Form

The past perfect is formed with had + the past participle (the third part of the verb).

I had (I’d)

You had (you’d)

He had (he’d)

She had (she’d)

It had (it’d) finished, arrived, started, drunk....etc.

We had (we’d)

You had (you’d)

They had (They’d)

The use of the Past Perfect Tense

Unlike the present tense which is always tied to present time, this tense is always tied to past time. It is used:

1. For an action or event which began before a particular point in a past narrative. It may happen that the past action is expressed by the past perfect:

a) was continuing at the time: When Mary met John, he had been a soldier for two months and has to stay in army for seven months more.

b) stopped at any time or just before it: When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she had reigned for over 60 years. When John arrived, Mary had just left.

c) stopped some time before it: None of us understood how he managed to pass the exam.

2. It is used if we want to make connection between two actions or events: