Form of the Simple Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect is formed with had + the past participle.

I had (I'd) >
You had (You'd) > arrived
He had (He'd) > finished
She had (She'd) > started
It had (It'd) > shut
We had (We'd) > lost
You had (You'd) > drunk
The had (The'd) >

Uses of the Past Perfect Tense
It is sometimes supposed that we use the !ast !erfect simpl to descri"e 'events that happened a
lon# time a#o'. This is not the case. We use the Simple !ast for this purpose$
%nthon and &leopatra died in '( ).&.

*. The !ast !erfect referrin# to an earlier past
The main use of the !ast !erfect is to show which of two events happened first. Here are two past
events$
The patient died. The doctor arrived.
We can com"ine these two sentences in different was to show their relationship in the past$
The patient died when the doctor arrived. (i.e. the patient died at the time or +ust after the
doctor arrived)
The patient had died when the doctor arrived. (i.e. the patient was alread dead when the
doctor arrived)
The event that happened first need not "e mentioned first$
The doctor arrived ,uickl- "ut the patient had alread died.
Some tpical con+unctions used "efore a !ast !erfect to refer to 'an earlier past' are$ when and after-
as soon as, by the time that. The often impl a cause.and.effect relationship$
We cleared up as soon as our #uests had left.
%dver"s often associated with the !resent !erfect$ already, ever, for (+ period of time), just, never,
never before, since (+ point of time) are often used with the !ast !erfect to emphasi/e the se,uence
of events$
When I ran#- 0im had alread left.
The "os loved the /oo. The had never seen wild animals "efore.

1. The !ast !erfect as the past e,uivalent of the !resent !erfect
The !ast !erfect sometimes functions simpl as the past form of the !resent !erfect$
0uliet is e2cited "ecause she has never "een to a dance "efore.
0uliet was e2cited "ecause she had never "een to a dance "efore.
This is particularl the case in indirect speech.3sed in this wa- the !ast !erfect can emphasi/e
completion$
I "e#an collectin# stamps in 4e"ruar and " 5ovem"er I had collected more than 1(((.
Yet can "e used with the !ast !erfect- "ut we often prefer e2pressions like until then or by that time.
&ompare$
He hasn't finished et.
He hadn't finished " esterda evenin#.

'. The !ast !erfect for unfulfilled hopes and wishes
We can use the !ast !erfect (or the !ast Simple or !ro#ressive) with ver"s like expect, hope, mean,
suppose, think, want- to descri"e thin#s we hoped or wished to do "ut didn't$
I had hoped to send him a tele#ram to con#ratulate him on his marria#e- "ut I didn't mana#e it.

Obligatory and non-obligatory uses of the Past Perfect

We do not alwas need to use the !ast !erfect to descri"e which event came first. Sometimes this is
perfectl clear- as in$
%fter I finished- I went home.
The se,uence is often clear in relative clauses as well$
I wore the necklace (which) m #randmother (had) left me.
We normall use the Simple !ast for events that occur in se,uence$
I #ot out of the ta2i- paid the fare- tipped the driver and dashed into the station.
'I came- I saw- I con,uered.' 0ulius &aesar declared.
)ut there are instances when we need to "e ver precise in our use of !ast or !ast !erfect-
particularl with when$
When I arrived- %nne left. (i.e. at that moment)
When I arrived- %nne had left. (i.e. "efore I #ot there)
In the first sentence- I saw %nne- h-wever "riefl. In the second- I didn't see her at all. See also
indirect speech.
We normall use the !ast !erfect with con+unctions like no sooner ... than or hardly/scarcely/barely ...
when$
6rs Winthrop had no sooner left the room than the "e#an to #ossip a"out her.
6r 0enkins had hardly/scarcely/barely "e#un his speech when he was interrupted.

Simple Past and Simple Past Perfect in typical contexts
The !ast !erfect com"ines with other past tenses (Simple !ast- !ast !ro#ressive- !ast !erfect
!ro#ressive) when we are talkin# or writin# a"out the past. It is used in stor.tellin#- "io#raph-
auto"io#raph- reports- ee.witness accounts- etc. and is especiall useful for esta"lishin# the
se,uence of events$
hen we returned from our holidays, we found our house in a mess. hat had happened
while we had been away! " bur#lar had broken into the house and had stolen a lot of our
thin#s. ($ow that the time of the bur#lary has been established relative to our return, the story
can continue in the simple past.) %he bur#lar #ot in throu#h the kitchen window. &e had no
difficulty in forcin# it open. %hen he went into the livin#'room.
5ote the reference to an earlier past in the followin# narrative$

(ilas )adley inherited several old cotta#es in our villa#e. &e wanted to pull them down and
build new houses which he could sell for hi#h prices. &e wrote to *r &arrison, now blind and
nearly ei#hty, askin# him to leave his cotta#e within a month. +ld *r &arrison was very
distressed. (%he situation has been established throu#h the use of the simple past. hat
follows now is a reference to an earlier past throu#h the use of the simple past perfect.) &e
had been born in the cotta#e and stayed there all his life. &is children had #rown up there, his
wife had died there and now he lived there all alone.