PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

SUBJECT + HAD + VERB-pp + (Complements)

STATEMENT                   I had finished my homework
                                     She had gone home soon

                                     They had studied the whole lesson

NEGATION                     I had not finished my homework

                                    She had not gone home soon

                                    They had not studied the whole lesson

INTERROGATION            Had I finished my homework?

                                     Had she gone home soon?
                                     Had they studied the whole lesson?

TIME EXPRESSIONS:

·                    FOR / DURING / SINCE:

- FOR:        A period of time
 He had worked as a miner for six years

- DURING: A period of time defined by itself:
He had worked as a miner during the autumn

- SINCE:     A period of time extending into the present:
He had worked as a miner since he left school

 

·                    EVER / NEVER

- EVER:  To express at any time in the past until now:

Interrogative (ALGUNA VEZ):      Had you ever been to London?

Negative (NUNCA):                      I had not ever drunk gin

- NEVER: To express at no time (the opposite of ‘ever’):

 Affirmative (NUNCA):                 I had never been to London

 

·                  JUST: To express a recently completed action:

- JUST (ACABAR DE):          The children had just come from school

·                    ALREADY / YET

- ALREADY:     

Affirmative (YA):                They had already seen the film

- YET:                 

 Interrogative (YA):             Had you finished yet?

 Negative (AÚN / TODAVÍA): He had not finished his meal yet

 

·                    BEFORE / AFTER:

- BEFORE (ANTES):                 I had studied before I went out

- AFTER (DESPUÉS):                I went out after I had studied

·                    WHEN / BY THE TIME / AS SOON AS:

- WHEN (CUANDO):                   I had already eaten when he arrived

- BY THE TIME (PARA CUANDO): By the time I was seven, I had written two novels

- AS SOON AS (TAN PRONTO COMO): As soon as I had finished my dinner, the telephone rang.

·                    UNTIL (HASTA QUE): Until I was in London, I hadn’t visited a museum

USES:

·                    To talk about an action or activity that happened before another activity or time in the past: I had never eaten lobster until I was in Hawaii.

PAST SIMPLE PERFECT versus PAST SIMPLE

The most recent activity is in the Past Simple while the previous one is in the Past Perfect Simple: This morning, I washed my hair after I had eaten breakfast.