Past perfect (and past perfect continuous)
Past perfect shows an earlier past action before another past action or time.
A — Sample sentences
Notice words like parents, grandparents, nephew, bring up, grow up, and look after.
1) Past perfect — had + past participle
The earlier of two past events.
- When I arrived, my parents had already left for the airport.
- She had never met her grandfather before he died.
- They had lived with their aunt until they moved out at eighteen.
- He had looked after his little nephew all day before his sister came home.
2) Past perfect continuous — had been + verb-ing
Duration up to a point in the past.
- My grandmother had been feeling unwell for weeks before she saw the doctor.
- The children had been playing in the garden until it started raining.
- He had been supporting his family for years when he lost his job.
- We had been waiting for our cousin for an hour when he finally arrived.
3) Past simple + past perfect together
Past simple = later event; past perfect = earlier event.
- After she had grown up in the city, she moved to the countryside.
- I did not know my niece had already started school.
- His brother had brought up the topic before dinner began.
- They depended on their parents until they had found their own flat.
The rest of this lesson is in the General English course:
- B — Quick reference
Try it: Past perfect or past simple?
Choose the best form for the earlier action.
- When we visited, our grandparents ___ already ___ dinner.
(a) had / finished (b) have / finished (c) finished - She ___ her nephew before she moved abroad.
(a) had never met (b) never met (c) has never met - After he ___ up in a small town, he studied in the capital.
(a) grew (b) had grown (c) has grown - They ___ with their son until he found a job.
(a) lived (b) had lived (c) were living
Check your answers in the course — it marks them instantly. This is one of the unit's 4 exercises; the other 3 are in the General English course too.
Practise this unit in the course →