Past Perfect Tense: Definition & Useful Examples in English

The past perfect tense in English with past perfect tense examples. Learn the definition and how to form the past perfect tense with useful examples and ESL printable infographics.

Contents

Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Definition

The Past Perfect tense is used to express something that happened before another action in the past.

Forming Past Perfect Tense

Positive Statements | Past Perfect

SUBJECT	HAD	VERB (past participle)	REST OF THE SENTENCE
I	had	finished	the work.
You	had	finished	the work.
He	had	finished	the work.
Tom	had	finished	the work.
The boy	had	finished	the work.
She	had	finished	the work.
Anna	had	finished	the work.
The girl	had	finished	the work.
We	had	finished	the work.
You	had	finished	the work.
They	had	finished	the work.
The children	had	finished	the work.

Notice that we use ‘had’ and the past participle form of the verb for all subjects.

Negative Statements | Past Perfect

SUBJECT	HAD NOT	VERB (past participle)	REST OF THE SENTENCE
I	had not	talked	to my brother.
You	had not	talked	to my brother.
He	had not	talked	to my brother.
Tom	had not	talked	to my brother.
The boy	had not	talked	to my brother.
She	had not	talked	to my brother.
Anna	had not	talked	to my brother.
The girl	had not	talked	to my brother.
We	had not	talked	to my brother.
You	had not	talked	to my brother.
They	had not	talked	to my brother.
The children	had not	talked	to my brother.

Notice that we use ‘had not’ and the past participle form of the verb for all subjects.

Interrogative Statements / Questions | Past Perfect

HAD	SUBJECT	VERB (past participle)	REST OF THE SENTENCE
Had	I	seen	the movie?
Had	you	seen	the movie?
Had	he	seen	the movie?
Had	Tom	seen	the movie?
Had	the boy	seen	the movie?
Had	she	seen	the movie?
Had	Anna	seen	the movie?
Had	the girl	seen	the movie?
Had	we	seen	the movie?
Had	you	seen	the movie?
Had	they	seen	the movie?
Had	the men	seen	the movie?