Past Perfect Tense: Definition, Examples, Formula & Rules

Table of Contents

Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect Tense describes the action, situation, or activity that happened before any other took place in the past. The word perfect means completed.
It is a combination of the past tense with a perfect aspect and is also called a pluperfect in the English Language.

Formula of Past Perfect Tense

Subject + had + Verb (past participle) + object.

Here, the modal verb “had” is used with the main verb, and the verb is in the past participle form that shows the action is perfectly completed.

past perfect tense structure and examples

For example
She had forgotten my birthday.
They had won the Pro title in Kabaddi.

Sentence Structure & Rules

There are three possibilities of writing any sentence or a statement in present continuous tense form,

Positive statements
[Subject + had + verb (past participle) + object]
Negative statements
[Subject + had + not + verb (past participle)+ object]
Question statements
[Wh- type word(if necessary) + had + subject + verb (past participle) + object + ?]

Examples of Past Prefect Tense

You had gone to Mauritius for a business meeting. (positive)
You hadn’t gone to Mauritius for a business meeting. (negative)
Had you gone to Mauritius for a business meeting? (question)

The carpenter had completed the furniture work. (positive)
The carpenter had not completed the furniture work. (negative)
Had the carpenter completed the furniture work? (question)

He had come from the office. (positive)
He had not come from the office. (negative)
Why had he come from the office? (question)

They had finished the snacks. (positive)
They hadn’t finished the snacks. (negative)
Why had they finished the snacks? (question)

More examples of past perfect

Exercise of Past Perfect Tense

Complete the following sentence using the appropriate verbs to make it a past perfect tense statement.
(perform, announce, prepare, come, do, imagine, submit, tell, complete, jump, go, rescue, explain, leave, study)

I _____never ___ that you did that school.
She __________ anywhere to buy clothes. (not)
He _______well in the practice session of the football match.
_____he_____ the project documents?
Marla and Andrew _____ their marriage yet officially. (not)
The train ______ already at the station by the time before I reached there.
Why _______ you back from London?
He ______ from the airplane with the parachute.

Answers

I had never done that you did that school.
She had not gone anywhere to buy clothes.
He had performed well in the practice session of the football match.
Had he submitted the project documents?
Marla and Andrew had announced their marriage yet officially.
The train had left already at the station by the time before I reached there.
Why had come you back from London?
He had jumped from the airplane with the parachute.