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USES OF PAST PERFECT

Events that happened before another past event. Combine with the past simple. 

• The train had already left before we arrived at the station.
• The kids hadfallen asleep by the time their parents got home.
• By the time we found our seats, the movie had already started.

Useful vocabulary for events that happened before another past event: already, before, by the time

A period of time up until another point of time in the past.

• By 2018, they had lived in that house for ten years.
• She had always loved that toy until it broke.
• The company had been in business for fifty years before it went bankrupt.

Useful vocabulary for a period of time up until another point of time: by, until, up until, before, for, since 

For 3rd conditional sentences to talk about hypothetical past situations.

• If they had known about the traffic, they would’ve left earlier.
• If only the dress had been on sale… she might have bought it.
• They would have won the game if the goalkeeper hadn't made that mistake.

 Similarly, for expressing regret. Use with 'wish'. 

• I wish I had studied for the exam…
• We wish we’d booked tickets earlier.
• I wish I had known about the event; I would have attended.

STRUCTURE 

For positive sentences, use ‘had’ after the pronoun, plus the verb in the past participle form. We often contract the form with an apostrophe. 

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

For negative sentences, add ‘not’ after ‘had’.  We usually contract the form with an apostrophe.

• I had not walked > I hadn’t walked
• You had not walked > You hadn’t walked
• He had not walked > He hadn’t walked
• She had not walked > She hadn’t walked
• It had not walked > It hadn’t walked
• We had not walked > We hadn’t walked
• They had not walked > They hadn’t walked

To ask yes/no questions, change the order of the sentence so that ‘had’ is at the beginning.

• Had I walked?
• Yes, you had
• No, you hadn't 
• Had you walked?
• Yes, I had
• No, I hadn't 
• Had he walked?
• Yes, he had
• No, he hadn’t
• Had she walked?
• Yes, she had
• No, she hadn’t
• Had it walked?
• Yes, it had
• No, it hadn’t
• Had we walked?
• Yes, we had
• No, we hadn’t 
• Had they walked?
• Yes, they had
• No, they hadn't 

To ask for more information, add the ‘who, what, where, why, how, when’ question words at the beginning.

• Why had I been walked?
• Who had you walked with?
• Where had he walked?
• When had she walked?
• How had they walked?
• When had they walked?

To do

Practise by using the worksheet on this page, and watch other Tenses with Georgie videos.

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