PAST

PERFECT
GRAMMAR

TENSE
BY MEGHA VARSINI
MEANING It is a verb tense used to talk
about actions that were
completed before some point in
the past.
.

It is used to make it clear that

one event happened before
another event in the past
 He ate dinner. He washed the vessels.

John went out. I arrived in the office.

John had gone out when I arrived in the office.

 Note:
it does not matter
which event is
mentioned first
 Event A Event B
I had saved my document before the computer
crashed
Event B Event A
When they arrived we had already started cooking.
Event B Event A
He was very tired because he hadn't slept well.
Where past perfect tense is used?
We can use the past perfect to show the order of two
past events.
EG: I came here after you had left.
To talk about unreal or imaginary things in the past
EG: She would have passed the exam if she had studied
harder.
Something that started in the past and continued up to
another action or time in the past
EG: I had never seen him for 5 years.
 formula of past perfect

subject+ had+ past participle+ object

I had practiced the songs

TYPES
Affirmative
She had given
Negative
She hadn't given
Interrogative
Had they arrived?
Interrogative Negative
Hadn't they arrived?
 1. When I arrived at the cinema, the film ____________________ (start).
2. She ____________________ (live) in China before she went to Thailand.
3. After they ____________________ (eat) the shellfish, they began to feel
sick.
4. If you ____________________ (listen) to me, you would have got the job.
5. Julie didn’t arrive until after I ____________________ (leave).
6. When we ____________________ (finish) dinner, we went out.
7. The garden was dead because it ____________________ (be) dry all
summer.
8. He ____________________ (meet) her before somewhere.
9. We were late for the plane because we ____________________ (forgot)our
passports.
10. She told me that she ____________________ (study) a lot before the
Thha
annk
k
T
y
yoou
u!!