How to use the past perfect in English?

We use the past perfect in English to talk about something that happened before another past event or moment. The past perfect connects the first event to the second event:

You’ll also sometimes hear the past perfect used to talk about an imaginary past.

In this post, we’ll take a look at how to form the past perfect and how to use it. Ready to reach way back into the story that happened before the story? Let’s take a crack at the past perfect, then!

To form a verb in the past perfect in English, combine the auxiliary verbNo definition set for auxiliary verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. had with the past participleNo definition set for past participleLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. form of the main verbNo definition set for main verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..

• The auxiliary verb is have

  We use the auxiliary have for all of the perfect tenses (past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect). For the past perfect we use the past tense, which is always had.

  I had

  we had

  you had

  they had

  he/she/it had

  Tip

  Shorten the auxiliary had as 'd (e.g. I had seen → I’d seen). This is common after pronouns in speech and writing. Usually 'd only follows nouns in casual speech.

• The main verb is a past participle

  • A regular past participle is formed like this:

    rootNo definition set for rootLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. + -ed

    wanted, played, decorated

  • Many common verbs have an irregular past participle, for example:

    be → been

    go → gone

    tell → told

    Tip

    Have a look at this chart of English irregular verbs to see more examples of irregular past participles. Also, there are some spelling exceptions to learn as well.

So an affirmative sentence, a negative sentence, and a question in the past perfect will look like this:

• Affirmative: John had gone to the supermarket before the party.

• Negative: John hadn’t told his parents about the party before they got home.

• Question: Had John decorated the house before the guests arrived?

There are two main situations where we use the past perfect in English:

• To talk about something that happened before another event in the past

• To talk about an imaginary past (in conditional or hypothetical sentences)

Let’s talk about these two uses.

The past perfect for an earlier past event

English speakers use the past perfect to talk about something that happened before another past event or past moment.

• I had already cooked dinner when Kelsey arrived.

  → I cooked before Kelsey arrived (an event)

• I had already cooked dinner by 5pm.

  → I cooked before 5pm (a moment)

We specifically use the past perfect when:

• Our focus is on the later event or moment. So we are only mentioning the first event because it helps us understand the second one.

• The first event or moment is completely finished when the second event starts.

Look at this difference between these different past tenses:

Past simple:	I cooked dinner then Kelsey arrived. Both events are finished. The focus on each event is equal (I am listing the things that happened this evening).
Past continuous:	I was cooking dinner when Kelsey arrived. The focus is on the second event (I am describing “what it was like” when Kelsey arrived). The first event is not finished when the second event starts.
Past perfect:	I had cooked dinner when Kelsey arrived. The focus is on the second event (I am describing “what it was like” when Kelsey arrived). The first event is finished.

Keep reading to see a longer example of how to use the past perfect in a story!

What time markers to use with the past perfect?

You will usually see the past perfect used with time markers that tell us (or emphasize) which action happened first, like:

already	I had already turned on the lights when Kelsey arrived.
before	I had turned on the lights before Kelsey arrived.
by + time	I had turned on the lights by 3pm.
by the time (that)	I had turned on the lights by the time (that) Kelsey arrived.
after	Kelsey arrived after I had turned on the lights.
yet	I had not turned on the lights yet when Kelsey arrived. → yet is only used in questions and negative sentences!

Because the past perfect verb is only there to help you understand the situation at a later time, we usually do not describe exactly when the past perfect verb happened. If you do use a time phrase that describes an exact time, we understand that that is the time of the later moment.

• At six o’clock, I had turned on the lights.

• ❌ The lights went from off to on at exactly six o’clock.

• ✅ At six o’clock, the lights were already on.

However, you can use the past perfect with an exact time if that time impacts our understanding of the later situation.

• ✅Kelly wanted to go see the new Marvel movie, but I had seen it the day before.

  → The amount of time between the two events is important to our understanding of the situation, so including this information makes sense.

How to use the past perfect to describe a continuing action or state?

You can use the past perfect for an event that took a long time to happen or to describe a state that continued for a while. However, we only use the past perfect if the event or state finished before or (more often) exactly when the second event or time arrived. For example:

John had talked about his party for three days before it happened.

To show that the action continued for a while, use time markers like these:

• for + length of the period of time

• since + start of the period of time

• until + end of the period of time

• all + general name for length of time (afternoon, day, week, year…)

Can you see how the amount of time the action or state continued impacts our understanding of the situation in the sentences below?

• John had talked about getting a dog for two years, so he got one.

  → John got a dog after lots of thought.

• John had talked about getting a dog all afternoon, so he got one.

  → John got a dog without enough planning.

You can actually use several other tenses in this situation without changing the meaning or the focus:

past continuouspast perfectpast perfect continuous

✅John was talking about getting a dog for two years, so he got one.

✅John had talked about getting a dog for two years, so he got one.

✅John had been talking about getting a dog for two years, so he got one.

Using the past continuous or past perfect continuous just places more emphasis on the fact that the event happened nonstop or in a very repetitive way. The past perfect sounds more like it happened occasionally, but more than once during a period of time.

Exception!

With stative verbs (know, hate, be...) that finish before another past moment, we always use the past perfect, because they cannot be used in the continuous aspect.

• ❌I was being hungry all day.

• ❌I had been being hungry all day.

• ✅I had been hungry all day.

Check out our English stative verb reference sheet to review these verbs!

Let’s look at a longer example! In this story, we are focusing on what happened during John’s party. As you read, see if you can figure out the reason why the past perfect is being used in each case. Here are your options:

• something that happened before the “main event” (John’s party)

• a wish about the past

• a conditional sentence about a past that didn’t happen

John’s birthday party

past perfect

I met John right after I moved to Houston. He’s a really great guy, and last week he invited me to his birthday party. I had a good time, but I had some complaints:

First of all, Thursday wasn’t a great day for a party. I’d worked all day and I had work the next morning too. I wish he’d thrown the party on Friday so I could sleep in the next morning.

Then, because John had called me to ask for help with decorating, I arrived at the party early. But when I got there, he had finished already! If he had told me he didn’t need help anymore, I could have had a nap after work.

The food was mostly great, but John had bought a yellow cake. I hate yellow cake. I wish he’d chosen a chocolate cake instead.

John also played the music really loud. I wish he’d played the music softer; I had a headache at work all day the next day from the noise!

I also wish he hadn’t invited so many people. I’m shy and I felt uncomfortable because I hadn’t met except John yet!

Anyway, the party was a good time. I met a lot of people who wanted to get to know me better. I just hope his next party is quieter and that he buys a chocolate cake!

In the following uses, it was talking about an earlier past event:

• I’d worked all day…

• …because John had called me…

• …he had already finished decorating…

• …John had bought a yellow cake…

• …I hadn’t met anyone except John yet!

In the following uses, we were talking about a wish about the past:

• I wish he’d thrown the party on Friday…

• I wish he’d chosen a chocolate cake instead.

• I also wish he hadn’t invited so many people.

In the following uses, we were giving a hypothetical conditional about the past:

• If he had told me he didn’t need help anymore, I could have had a nap after work.

Here’s what to remember about the past perfect in English:

• How to form it: had + past participle

• How to use it:

  • To talk about something that was finished before the past action (either a short or long action)

  • To talk about an imaginary past situation: wishes or conditional sentences about the past

The past perfect isn’t all that hard after all! Check out these English past perfect activities to practice more past perfect to help make your next story fun and interesting for your friends!