Past Perfect

When you can use Past Perfect

• You use Past Perfect for action finished BEFORE another past action (used in combination with Past Simple).
  • She had already cooked dinner when her husband came home. /First — she had cooked dinner; then — her husband came home/
  • When I saw him last time, he had already done the haircut. /First — he had done the haircut; then — I saw him/
  • They had painted the wall before I arrived. /First — they had painted the walls; then — I arrived/
• You use Past Perfect for actions which had finished BY the specific moment in the past e.g. by 2 o’clock, by that time, by September.
  • By 6 pm, we had posted the news. /specific time — by 6 pm/
  • They had already walked the dog by the moment I returned home. /specific time -by the moment I returned home/
  • By that time she had already left the house. /specific time — by that time/
• You use Past Perfect in third conditional.
  • If I had known about it, I wouldn’t have gone to the meeting.
  • Josh would have bought flowers if he had taken his wallet.

Time markers in Past Perfect

How to build Past Perfect

Past Participle of regular and irregular verbs

• Here you can find out how to build Past Participle of regular verbs
• Here you can learn Past Participle of some irregular verbs