Past Perfect Tense

What Is the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense is an English verb tense used for a completed activity in the past. It emphasizes that an action was completed before another action took place. For example:

• John had baked a cake before you arrived.
• They had painted the fence before I had a chance to speak to them.

Hint: Most sentences featuring the past perfect tense include the word "before."

More Examples of the Past Perfect Tense

Here are some more examples of the past perfect tense (shaded):

• Silverfinger had taken the pill before the team reached him.
(First: He took the pill. Next: The team reached him.)
• I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
(First: I called the police. Next: I investigated the noise.)
• The weather changed, but the team had planned its next move.
(First: The team planned. Next: The weather changed.)

Video Lesson

Here is a short, 1-minute video on the past perfect tense. video lesson

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Forming the Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is formed:

• I had jumped
• I had met

Forming the Past Participle (Regular Verbs)

If it's a regular verb, the past participle is the same as the simple past tense. In other words, it is formed like this:

Add "ed" to most verbs:

• jump > jumped
• paint > painted

If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add "ed":

• chat > chatted
• stop > stopped

If the final consonant is "w," "x" or "y," don't double it:

• sew > sewed
• play > played
• fix > fixed

If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add "ed":

• incur > incurred
• prefer > preferred

If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], just add "ed":

• open > opened
• enter > entered
• swallow > swallowed

If the verb ends "e," just add "d":

• thrive > thrived
• guzzle > guzzled

If the verb ends [consonant + "y"], change the "y" to an "i" and add "ed":

• cry > cried
• fry > fried

Forming the Past Participle (Irregular Verbs)

If it's an irregular verb, the past participle is formed in all sorts of different ways. Here are some examples:

• arise > arisen
• catch > caught
• choose > chosen
• know > known

You just have to learn them. Read more about irregular verbs (includes a list of the most common irregular verbs).

The Negative Version

If you need the negative version, you can use the following construction:

• Silverfinger had not taken the pill before the team reached him.
• I had not called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
• The weather changed, and the team had not planned its next move.

Remember that "had not" is sometimes written as the contraction "hadn't."

The Question Version

If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:

• Had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?
• Had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?

You can use the following word order for a question-word question:

• Why had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?
• Where had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?

Using Contractions

Don't forget that in speech and writing (especially informal writing), you will encounter the following contractions:

• I had > I'd
• You had > You'd
• He had > He'd
• She had > She'd
• It had > It'd
• We had > We'd
• They had > They'd

Also, for the negative version, you will commonly see "hadn't" instead of "had not." Read more about contractions.

Infographic for the Past Perfect Tense

Interactive Verb Conjugation Tables

The tables below show all 12 tenses so you can see the past perfect tense among the other tenses. (You can change the verb by clicking one of the green buttons.)

Top 10 Regular Verbs

want look use work start try ask need talk help

Top 10 Irregular Verbs

see say go come know get give become find think

All 4 Past Tenses

Person	Simple Past	Past Progressive Tense	Past Perfect Tense	Past Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	past tense past tense past tense past tense past tense past tense The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.	was present participle were present participle was present participle were present participle were present participle were present participle The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.	had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.	had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

All 4 Present Tenses

Person	Simple Present	Present Progressive Tense	Present Perfect Tense	Present Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	base form base form 3rd pers sing present base form base form base form The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.	am present participle are present participle is present participle are present participle are present participle are present participle The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.	have past participle have past participle has past participle have past participle have past participle have past participle The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)	have been present participle have been present participle has been present participle have been present participle have been present participle have been present participle The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

All 4 Future Tenses

Person	Simple Future	Future Progressive Tense	Future Perfect Tense	Future Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	will base form will base form will base form will base form will base form will base form The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.	will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.	will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.	will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

The Other Past Tenses

The past perfect tense is one of four past tenses. This table shows all four of the past tenses:

The 4 Past Tenses	Example
simple past tense	I went
past progressive tense	I was going
past perfect tense	I had gone
past perfect progressive tense	I had been going