Past Perfect Tense

What is Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense is used when two actions take place in the past. We use the past perfect tense for the action which took place first and the simple past tense for the action which takes place next.
Example 1:

• The bus left at 10.30 pm. (First action)
• We arrived at 10.40 pm. (Second action)
• When we arrived, the bus had left.

Example 2:

• The classes started. (First action)
• we arrived at school. (Second action)
• Before we arrived at school the classes had started.

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense is formed with the auxiliary verb had and the past participle of the verb (e.g. gone, arrived, taken).
Let us see the structure of past perfect tense.
General Structure

• 1. Affirmative (Positive) Sentence

Subject	Auxiliary	Verb	Rest of the sentence.
I, We, You, They, He, She, It	had	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence.

• 2. Negative Sentence

Subject	Auxiliary +Not	Verb	Rest of the sentence.
I, We, You, They, He, She, It	had + not	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence.

• 3. Yes/No type Question

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest of the sentence?
Had	I, We, You, They, He, She, It	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence?

• 4. Information Question?

Question	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest of the sentence?
QW	had	I, We, You, They, He, She, It	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence?

Important Note:
Verb – Past Participle
Auxiliary verb – Had
I, We, You, They, He, She, It – Had

1. Affirmative (Positive) Sentences

Subject	Auxiliary	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence
I	had	finished	my work.
You	had	studied	hard.
We	had	sent	a request.
He	had	gone	to Chennai.
She	had	written	the letter.
It	had	stopped	working.
They	had	rejected	me.

2. Negative Sentences

Subject	Auxiliary + Not	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence
I	had not	finished	my work.
You	had not	studied	hard.
We	had not	sent	a request.
He	had not	gone	to Chennai.
She	had not	written	the letter.
It	had not	stopped	working.
They	had not	rejected	me.

3. Yes/No type Question

Auxiliary	Subject	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence?
Had	I	finished	my work?
Had	you	studied	hard?
Had	we	sent	a request?
Had	he	gone	to Chennai?
Had	she	written	the letter?
Had	it	stopped	working?
Had	they	rejected	me?

4. Information Questions

Question	Auxiliary	Subject	Past Participle	Rest of the sentence?
When	had	I	finished	my workt?
How	had	you	studied	?
When	had	we	sent	a request?
Why	had	he	gone	to Chennai?
What	had	she	written	?
How long	had	it	stopped	working?
Why	had	they	rejected	me?
Where	had	Ram	lived	?