Past perfect complex sentences. Past Perfect: rules of formation and cases of use

Hello, hello, my dears.

There are only three tenses in the Russian language. And the past is just the past, without any additions. But in English everything is much more complicated. Have you heard about Past Perfect? Such a small and completely inconspicuous brother of the painful Present Perfect for many.

So, if this “miracle” caused you any difficulties - or maybe you have never heard of it at all - then today I will tell you everything. Past Perfect: rules and examples- topic of the lesson. We are waiting for an explanation of the rules, many, many examples, but there will be exercises. After all, practice takes a lot of time.

How is it formedPast Perfect

Construction affirmative proposals in this tense is identical to the formation in the present perfect tense with minor changes. In short, the diagram looks like this:

Subject +had + V3 + Object.

She had done her homework by 9 p. m. - She had done her homework by 9 pm.

They had already visited the place before. - They have already come to this place before.

Let's take a short break here! Because I hope you remember that V3 is the third form of the verb. We simply add an ending to regular verbs – ed, but we remember by heart and use the form from the third column!

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WITH negative sentences everything is even simpler - we just add a piece not.

Subject +had not + V3 + Object.

I hadn't had breakfast before I set off to the university. -I Not had breakfast before, how go V university.

I hadn't ’ t slept until my parents came back home. - I didn’t sleep until my parents returned home.

IN interrogative sentence the structure changes to the following:

Had +subject+V3+An object?

Had you washed your hands before you started eating the dinner? -You washed hands before those, How begin have supper?

Had you done the task before you went out to meet with your friends? -You did exercise before those, How go meet with his friend?

When to usePast Perfect

That’s what, and with understanding when to use the Past Perfect, neither I nor my students have ever had any problems. After all, everything is absolutely simple. Usually this rule is studied in the 8th grade, when students already have sufficient vocabulary, and explaining the rule does not become a test for children.

The first and most important rule:

• Past Perfect used to describe a situation that has already ended BEFORE some other action occurred in the past.

The action that had already finished before another action happened.

I was on my way to work when I remembered (action in the past) that I had forgotten (preceding action) the presentation on the table. -IwasonwaysTowork, WhenIremembered, Whatforgotpresentationontable.

Theyhad already sold (preceding action) thecarwhenI called(action in the past) . - When I called, they had already sold the car.

Sometimes, instead of a specific indication of an action, there may be an indication of time.

She had finished studies by the 1st of July. -She finished classes To first July.

We had finished the event by the end of the month.- We're doneeventby the endmonths.

• Past Perfect used when stories need to describe a chain of actions relating to the past.

The policeman said that the robbers had broken the window, had stolen the picture and had run away. I was standing there and couldn’t understand what I should do. -Police officer said, What robbers smashed window, stolen picture And ran away. I stood there and couldn’t understand what I should do.

Time indicators

At any time there are indicators. To immediately recognize the Past Perfect in a sentence, look for the following words:

1. Before - before; before.
2. Since - since then.
3. By - to.
4. For - during.
5. By the time - by the time.
6. Just - just now.
7. After - after.
8. Till\Until - until then.
9. Never - never.
10. Already - already.

In 80% of cases, one of these words will be used in a sentence. For example:

I had already prepared my presentation by the time mother prepared the dinner. - I had already finished my presentation by the time my mother prepared dinner.

She realized that she had never been to this place before. -She Understood, What never earlier Not was V this place.

But be sure to remember one thing - past perfect- this is past tense, therefore we use it only when we talk about past events! As a rule, it most often occurs in narratives and stories.

My dears, I am sure that you will have absolutely no questions left. Now you can find thousands of videos, rules and exercises in the public domain if you need more. But I hope that I was able to close all the gaps in your knowledge regarding this topic. And it’s not the easiest, believe me! But if you still have questions, please leave a comment. I will answer each one there.

In addition, I also invite you to my newsletter, where I regularly share important and useful information from my experience. Let's learn English together!

That's all for today!

The palette of the English tense system is simply replete with diversity. Some of the shades shine brighter, some dimmer. One of the most intense can be called Past Perfect. How, with the help of grammatical structures and lexical diversity of this time, can we make speech expressive?

The past completed tense, as Russian-speaking “students” often call it, carries a certain sense of completeness. In other words, for example, when describing an event, we often make comments about what happened before the main action. “When mom came, I had already fallen asleep” - there are two past tenses in this sentence - “came”, “fell asleep”. Which one happened first? The second means that we will express it Past Perfect.

Education

The form of this time is one of the simplest. So, you need an auxiliary verb "had" + V 3 or Ved. We remember that all verbs in English can be grouped into regular and irregular. The latter have 3 forms, which, well, what can you do, you have to learn by heart. All of them are placed in the table of irregular verbs. At this time we will need the 3rd column - V 3. If the verb is correct (it is not in the table), then we add the ending -ed.

I had worked. - work - regular verb
I had taught. — teach is an irregular verb.

Let's take a closer look at the formation of all types of sentences in the past perfect using the example of to ask.

In writing, and in colloquial speech, abbreviated forms are often used to facilitate the process of perception.

I had = I’d, you had = you’d, he had = he’d
had not = hadn’t

I had written a composition by six o’clock. = I’d written a composition by six o’clock. — I wrote the essay by 6 o’clock.

I had not written a composition by six o’clock. = I hadn’t written a composition by six o’clock. — I didn’t write my essay by 6 o’clock.

As you can see, there is nothing scary or complicated in education. It’s worth remembering once that in a question had is placed before the subject, and in negation not is added to this auxiliary verb. It is important to remember that had is not translated.

Using The Past Perfect Tense

This time is not difficult to use, if only you clearly understand the situations of its use. Some sentences often use signal words such as just, already, never, yet.

1. The action ended before another event in the past. The sentence can be complex (consist of two), one of which (the dependent) is introduced by the conjunctions when, before, after, or simple, in which the preposition by is used as an indicator of the end of the action.

• Using prepositions by the end of the year, by 3 o’clock, by Monday, by the time, before, after.

They had finally got their long-awaited pay rise by the end of the year. — By the end of the year, they finally received the long-awaited increase in salary.

Before he opened the door, he had called his sister. — Before he opened the door, he called his sister.

By that time they had finished their work. “By that time they had already finished their work.

• Often used designs no sooner … than (as soon as, so), hardly … when (hardly, how), scarcely … when (as soon as, so immediately), barely … when (hardly, how), which in their meaning can transform a sentence (inversion). As a rule, they are emotional in nature.

I had scarcely opened the window when the wind came blowing in. — As soon as I opened the window, the wind immediately began to blow.

Jack had no sooner arrived than he was told to come back. — Jack didn’t have time to arrive when he was told to return.

• If there is no signal word in the sentence, then you will have to carefully read the context .

I tried to wake up Ann this morning. But, there was no answer. She had gone out. — I tried to call Anna this morning. But there was no answer. She's already gone.

The rules for the Past Perfect are as follows: context patterns, remembering which it will be easier for you to use the desired form.

A. Following designs: this/that/it was, the first/second/only/best/worst time smth happend:

It was the second serious mistake he had made in that job. - This was his second serious mistake that he made in his work.

Those were the first things she had bought since Chrismas. — It was the first thing she bought since Christmas.

B. With verbs that convey hope, plan, expectation, intention (but not fulfilled).

I had intended to visit a museum, but I ran out of time. — I was going to visit the museum, but I didn’t have enough time.

C. In indirect speech, with verbs such as say, tell, ask, inform, wonder. Moreover, the Past Perfect is used in a subordinate clause.

I wondered if Jim had a chance to discuss the problem with them. — I asked if Jim had the opportunity to discuss this problem with them.

2. An action that began before another action but is still ongoing. Stative verbs or, as they are also called, non continuous verbs are often used here. All the little secrets of these verbs are revealed in the article ““.

I knew he had been married for nearly 50 years ago. — I knew that he got married about 50 years ago.

George made no answer and we found that he had fallen asleep for some time. — George did not answer, and we discovered that he had been sleeping for some time.

How to distinguish the Past Perfect from other tenses?

Past Perfect	Past Simple	Present Perfect
When the sequence of actions is broken (the action precedes). Before I ate, I played and slept. Verb in the main clause in the past simple	Everything goes in order (actions are performed chronologically) Played, slept, ate.	When the action in the main clause is in the present
Was Ann at home when he came? No, she had already gone to work. — Was Anya at home when he came? No, she already left for work (first she left, then he came)	Was Ann at home when he came? Yes, but she went to work soon. — Was Anya at home when he came? Yes, but soon she left for work. (I came, then left - actions one after another)
I wasn't thirsty. I had drunk a cup of tea. - I didn't feel like drinking. I've just had a cup of tea.		I' m not thirsty. I' I'm just drunk a cup of tea. - I don't feel like drinking. I've just had a cup of tea.
His car was dirty. He hadn't washed it for weeks. Yesterday he cleaned it. — His car was so dirty. He hasn't washed it for weeks. Yesterday he washed it.		His car is dirty. He hasn't washed it for weeks. — His car is so dirty. He hasn't washed it for weeks.

According to the rules for the Past Perfect, this tense can be used in the passive voice. All uses Past Perfect Passive the same, but the shape of the structure is slightly different. Negation and question are built on the same principle as in the active voice (after had - not, and the auxiliary verb had before the underlying)

I + had + been + V3 (Ved)

He (she, it) + had + been + V3 (Ved)

You + had + been + V3 (Ved)

They + had + been + V3 (Ved)

We + had + been + V3 (Ved)

I had been introduced to his friends before. “I was introduced to his friends earlier.”

By three o’clock the dinner had been cooked. — By 3 o’clock dinner was ready.

This article was translated when they phoned. — The article was translated when they called.

Well, as you can see, Past Perfect grammar is not too complicated. You look at the sentence, determine which action happened first, and put in the correct form. If you learn to use this time correctly, then believe me, you can tell any story or simply retell a story in English without any problems.

Education Past Perfect Tense

1. Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the form of the past tense (had) and the form of the past participle (Past Participle) of the semantic verb: I had worked, he had worked.
2. In the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject: Had I worked? Had he worked?
3. The negative form is formed using the particle not, which is placed after the auxiliary verb: I had not worked, he had not worked.
4. In the interrogative-negative form, the negation not is placed immediately after the subject: Had I not worked? Had he not worked?

Affirmative form	Interrogative form	Negative form	Interrogative-negative form
He (she, it) had worked	Had he (she, it) worked? Had they worked?	I had not worked He (she, it) had not worked We had not worked You had not worked They had not worked	Had I not worked? Had he (she, it) not worked? Had we not worked? Had you not worked? Had they not worked?

The following abbreviations are commonly used in colloquial speech:

Time Past Perfect formed using an auxiliary verb to have in the past tense and the past participle of the significant verb, that is, its “third form”.

To have in the past tense has a single form had.

Second participle or past participle ( Participle II), can be obtained by adding the ending to the initial form of a significant verb -ed:

examine - examin ed, enjoy - enjoy ed,close-close ed

However, in English there is also a fairly large group of irregular verbs that form the past tense not according to general rules.

IN interrogative sentence The auxiliary verb is placed in front of the subject, and the significant verb remains after it:

Had you brushed your teeth before you went to bed?
Did you brush your teeth before going to bed?

IN negative sentences the auxiliary verb is followed by a negative particle not. In doing so, they can be reduced to the form hadn't.

How did you hope to pass the exam if you had not (hadn't) even opened the textbook?
How did you expect to pass the exam if you hadn’t even opened your textbook before?

Cases of using Past Perfect:

1. When there is an indication of the point in time at which an action in the past ended:
By 9 o"clock we"d finished the work.
By 9 o'clock we finished work.
She had written only two letters by noon.
By noon she had written only 2 letters.

2. When an action in the past took place before another action:
When you arrived, he had just left.
When you arrived, he had just left.
He had worked at the university for thirty years before he retired.
He worked at the university for 30 years before retiring.

3. In indirect speech to convey the present perfect and simple past tense:
He said he had studied English for two years. (He said: "I have studied English for two years.")
He said he has been studying English for two years.
She said she had published her first story 10 years before. (She said: "I published my first story 10 years ago.")
She said she published her first story 10 years ago.

She had written a letter by 5 o"clock on Saturday.
- She had not written a letter by 5 o"clock on Saturday.
? Had he written a letter by 5 o"clock on Saturday?
Yes, he had. No, he had not. (No, he hadn't.)

4. To denote actions that began before a specified moment in the past and continue until that moment. Usually such actions are expressed using Past Perfect Continuous, but used with static verbs Past Perfect. In this case, the period of time during which the action took place must be indicated:

I felt as if I had known her all my - I had a feeling like

life. as if I had known her all my life.

We went to see Mr Fennel who - We went to see Mr. Fennell,

hadbeen a widower for two years. who had been a widower for two years.

5. To express unfulfilled hopes, desires, etc., relating to both the past and the present and even the future:

I had hoped we could leave - I was hoping that we could leave

tomorrow but it’s beginning to tomorrow, but it seems it's becoming

look difficult. not easy (about a future event).

I had intended to make a cake but - I was going to make a cake, but

I ran out of time. didn’t have time (about a past event).

6.In subordinate tenses to express an action that is future in relation to past events and must occur before the beginning of the event expressed by the main sentence:

Not decided he wouldn't look at- He decided that he would not watch

his watch till he had read 30 pages. on the clock until it reads 30

Past Perfect not used:

1) when we are talking about the immediate sequence of events in the past, especially about the immediate reaction of people:

I got a real shock when I opened - I got really scared when

the box. opened the box.

2) when describing short sequential actions performed by different persons:

When I put the cat out he ran - When I put the cat out, he ran away

away to the bushes. into the bushes.

3) in subordinate clauses relating to sentences where the predicate is expressed by a verb in Past Perfect:

He told me that someone had - He told me that someone called

phoned when I was out. when I wasn't there.

Pivot table

Formation of forms
had + V+ ed/ III form of irregular verb
Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
He/she/it had run.	He/she/it had not run.	Had he/she/it run?
	You didn't run.
	They had not run.
Cases of use
1. An action completed in the past, but connected to the present through the result.	I had done my home work before he called me. I had gone shopping before they arrived. When I rank, she had already left. When I came back home, I found out that my wallet had been stolen. I though that I had seen him somewhere before. She had cooked dinner at 2 p.m.	I did my homework before he called me. I went shopping before they arrived. When I called, she had already left. When I returned home, I discovered that my wallet had been stolen. I thought I had seen him somewhere before. She prepared lunch by 2 o'clock.
2. An action that began before some point in the past and was still continuing at that moment. Instead of The Past Perfect Continuous with verbs not used in Continous.	They had known each other for many years when they decided to marry. They had lived in this town for years when the flood destroyed all the place.	They had known each other for many years when they decided to get married. They lived in this city for many years when a flood destroyed the entire area.

So, let's summarize the word formation in THE PAST PERFECT TENSE.

4.1. Affirmative form:

I had come - I came
He had come - He came
She had come - She came
It had come - He, she, it, it came (about inanimate objects)
We had come - We came
You had come - You came, you came
They had come - They came

4.2. Interrogative form:

Had I come? - I came?
Had he come? - He came?
Had she come? - She came?
Had it come? - He, she, it, did it come? (about inanimate objects)
Had we come? - We came?
Had you come? - You came? You come?
Had they come? - They came?

4.3. Negative form:

I had not come - I didn’t come
He had not come - He did not come
She had not come - She did not come
It had not come - He, she, it, it did not come (about inanimate objects)
We had not come - We did not come
You had not come - You didn’t come, you didn’t come
They had not come - They did not come

Use of THE PAST PERFECT TENSE

The main and most common cases of using Past Perfect:
1. When expressing actions that have already ended at a specified point in time in the past. Usually, these actions are expressed by the exact date, hour, etc.:

They had finished our work by seven o"clock. - They (already) finished their work by seven o'clock.

2. When expressing actions that preceded another action in the past:

She had written two articles, when the door was open and Bill Clinton comes in the room.
She had written two articles when the door swung open and Bill Clinton walked into the room.

Affirmative form Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the past tense - had and the past participle (Participle II) of the semantic verb (i.e., 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 before a certain moment in the past. A given moment in the past can be precisely indicated (year, day, hour) with the preposition of time by or can be expressed by another past action. Another action, which began 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 finished first - end, so this verb in the Past Perfect is 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 sentence ended before the action expressed by the predicate of the subordinate clause, then the verb of the main sentence will be expressed in the Past Perfect. Subordinate clauses are introduced by conjunctions before - before and when - When.

They had finished their work before their boss came in.
They 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 subordinate clause of time is introduced by the conjunctions when - When, as soon as - as soon as.

As soon as (when) they had finished their work the door opened and their boss came in.
As soon as 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 create the impression of simultaneity of actions.

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

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

• 4. When describing a sequence of events in Simple Past/Past Indefinite, if the description is violated, i.e. if an action that happened earlier is indicated, 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 into the forest. In the morning we took some food and hot tea and set off. We reached the forest at noon and had a good time there. Before this, we had never been in the forest in winter. But after this trip we decided to go skiing into the forest regularly.