Positive | Negative | Question |
---|---|---|
I'd (I had) seen him | I hadn't (had not) seen him | Had I seen him? |
You'd done it | You hadn't done it | Had you done it? |
We'd been there | We hadn't been there | Had they been there? |
They'd eaten it | They hadn't eaten it | Had they finished it? |
He'd (he had) gone. | He hadn't (had not) gone. | Had he been here? |
She'd (she had) gone | She hadn't gone | Had she gonr? |
It'd (it had) gone. | It hadn't gone. | Had it gone? |
Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
---|---|---|
|
I hadn't been to London. | The helping verb had (negative - hadn't) is used in the past perfect. |
|
When I saw him I noticed that he had had a haircut. | The action (haircut) which happened before another past action must be put into the past perfect to make the time order clear to the listener. |
|
He told me he had been to London. | His original words were: ''I have been to London.'' However, in reported speech we move the tense back - the present perfect ( have been) becomes past perfect (had been). |
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.
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.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.
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.
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.
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.
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.