Cases of using pastes perfect. Past perfect examples of the construction and use of expressions in colloquial speech

affirmative form Past Perfect is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to have in the past tense - had and the past participle (Participle II) of the semantic verb (that is, the 3rd form of the main verb).

had + Participle II

I had finished my work by 6 o’ clock. I finished my work by 6 o'clock.
He had written his letter when I came to him. He wrote a letter when I came to him.

Interrogative form formed by rearranging the auxiliary verb had, which is placed before the subject .

Had you finished your work? Have you finished your work?
Had he written his letter? Did he write a letter?

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

Abbreviations are made according to the general rule:

I had = I'd	I had not = I hadn't = I'd not
He had = he'd	He had not = He hadn't = He'd not
She had = she'd	She had not = She hadn't = She'd not
We had = we'd	We had not = We hadn't = We'd not
You had = you'd	You had not = You hadn't = You'd not
They had = they'd	They had not = They hadn't = They'd not

Use

Past Perfect is used:

• 1. To express an action that has already ended up to a certain point in the past. A given moment in the past can be specified exactly (year, date, hour) with the preposition of time by, or it can be expressed by another past action. Another action that started later is expressed in Simple Past/Past Indefinite .

They had written their composition by Friday. They wrote the essay by Friday.
They had finished their work when the inspectors arrived. (= by the time the inspectors arrived.) They finished their work when the inspectors arrived. (= by the time the inspectors arrived.)

Of the two actions expressed by the verbs to finish and to arrive, the one expressed by the verb to finish ended first - end, so this verb in Past Perfect - had finished. A verb expressing an action that ended later (to arrive - arrive), is placed in Simple Past - arrived.

• 2. In complex sentences with a subordinate clause of time.

a) If the action of the main clause ended before the action expressed by the predicate of the subordinate clause, then the verb of the main clause will be expressed in the Past Perfect. The subordinate clause is introduced by conjunctions before - until and when- when.

They had finished their work before their boss came in.
They had finished their work before their boss entered.

b) If the action of the subordinate clause ended before the action expressed by the predicate of the main clause, then the verb of the subordinate clause is expressed through Past Perfect, and the main one - Simple Past. The relative clause of time is introduced by conjunctions when - when, as soon as - once.

As soon as (when) they had finished their work the door opened and their boss came in.
As soon as (when) they finished their work, the door opened and their boss entered.

• 3. In subordinate clauses of time after when, when two verbs expressed in Simple Past / Past Indefinite can give the impression of simultaneity of actions.

When he had done his homework he rang me up.
When he finished his homework, he called me.

(If you use both verbs in Simple Past (When he did his homework he rang me up), you might get the impression that he was doing his homework and at the same time called me.)

• 4. When describing a sequence of events in Simple Past / Past Indefinite, if the description is violated, that is, if an action is indicated that happened earlier, then it is expressed in Past Perfect.

We decided to go skiing to the forest. In the morning we took some food, hot tea and started. We got to the forest at noon and had a good time there. We had never been in the forest in winter before, but after this trip we decided to ski there regularly.
We decided to go skiing in the forest. In the morning we took some food, hot tea and set off. We got to the forest at noon and had a good time there. Before that, we had never been in the forest in winter. But after this trip, we decided to go skiing in the forest regularly.

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 of 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)

How to get out of the past and return to the earlier past? It is not a time machine that comes to the rescue, as one might think initially, but a solution that is much simpler and more interesting at the same time: Past Perfect Simple tense - Past Perfect, which is studied in grades 6-7.

General information

There are three tenses in English: Past (past), Present (present) and Future (future). In this regard, the Russian language is in solidarity with its brother. But there are also disagreements between them - temporary forms. Depending on what kind of action we have before us - regular, long-term or completed, four aspects are distinguished in each of the three times: Simple (Simple), Continuous (Long), Perfect (Perfect), Perfect Continuous (Long Perfect).

Today, the focus is on the rules for using Past Perfect Simple - Past Perfect Tense.

Past Perfect rules and examples

If it seems that the work is easy to do, then it certainly turns out to be difficult. Conversely, complex problems always have simple solutions. This unwritten rule also applies to the Past Perfect. It is not as complicated as it seems. The first thing to remember is that this time is never used on its own. It always "works" cohesively, side by side with another action in the past, and indicates that the action expressed by it happened before another action or before a certain time. Consider two examples:

• We came to the bus stop and the bus left - We came to the bus stop and the bus left.
• We came to the bus stop, but the bus had left - We came to the bus stop, but the bus left.

Before using this or that temporary form, it is necessary to understand what happened first and what happened second, or two actions happened simultaneously. In the first case, we managed to get on the bus we needed and use Past Simple (Simple Past), i.e. the events in this sentence happened sequentially one after another. In the second example, we were late and missed the bus we needed - it had already left. In other words, the action happened before we arrived, and therefore the Past Perfect form is used here.

Use cases

There are other, less common cases of using the past perfect tense:

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• To explain what happened : the action expressed by the verb-predicate in the Past Perfect tense is the “culprit” of what happened later (He was not able to buy a new book as he had lost his credit car - He could not buy a new book because he lost his credit card);
• To describe your past experiences (By the time I bought my new flat I had worked hard for several years - By the time I bought my new flat, I had worked hard for several years).

Time markers

Past Perfect time markers include the following circumstances, conjunctions and prepositions:

• By the time - by the time (By the time they came home, my mother had baked an apple pie - By the time they got home, mine had baked an apple pie);
• After - after a certain moment (She fell asleep after I had left her - She fell asleep after I left her);
• Before - until a certain point (She had never been to London before she came here last month - She had never been to London the way she came here last month);
• When - when (The train had left when he arrived at the station - The train left when it arrived at the station);
• Just - just now (When she entered the room I had just heard the news - When she entered the room, I just heard the news);
• Already - already (I had already finished with my dinner when he knocked on the door - I had already cooked dinner when he knocked on the door);
• Yet - more (She moved to another city but she had not told her parents about it yet - She moved to another city, but has not yet told her parents about it);
• For - during (He thought that he was not able to drive a car anymore because he had not driven it for 20 years - He thought that he could no longer drive a car, because he had not driven it for 20 years)
• Since - since (Her new book was wonderful because she had worked on it since last year - Her new book was wonderful because she had been working on it since last year).

Adverbs yet (yet), just (just now), already (already) are a common feature for the two times Present Perfect (Present Perfect) and Past Perfect (Past Perfect).

Formation of the affirmative form

The temporary form Past Perfect (Past Perfect) is formed according to a certain scheme: had + Participle II(Past participle or third form of the verb). Regular verbs form Participle II (Past Participle) with the ending - ed: to use - used (use - used). If the verb belongs to the group of irregular verbs, then the required form must be taken from the third column of the table of irregular verbs: I had opened (I opened), she had studied (she taught), we had bought (we bought).

Negation

The negative form Past Perfect (Past Perfect) is formed with the help of a negative particle not (not), which is placed between the auxiliary verb had and Participle II(Past participle):

I had not opened (I did not open), she had not studied (she did not teach), we had not bought (we did not buy).

Question

In an interrogative sentence in English, the word order changes. In the time Past Perfect (Past Perfect) in the question, the auxiliary verb comes first had, followed by the subject (pronoun or noun) and the main verb expressed by Participle II (Past Participle):

Had I opened? (did I open?), Had she studied? (did she teach?), had we bought? (we bought?).

In special questions, the scheme is preserved with the only difference - in the first place are interrogative words (Who? - Who?; What? - What?; Which? - What?; When? - When?; Where? - Where?; Where? - Where? ; Why? - Why?; How? - How?; How much / many? - How much?): What had I opened? (What did I discover?), Where had she studied? (Where did she go to school?), When had we bought? (When did we buy?).

What have we learned?

Today we got acquainted with the Past Perfect (Past Perfect), which is one of the tense forms of the past tense in English, and denotes an action in the past that preceded another action in the past. We also learned about its features, when it is used in a sentence and with what time markers.

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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 the classic variant, which is the British language.

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, as 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. Since the past perfect tense in English has its own auxiliary verb, then the general question will begin with had:

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

Special questions

Past Perfect interrogative sentences of a special type, which differ in that the speaker wants not only to hear the answer "yes" or "no", but to get more specific information, are also simple in their formation. 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, as 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 the action completed up to a certain moment, and the reference point here can be either some other action that 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, as heard door call
• Hardly (scarcely) had she arrived when al the guests left the room -Barely she is arrived, as all 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- past perfect tense. Its peculiarity is that it is not used in speech on its own and is necessarily attached to another action. Why do the British need it? The reason lies in their love for order and organization. In Russian, we use the same tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then return to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman in his speech will never allow such "chaos". If he forgot about an important event that happened before everyone else, he will report it at a specially designated time for this - past perfect.

How is the Past Perfect formed?

Statement

Predicate in past perfect consists of two parts: auxiliary verb had and the third form of the main verb (we add the ending to the regular verb - ed, and we take the form of the wrong one from the third column).

Negation

In a negative sentence between an auxiliary verb had and the particle appears as the main verb not.

As in many other times, past perfect there are abbreviated forms that are used in colloquial speech. In an affirmative sentence had combined with a pronoun, in the negative - with a particle not. For example:

• I'd done.
• You'd decided.
• I hadn't done.
• You didn't decide.

Question

An interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb had, followed by the subject and the main verb.

In order to consistently study past perfect, we have divided all its functions into three levels. In the green block you will find what you need to know at the beginner level, in the yellow block for the intermediate level, in the red block for the advanced level.

Using the Past Perfect

First level

past perfect always goes hand in hand with another action in the past. past perfect shows an action that happened before another action or a specific moment in the past. Another action in the past is most often indicated past simple, while special words can be used: by... (to some time/moment), after(after), before(before, before) when(when), earlier(before), first(first, first).

We arrived at the station at 7.30, but the train had left. We arrived at the station at 7:30, but the train had already gone. (first the train left, then we arrived at the station)

He had been a usual clerk before he became a successful businessman. - He was ordinary clerk before that, as became a successful businessman.

Often past perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed past perfect, caused another action to occur.

He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He did not eat eight hours.

She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card. She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes because lost credit card.

Time past perfect similar in meaning to Present Perfect with the difference that the time of the action does not occur in the present (now), but in the past (then).

they are not at home. they have gone shopping. → They were not at home. they had gone shopping.
Them No Houses. They are gone go shopping. → Their did not have Houses. They are gone go shopping.

Another common feature Present Perfect and past perfect- adverbs just(just now), already(already), yet(already, still).

They were moving to another country, but they hadn't told their parents yet. - They moved to another country, but haven't said yet about it to your parents.

The most common mistake made with past perfect- use this time where it is not necessary, most often instead of past simple. For example, when we talk about a simple action that happened a long time ago. remember, that past perfect works only when there are two actions.

I learned English at school. - I learned English at school.
I had learned English before I entered the university. - I learned English before that, as entered the University.

Where else is the Past Perfect found?

Middle level

1. past perfect shows that the action began in the past and continued until a certain point in the past. Prepositions already familiar to us are often used here. for(during) and since(since).
   

   He didn't want to drive that car anymore. He had driven it for 30 years. He didn't want to drive that car anymore. He drove her 30 years old.

   Her speech was impressive. She had worked on it since Monday. Her speech was impressive. She is worked over it since Monday.

   This function is not fully applicable to past perfect she belongs by right Past Perfect Continuous. past perfect in this sense is used with state verbs (), i.e. verbs that cannot "last".

   Before we talked, Mary had been upset for three days. She had been crying all this time. Before we talked, Mary was frustrated for three days. She is cried all this time.

2. AT past perfect, As in Present Perfect, there is a function by which we talk about personal experience. The difference is that past perfect we use when talking about our experiences in the past.
   

   The last week of my holidays was the worst week I had ever had. The last week of my vacation was the worst week I have ever had. was.

   By the time I moved to Dublin I had written seven books and I was working hard on the eighth. – By the time I moved to Dublin, I wrote seven books and was actively working on an eighth.

Difficult cases of using Past Perfect

High level

1. past perfect used after if in conditional sentences of the third type (). This type of conditional shows regret for the past. We could do something in the past if we fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.
   

   If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. - If I knew about your problem, I would help you.

   If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. - If you was reading morning paper, you would agree with me.

2. past perfect used in structures hardly ... when and no sooner ... than. These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use the reverse word order, as in the question. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the words “as soon as”, “I didn’t have time”, “barely I”.
   

   hardy had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. - Barely airplane landed at the Miami airport as it started to rain.

   No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. - Did not have time I chew your sandwich as someone knocked the door.

3. In modern English past perfect are increasingly being replaced by past simple, especially in American English. We can use past simple instead of past perfect if the sequence of events is clear from the context. In such sentences there are words after(after), before(before), earlier(before), first(first, first), etc.
   

   After he had finished repairing his car, he took a shower. = After he finished repairing his car, he took a shower. - After is he finished fix the car, he took a shower.

   I agreed to meet her though I was angry with her as we had quarreled earlier. = I agreed to meet her though I was angry with her as we earlier. - I agreed to meet her, although I was angry with her, because we had a fight.

   This rule does not work with the union when(when): with the change of tense, the meaning of the whole sentence may change.

   When we came home, she had cooked already prepared dinner. (Past Perfect means dinner was done before we got home)

   When we came home, she cooked dinner. When we got home, she prepared dinner. (Past Simple shows that first we came home and then she cooked dinner)

The more complex time seems, the less meaning it has. This rule also applies to past perfect. The main thing to remember is next to past perfect there must be another action in the past. To better remember this time, take the test and download the table, in which you can always peep and refresh your knowledge.

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Past Perfect - Past Perfect Tense in English

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