc., which are used in the Past Perfect to coordinate the situation with past tense:

• They had walked only a few steps when the car appeared in sightThey had only gone a few steps when the car came into view.
• After she had cry out I felt relieved- After she cried, I felt relieved
• He told all of us that he had never done harm to anyoneHe told us all that he never hurt anyone

In such proposals, it is clearly visible.

Note: despite the fact that the Past Perfect has fairly standard usage rules, there is one point that deserves attention. Two typical constructions of the English language - hardly (scarcely) ... when ... and no sooner ... than ... - are characterized not only by the use of the Perfect Past tense, but also, i.e., the reverse order of words in the sentence, which is done to give the statement additional expressiveness. In this case, the auxiliary verb had comes before the subject, not after it. Do not confuse such situations with a question; such phrases have an affirmative meaning, but the word order in them is that which is typical for interrogative sentences:

• No sooner had I laid than I heard a doorbellNot managed I lie down, How heard door call
• Hardly (scarcely) had she arrived when al the guests left the room -Barely she is arrived, How Everybody guests left room

2. Complete completion of the action

The past complete tense is often used not only to show precedence, but simply to express the complete completion of a particular action. This is usually indicated by the translation:

By that time they had already finished all their preparations - Kto thattime they finished all the preparations

Note: the classic position taken by auxiliary words like just, already, ever, etc. - between auxiliary and semantic verb. The exception is usually the adverb yet, which is typical for questions and negatives and which is used at the end of a sentence:

She said she hadn’ t visited them yetShe said she hadn't visited them yet.

3. With certain verbs

With those (sensory perception, emotions and feelings, mental activity, etc.), the use of the Past Perfect is characteristic, even if the idea of ​​duration is emphasized. Popular indicators of such situations are prepositions for and since:

• He informed me that he had already been there for half an hour -He informed to me, what was there already half an hour
• I found out that she had known me since 2005– I found out that she had known me since 2005.

All of the above rules and examples of using the Past Perfect tense will allow you to better navigate this time, albeit not very difficult, but rather unusual for a Russian-speaking person. English as an object of study will become easier if you try to understand its structure. Specifically, this time will not cause any inconvenience, the main thing is to understand its specifics, remember all cases of use and, if possible, do exercises aimed at training this type of temporary form.

Past Perfect is one of the forms of the past tense, denoting an event that happened at a certain moment before another action began.

The very existence of this grammatical phenomenon is a vivid example of how ordered the English language is, how important the sequence of completed events is within its species-temporal paradigm. As shown in the diagram below, an action expressed in this tense occurs before some other action in the past.

Also, instead of action 2, there can be some point in time in the past, before the start of which some event occurred, as shown in the following example:

Ways to form Past Perfect

Affirmative type sentences

In order to get a statement in the Past Perfect, you need the verb had and the 3rd form of the main verb (V3). The ending - ed is added to the correct verb, and if the verb is incorrect, its form is taken from the 3rd column (Participle II).

Below is a table with an example where you can observe the construction of this form of the past tense.

Structure	Subject (Who what?)	HAD	V3 (V+ed/Participle II)
Scheme	☺	had	V3
Example	Mom	had	painted	the wall by 5 o'clock.
Translation	Mum		dyed	wall by 5 o'clock.

It is worth noting that there are often abbreviations. In statements, had is combined with an apostrophe (‘)

She had = She'd

I had = I'd

We had = We'd

Below are examples of the use of verbs in the Past Perfect, both in full and in abbreviated form.

Full form	Short form	Translation
I had read.	I'd read.	I read.
He had smoked.	He'd smoked.	He smoked.
She had written.	She'd written.	She wrote.
It had flown.	It'd flown.	It flew away.
We had broken.	We'd be broken	We broke.
You had rung.	You'd drunk.	You called.
They had invented.	They'd come.	They invented.

Negative sentence type

Negative type sentences are formed by adding not between had and the semantic verb. In this case, the words are arranged in the same order as in the affirmative.

Structure	Subject (Who what?)	HAD	V3 (V+ed/Participle II)
Scheme	☺	had not	V3
Example	Mom	had not	painted	the wall by 5 o'clock.
Translation	Mum	not	dyed	wall by 5 o'clock.

Abbreviated forms in speech are used much more often than full ones. To shorten it, combine the auxiliary verb had with the particle not using an apostrophe ('), as shown below:

I had = I hadn't

You had = You hadn't

She had = She hadn't

Below are examples of the use of verbs in the Past Perfect in both full and abbreviated form of negative types of sentences.

Full form	Short form	Translation
I had not put.	I hadn't put.	I didn't put it.
He had not blown.	He hadn't blown.	He didn't pout.
She had not learned.	She hadn't learned.	She didn't learn.
It had not flown.	It hadn't flown.	It didn't fly away.
We had not broken.	We hadn't broken.	We didn't break.
You weren't drunk.	You hadn't drunk.	You didn't drink.
They had not invented.	They hadn't invented.	They didn't invent.

Interrogative sentences

In interrogative sentences, the word order is reversed. As can be seen in the table below, the auxiliary verb had should come first, then the subject, and then the semantic verb V3:

Structure	HAD	Subject (Who what?)	V3 (V+ed/Participle II)
Scheme	Had	☺	V3	?
Example	Had	Mom	painted	the wall by 5 o'clock?
Translation	Did you paint	Mum		wall by 5 o'clock.

The following table shows examples of using the Past Perfect in interrogative sentences. You can also observe that the word order is reversed everywhere:

Using the Past Perfect

1. Most often Past Perfect means an event in the past that happened before some other action. This subsequent action is often in the Simple Past.

We drove up to the opera house, but the performance had finished. We arrived at the opera house, but the performance had already ended. (first the performance ended, then we arrived at the opera house).

2. Past Perfect denotes an event, which happened in the past at the designated time. In this case, the very moment by which the action is completed will be indicated. In the following example, this moment is denoted by by:

Matt had finished repairing the car by 9 o'clock. Matt finished repairing the car by 9 o'clock. (repair was completed by the time the clock read 9)

3. Sometimes Past Perfect indicates that an event expressed in this time is the cause of another, subsequent action or state.

She was happy. She had received lots of gifts. - She was happy. She received many gifts.

She didn't invite him for dinner as she had burnt the chicken in the oven. She didn't invite him to dinner because she burned the chicken in the oven.

4. Using Past Perfect denotes a continuous action that began earlier and lasted until some time. In this case, the prepositions since and for are most often used, which are translated as “since” and “during”, respectively.

He deceased last Monday. We had remembered him since he was a toddler. He passed away last Monday. We have remembered him since he was a one year old baby.

She was a talented violinist. We had loved her playing for 10 years. She was a talented violinist. We enjoyed her game for 10 years.

It should be noted that the Past Perfect in this case is used only with those that express emotions, perception. For example, love, know, adore, think, feel, regret, etc. With dynamic verbs, Past Perfect Continuous is necessary to express duration.

Ben retired on July, 2. This dude had been coaching us for 10 years. Ben retired on the second of July. This guy has been our coach for 10 years.

5. In conditional sentences of the third type Past Perfect used to express regret for something that didn't happen. Something in the past could have been done if the condition had been met, but at the present moment it is no longer possible to influence the situation.

If I had met Harry, I would have given a hug to him. If I met Harry, I would hug him.

If she had ironed her dress, her parents would have given her some more funds. If she had ironed her dress, her parents would have given her more money.

6. In sentences where words such as hardly ... when and no sooner ... than are used, Past Perfect denotes a sequence of events. The use of this tense emphasizes that one action happened immediately after another. Similar constructions are translated using the expressions “did not have time ...”, “as soon as ...”, “barely ...”. In sentences of this type, the opposite is true.

Hardly had Jens gone out, when somebody threw a stone to his head. As soon as Jens left, someone threw a stone at his head.

No sooner had Tony sunk into the sea water than the funny dolphin was seen nearby. Before Tony had time to dive into sea ​​water how a funny dolphin appeared nearby.

The use of circumstances of time

Past Perfect is used with the following time markers:

• by(to some time/moment)
  Kate had smoked 10 cigarettes by the moment they came (Kate had smoked 10 cigarettes by the time they arrived);
• after(after)
  After he had lost 10 pounds, he changed the size of his clothes (After he lost 10 pounds, he changed the size of his clothes);
• before(before / before)
  Before I came home, I had delayed at college to help the tutor
• when(when)
  Molly had crossed the brook when the dog looked at her (Molly crossed the stream when the dog looked at her);
• earlier(before)
  I didn't know where my boyfriend was as he had snaffled my money earlier
• just(just now)
  It was 7 p.m. and she had just taken the shower (It was 7 pm and she had just taken a shower);
• already(already)
  They were going for that city as she had already got a new job (They moved to that city because she had already found a new job);
• yet(still, already)
  They arranged the party but they hadn't brought the drinks yet (They organized a party, but they hadn't brought the drinks yet).

Markers such as yet, already and just also use . It must be understood that when using the Past Perfect, the speaker refers to the past, and the Present Perfect denotes an event that happened in the past, but its consequences affect the present.

I have written 7 poems already. I have already written 7 poems. (I already have 7 poems written)

By the moment I lost my vision, I had written 7 poems already. - By the time I lost my sight, I had already written 7 poems. (I already wrote 7 poems, and then I lost my sight).

Cases of replacing Past Perfect with Past Simple

At the moment, there is a tendency to replace Past Perfect with Past Simple, if the sequence of actions is obvious from the context. Most often this happens in . These sentences use different time markers.

• after (after)

After she had washed the walls in the bathroom, she peeled the vegetables for a salad. = After she washed the walls in the bathroom, she peeled the vegetables for a salad.
After she scrubbed the walls in the bathroom, she cleaned the vegetables for the salad.

• before (before / before)

I had visited my cousin once before I left for Hungary. = I visited my cousin once before I left for Hungary.
I visited my cousin once before I left for Hungary.

• earlier (earlier),

I helped my neighbors though I was incensed by them as they had crashed my motorbike earlier. = I helped my neighbors though I was incensed by them as they crashed my motorbike earlier.
I AM helped mine neighbors, although was very angry on them, because what they smashed my moped.

But: If the union when (when) is used in the sentence, the replacement of time is not possible, since the meaning will change.

When we hauled our bags to the hotel, Mary had checked in. When we brought the bags to the hotel, Mary had already checked in.
(Past Perfect means Mary checked in before we dragged our bags to the hotel)

When we hauled our bags to the hotel, Mary checked in. - When we dragged the bags to the hotel, Mary checked in.
(Past Simple shows that first we dragged the bags to the hotel, and then Mary checked in)

At first glance, this time seems difficult. It is important to remember the basic principle - Past Perfect is where two actions have occurred in succession. The one that happened before is expressed in the Past Perfect, and what happened after it is expressed in the Past Simple.

In addition, this time indicates that some past event has ended by some point. In order to make it easier to understand in which cases this time is used, it is necessary to remember the markers that are used with the Past Perfect, study the structure of sentences, and also visualize the sequence of actions.

And in order to finally fix the material and put everything “on the shelves”, we recommend watching the video:

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

The past perfect tense or Past Perfect Tense is another complex tense form of the English language that describes events in the past tense. Since there is no analogue to this form in Russian, efforts must be made to understand its essence and assimilate it. Meaning of Past Perfect Tense What is Past Perfect Tense?

The Past Perfect tense indicates a past action that either preceded another action in the past or ended before a specific point in the past tense. For obvious reasons, it is also called "prepast".

Trace the difference between "past" and "prepast" tense in the following example:

• I was late. They had gone without me. (I was late. They left without me.)

As you can see, in these sentences in English, different tenses are used, while in Russian they are the same. In the first Past Simple. In the second Past perfect, because the action preceded the action in the first sentence. → They had already left without me before I arrived.

The past perfect tense is most often found in narratives and mainly in complex sentences.

Subl. + had + Past Participle …

The interrogative form is formed by placing the auxiliary verb to have in the Past Simple Tense (had) in the first place before the subject.

Had + Gen. + Past Participle ???

The negative form is formed using the negation not, which is placed after the auxiliary verb had and in colloquial speech merges with it into one whole:

• had not - hadn't

Subl. + had + not + Past Participle …

Conjugation table of the verb to grow in Present Perfect Tense

Number	Face	affirmative form	Interrogative form	negative form
Unit h.	1 2 3	I had (I "d) grown You had (you "d) grown He/ She/ It had (He "d/ She'd) grown	Had I grown? Had you grown? Had he/she/it grown?	I had not (hadn't) grown You had not (hadn't) grown He/ She/ It had not (hadn't) grown
Mn. h.	1 2 3	We had (we "d) grown You had (you "d) grown They had (they "d) grown	Had we grown? Had you grown? Had they grown?	We had not (hadn't) grown You had not (hadn't) grown They had not (hadn't) grown

Past Perfect Tense is used:

1. To express a past action that took place before a certain moment in the past with adverbial words that indicate the time by which the action was completed:

• by then
• by that time
• by Friday - by Friday
• by 9 o'clock - by 9 o'clock
• by the 21th of November
• by the end of the year

• They had written their compositions by Friday - They wrote their compositions by Friday
• Bill had done the work by the time his parents returned - Bill finished work by the time his parents returned
• I had finished the project by the end of the year - I finished the project by the end of the year

The point before which the action was completed can be determined by the context. For example:

• In the club I met Jim who had gone to the same college - In the club I met Jim, with whom we went to college together

Past Perfect in a compound sentence 2. In compound sentences, to express a past action that preceded another action in the past, expressed by a verb in the Past Simple. As a rule, such sentences include subordinate clauses of time after conjunctions:

• when - when
• after - after
• before
• until - until
• as soon as - as soon as

• Nick had finished his work before his boss came in - Nick finished work before his boss came in
• As soon as Nick had finished his work the door opened and his boss came in - As soon as he finished work, the door opened and the boss came in
• When I had made breakfast I rang him up - When I cooked breakfast, I called him

3. To express actions that began before a specified moment in the past and continue up to this moment. In the sentence, as a rule, there are circumstances of time that indicate the period during which the action took place:

• for a long time - for a long time
• for three years (hours, months, days) - within three years (hours, months, days)
• since - since, since then

• He realized he had been in love with her for a long time - He realized that he had been in love with her for a long time
• They had owned the house for twenty years when they decided to sell it - They had owned the house for twenty years when they decided to sell it
• He told me he had been badly ill since he returned from the South - He told me that he had been very ill since he returned from the South

4. To express intentions, desires, hopes that did not come true. Usually with verbs:

• expect - expect
• hope - hope
• want - want
• think - to think

• We had hoped we could visit them tomorrow but it's beginning to look difficult - I hoped that we could visit them tomorrow, but it seems that it will not be easy.
• She had intended to cook a dinner but she ran out of time - She was going to cook dinner, but did not have time

5. In subordinate clauses time, the action of which is future in relation to past events. This action must precede the action in the main clause. In this case, Past Perfect Tense is translated into the future tense. Examples:

• I promised that I would go home after I had done all my work - I promised that I would come home after I had done all my work
• She decided she wouldn't do anything till he had explained the situation - She decided that she would not do anything until he explained the situation

The past perfect tense is not easy to learn right away. It takes a lot of practice to master this material well.

Check out the following videos that you might be interested in:

Simple and clear explanation with examples of Past Perfect Tense (Past Complete Tense)

"Past Perfect Tense English Grammar"