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Week 6 Basic

Past Perfect

Past perfect

I/You/He/She/It/We/They’d (= had) done it.

I/You/He/She/It/We/They hadn’t (= had not) done it.

Had I/you/he/she/it/we/they done it?

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The Past perfect links one time in the past to another time further in the past.

When we got there, everyone had left.

everyone left we got there

<- - - - - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X - - - - - - - - - - - -|- - - - - - - > future

PAST present

Similarities with the Present perfect

The Present perfect is the past of the present.

It isn’t Jane’s first visit to Australia: she’s been here twice before.

< - - - - - - - - - -

< - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -▼- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | - - - - - - - - - - - - > future

PAST past perfect present

The Past perfect is the past of the past.

It wasn’t my first visit to Australia: I’d been there twice before.

< - - - - - - - - - -

< - - - - - -▼ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - | - - - - - - - > future

past perfect PAST present

Time words with the Past perfect

With the Past perfect, we use many of the same time words that we use with the Present perfect.

We had been in Cairo for two months / since August.

I’d already / just / recently passed my driving test.

It was the first / second / third time I’d met her.

The following words and phrases are also often used with the Past perfect.

by / by the time

By 5:30 everyone had left. (= they left before this time)

By the time we arrived, the film had finished.

when / after / before / as soon as

With these words, we use the Past perfect for the first action that happened.

When I got up, the others had already left.

We did the washing-up as soon as our guests had left.

Cases where the Past perfect is optional

We do not usually use the Past perfect when the sequence of events in the past is clear.

I had a shower and went to bed.

If we use when with the Past perfect, it means that the first action was finished when the second action happened.

The game had finished when we arrived.

With two Past simple verbs, the two actions happened at more or less the same time.

The game started when we arrived.

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