Quite often, tenses in English for many become But in fact, everything is quite simple: you just need to sit down, understand the rules and read more texts.
Past Perfect: what kind of time is this?
This is the so-called pre-past tense, when the entire action takes place in the past, but ends before a certain moment or the beginning of another action (or event) also in the past. In other words, this is everything that has already happened, before something else happened (which also managed to end). Everything refers to a certain time or moment, already lived and past. Typically, in the Past Perfect, the rules provide for the use of several adverbs showing an earlier event: never, ever, yet, already. Example: By the time Julia arrived at the building, Mary had already left. - By the moment Juliya got to the building, Mary had already left.
Past Perfect: rules of education
Everything is very simple here. To use this time, you just need to take the second have (already familiar had) and the third form of the verb necessary for the meaning (that is, past participle). For regular verbs, it is formed by simply adding an ending -ed, for incorrect ones, it is taken from the dictionary and memorized.
- Affirmative form: I/You/She/They/He had read it.
- Negative form: I/She/He/You/They had not (hadn’t) read it.
- Interrogative form: Had I/You/She/He/They read it?
Past Perfect: rules and examples of use
There are two options here that you should always consider and not forget about
- If the action being described took place before a certain point in the past. Example: By 2000, she had become a world famous singer. - By 2000 she had become a world-famous singer. Thus, a starting point is immediately set and it is indicated that it achieved success precisely by 2000 and not earlier (that is, a certain event or time took place in the past).
- If an event or action occurred before another action began, also in the past. The past perfect (the rules say this) is used precisely to describe the event that happened earlier. What happened later is described by Example: She didn't want to go to the cinema with us yesterday because she had already seen The Lord of the Rings. - She didn’t want to go to the cinema with us yesterday, because she had already seen “The Lord of the Rings”. In this case, the adverb used immediately demonstrates which of the described actions and events occurred before the other.
Difference from other past tenses
Past Perfect (the rules of its formation are very simple and logical) differs from other tenses, such as Past Simple, (the rules of their formation are also quite easy: the first is formed by a simple change of the verb and means a simple action that took place in the past, without any pitfalls; the second shows that an event or action happened in the past, but ended exactly at the specified moment in the present or is ending only now. Formed by using the form of the verb have in the present tense and the semantic verb necessary for the sentence), and it is quite easy to grasp this difference. To do this, you should not only learn the form of education, but also think about the meaning of the sentence as a whole in order to grasp its logic and meaning, and not translate word by word. In the latter case, the words will simply be mixed up, and there will be no understanding of the text. However, with a thoughtful approach to English grammar, difficulties with understanding both written text and spoken language will not arise.
In all the variety of tenses in the English language, Perfect tenses (perfect or complete) are notable for the fact that you will not find their analogues in Russian grammar. Perhaps for this reason, many people have difficulty mastering perfect tenses. Let's learn to understand and use these useful and interesting English verb tenses.
Strictly speaking, in English there are only two tenses (tense), where only the semantic verb is present: present (We walk) And past (He left).
All other tenses of verbs in English, and there are about thirty of them, use auxiliary verbs.
There are six main tenses, which, once understood, will help you understand the entire temporal structure of English verbs.
- Present Simple (Present Indefinite): We play. - We play.
- Present Perfect: We have played. - We played.
- Past Simple (Past Indefinite): We played. - We played.
- Past Perfect: We had played. - We played (before a certain event in the past).
- Future Simple (Future Indefinite): We will play. - We will play.
- Future Perfect: We will have played. - We'll play (until a certain event in the future).
Students of English as a foreign language most often experience problems with perfect tenses. This is due to the fact that they are formed a little more complex than their “simple” counterparts: with the help of an auxiliary verb and the past participle (III form of the verb).
- Run (run)- run - run
- Play (play)- played - played
Auxiliary verbs are usually forms of the verbs be, can, do, may, must, ought, shall, will, have, has, had. It is these verbs and their forms that should be given attention.
Present Perfect Tense (present perfect tense)
Tom will repair his car on Monday. (Future Simple) - Tom will be repairing his car on Monday.
She hopes that Tom will have repaired his car by Monday evening. (Future Perfect) - She hopes Tom will have his car repaired by Monday evening.
As we know, the British love order in everything, and the English language is no exception. In their opinion, every action should have its own order. In Russian, we use one tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then go back to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman will never tolerate such “chaos” in his speech. If he forgot about an important event that happened before everyone else, then he will report it in a specially designated time called Past Perfect. This is what we will talk about today. C"mon!
What is Past Perfect
Past Perfect Tense is the past perfect tense. We usually use it to talk about an action that ended at or before some point in the past.
For example: When he read the book, he went to bed.
What was the first action? First he read the book and then went to bed. That is, by the time he went to bed, he had already read the book. To show that the first action ended before the second happened, you need to use the Past Perfect in the first part of the sentence - “When he had read the book, he went to bed.” In other words, we use the Past Perfect to show the order of actions, i.e., that one action in the past occurred before another.
How is Past Perfect formed (formulas + examples)
- Statement. The predicate in the Past Perfect consists of two parts: the auxiliary verb " had" And third form of the main verb(add the ending “-” to the correct verb ed", and we take the irregular form from the third column of the table of irregular verbs).
- Negation. In a negative sentence between the auxiliary verb " had" and the particle " appears as the main verb not».
As with many other tenses, the Past Perfect has shortened forms that are used in colloquial speech. IN affirmative sentence " had» unites With pronoun, V negative- with the particle " not" For example:
I'd come.
You'd finished.
I hadn't come.
You weren't finished.
- Question. An interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb " had", followed by subject And main verb.
Past Perfect marker words
If a sentence contains the following words, then it belongs to the Past Perfect Tense:
by- To;
hardly… when / no sooner… than- as soon as I barely had time;
after- after;
earlier- earlier, before - before;
first- first;
when- When;
just- just now;
already- already;
yet- already, not yet.
| Marker | Example | Translation |
| by | Unfortunately, most of the audience didn’t stay by the end of the play. | Unfortunately, by the end of the performance most of the audience left. |
| hardly...when | Hardly had they crossed the road when the accident happened. | They had barely crossed the road when the accident happened. |
| no sooner...than | No sooner he had came in than he heard congratulations and his friends gathered around him.a | As soon as he entered, he heard congratulations and friends gathered around him. |
| after | After the boy had done his hometask he went out to play football with his friends. | After the boy did his homework, he went for a walk. |
| earlier | She knew how to cook a cake because she had made it earlier. | She knew how to bake a cake because she had made it before. |
| before | James easily won this game because he had played it many times before. | James played this game easily as he had played it many times before. |
| first | First we had taken all our bags, then understood that we forgot our tickets on the table. | First we took our things, and then we realized that we had forgotten the tickets on the table. |
| when | John had sat to work when his boss called for him. | John sat down at his desk to work when his boss called him. |
| just | I just had sat to have lunch when my friend called me. | I had just sat down to lunch when my friend called me. |
| already | We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and told that she bought a cake too. | We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and said that she also bought a cake. |
| yet | I hadn’t served the table yet when the guests came. | I had not yet set the table when the guests arrived. |
Cases of using Past Perfect:
- The past perfect shows an action that happened before another action or a specific moment in the past. Another action in the past is most often denoted by the Past Simple, and special words may be used: “ by"(to some time/moment), " after" (after), " before"(before, before), " when" (When), " earlier" (earlier), " first"(first, first).
Before Anna called her husband she had finished all the work. - Before Anna called her husband, she finished all the work.
Nota bene: if actions are placed in chronological ok, then you need to use Past Simple:
Anna finished all work and called her husband. - Anna finished all the work and (then) called her husband (chronological order).
- The Past Perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed by the Past Perfect has become reason that another action has taken place.
He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He didn't eat for eight hours.
She couldn’t buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card. - She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes because she lost her credit card.
- Past Perfect is used after " if"in conditional sentences of the third type ( third conditional). This type of conditional shows regret about the past. We could have done something in the past if we had fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.
If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. - If I knew about your problem, I would help you.
If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. - If you read the morning newspaper, you would agree with me.
- Past Perfect is used in the constructions " hardly … when" And " no sooner … than" These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use back order words, as in the question. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the words “as soon as...”, “I didn’t have time...”, “as soon as I...”.
Hardly had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. - The plane had barely landed at Miami airport when it started to rain.
No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. - Before I had time to chew my sandwich, someone knocked on the door.
- Enumeration of actions happened in the past until the time of the story generally:
I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog had scratched the furniture, had torn the wallpapers and had eaten my lunch on the table. - I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog scratched the furniture, tore the wallpaper and ate my lunch on the table.
Formation Past Perfect Passive
Like most tenses, the Past Perfect has passive design .
- Statement: subject + had been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].
The test had been finished by the end of the day.- The test was completed by the end of the day.
The picture had been painted by the Monday. - The picture was painted by Monday.
Negation: subject + had + not + been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].
The test had not been finished by the end of the day. - The test was not completed by the end of the day.
The bicycle had not been repaired by 2 o’clock. - The bicycle was not repaired by two o'clock.
Question: had + subject + been + verb 3 forms + [by object]?
Had the questions been discussed before the exam?- Were the questions discussed before the exam?
Had the picture been painted by the Monday?- Was the picture painted by Monday?
Present Perfect vs Past Perfect
Very often, when translating from Russian into English, you can get confused in choosing the right tense, because they both have similar features. Let's look at the table to get rid of doubts about the differences between Present Perfect and Past Perfect.
| Indicates that an action expressed by the Present Perfect has been completed by now or during the present time: The shopping center has just opened. - The shopping center has just opened. |
Indicates that an action expressed by the Past Perfect happened before another action or a specific moment in the past: We came to the office, but the administrator had already gone away. - We arrived at the office, and the administrator had already left. |
| Shows that the action occurred in the past, it is unknown and no matter when exactly, but its result is visible in the present: He knows her name. They have already met. - He knows her name. They've already met. |
Shows that an action occurred in the past and caused or led to another action occurring in the past: My brother felt hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday. - My brother was hungry. He hasn't eaten since yesterday. |
Nota bene: We recommend that you read the short theory again and complete the task in our online simulator so that you never have doubts about using the Past Perfect again.
Conclusion
So, today we looked at the forms of formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect, both in active and passive voice. We remembered which markers you should pay attention to, and figured out how not to confuse the Present Perfect and Past Perfect. But the most important thing to remember is that next to the Past Perfect there must be another action in the past.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with other tenses of the English language
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Past perfect - Past perfect
Designations: + statement, ? question, - negation.
| + | ? | - | |||||||
| ... had + III. | Had ... +III? | ... had not + III. | |||||||
| I | had painted. | Had | I | painted? | I | had not painted. | |||
| You | you | You | |||||||
| We | we | We | |||||||
| They | they | They | |||||||
| He | he | He | |||||||
| She | she | She | |||||||
| It | it | It | |||||||
Abbreviations: I had = I"d, you had = you"d, we had = we"d, they had = they"d, he had = he"d, she had = she"d, it had = X, had not = hadn't().
-ed pronounced according to the following rules:
1. [d]- after vowels and voiced consonants:
[b], [?], [v], [ð], [z], [?], , [m], [n], [?], [l], [j], [w], [ r]; except [d] (point 3)
2. [t]- after voiceless consonants:
[p], [k], [f], [θ], [s], [?], [h], ; except [t] (point 3)
3. [?d]- after sounds [d] and [t]
Note: About sounds - in the material "Sounds of the English language. Phonetic notes."
Using the Past Perfect
1. Past Perfect is an action that completed before a certain point in the past. The period can be determined:A. Circumstance of time.
By Wednesday she had already prepared for the journey. By Wednesday, she was already prepared for the trip.
In such sentences, the expression by + time (by which the action took place) is used.
by midnight to midnight
by six o"clock by six o'clock
by Friday by Friday
by the 20th of June by the twentieth of June
by the end of the month
by then/by that time by that time
by that moment
and etc.
b. Another, later past action, expressed in the Past Simple.
When I looked out of the window the rain had already started. When I looked out the window, it had already started to rain.
V. Context or situation.
He showed me the ring he had bought for her. He showed me the ring he bought for him.
2. Past Perfect is often used instead of Past Perfect Continuous to express an action that began before a certain moment in the past and was still continuing at that moment. Used with verbs that are not used in the continuous form.
When Grace came to the destination Austin had already been there for an hour. When Grace arrived at the appointed place, Austin had already been there for an hour.
In such proposals, the time period must be specified.
Note 1: Verbs that express desire, intention and hope are used in the Past Perfect to indicate that this intention, hope or desire did not come true.
He had expected you to support, but you didn't. He counted on you to help, but you didn't.
Note 2: Sometimes when Not it is necessary to focus on the duration of action, since fact is important his accomplishments, the Past Perfect is used.
When I got my first job I had lived outskirts of town. When I got my first job, I lived on the outskirts of the city.
But grammatically it is more correct to use the continuous form:
When I got my first job I was living outskirts of town.
3. Past Perfect is a future perfect action in the past in subordinate clauses of time.
She said that Michael would come back as soon as he had done all the work. She said that Michael would return as soon as he finished all the work.
4. Past Perfect is used in constructions with words hardly/scarcely (barely), as well as with the adverb no sooner (only; as soon as).
He had hardly entered the room when the phone rank. He had barely entered the room when the phone rang.
or the same thing, but with a different word order:
Hardly had he entered the room when the phone rank.
He had no sooner come home then he saw his brother. As soon as he entered the room, the phone rang.
with different word order:
No sooner had he come home then he saw his brother.
How to get out of the past and return to an earlier past? It is not a time machine that comes to the rescue, as one might initially think, but a solution that is much simpler and more interesting at the same time: Past Perfect Simple - Past Perfect, which is studied in grades 6-7.
General information
There are three tenses in English: Past (past), Present (present) and Future (future). In this regard, the Russian language is in solidarity with its fellow language. But there are also differences between them - temporary forms. Depending on what kind of action we have before us - regular, long-term or completed, in each of the three times four aspects are distinguished: Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous.
Today the focus is on the rules for using Past Perfect Simple - Past Perfect tense.
Past Perfect rules and examples
If it seems that the work is easy to do, then it certainly turns out to be difficult. And vice versa - complex problems always have simple solutions. This unwritten rule also applies to the Past Perfect. It is not as complicated as it seems. The first thing to remember is that this tense is never used independently. It always “works” cohesively, side by side with another action in the past, and indicates that the action expressed by it occurred before another action or before a certain time. Let's look at two examples:
- We came to the bus stop and the bus left - We came to the bus stop and the bus left.
- We came to the bus stop, but the bus had left - We came to the bus stop, but the bus left.
Before using one or another temporary form, it is necessary to understand what happened first and what happened second, or whether two actions occurred simultaneously. In the first case, we managed to get on the bus we needed and use the Past Simple (Simple Past), that is, the events in this sentence happened sequentially one after another. In the second example, we were late and did not catch the bus we needed - it had already left. In other words, the action happened before we arrived, and therefore the Past Perfect form is used here.
Cases of use
There are other, less common cases of using the tense form Past Perfect:
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- To explain the reason for what happened : the action expressed by the predicate verb in the Past Perfect tense form is the “culprit” of what happened later (He was not able to buy a new book as he had lost his credit car - He could not buy a new book because he lost my credit card);
- To describe your past experiences (By the time I bought my new flat I had worked hard for several years - By the time I bought my new flat, I had worked hard for several years).
Time markers
Past Perfect time markers include the following circumstances, conjunctions and prepositions:
- By the time - by the time (By the time they came home, my mother had baked an apple pie - By the time they returned home, mine baked an apple pie);
- After - after a certain moment (She fell asleep after I had left her - She fell asleep after I left her);
- Before - until a certain point (She had never been to London before she came here last month - She had never been to London before she came here last month);
- When - when (The train had left when he arrived at the station - The train left when it arrived at the station);
- Just - just (When she entered the room I had just heard the news - When she entered the room, I just heard the news);
- Already - already (I had already finished with my dinner when he knocked on the door - I had already prepared dinner when he knocked on the door);
- Yet - yet (She moved to another city but she had not told her parents about it yet - She moved to another city, but has not yet told her parents about it);
- For - during (He thought that he was not able to drive a car anymore because he had not driven it for 20 years - He thought that he could no longer drive a car, because he had not driven it for 20 years)
- Since - since then (Her new book was wonderful because she had worked on it since last year - Her new book was wonderful because she had been working on it since last year).
The adverbs yet (yet), just (just now), already (already) are a common feature for the two tenses Present Perfect (Present Perfect) and Past Perfect (Past Perfect).
Formation of the affirmative form
The temporary form Past Perfect (Past Perfect) is formed according to a certain scheme: had + Participle II(Past participle or third form of the verb). Regular verbs form Participle II (Past Participle) using the ending - ed: to use - used (use - used). If the verb belongs to the group of irregular verbs, then the required form must be taken from the third column of the table of irregular verbs: I had opened (I opened), she had studied (she taught), we had bought (we bought).
Negation
The negative form of the Past Perfect is formed using a negative particle not (not) which is placed between the auxiliary verb had And Participle II(Past participle):
I had not opened (I did not open), she had not studied (she did not teach), we had not bought (we did not buy).
Question
In an interrogative sentence in English, the word order changes. In the Past Perfect tense, the auxiliary verb comes first in the question had, followed by the subject (pronoun or noun) and the main verb, expressed Participle II (Past Participle):
Had I opened? (did I open it?), Had she studied? (did she teach?), Had we bought? (we bought?).
In special questions, the scheme is preserved with the only difference - in the first place are question words (Who? - Who?; What? - What?; Which? - Which?; When? - When?; Where? - Where?; Where? - Where? ; Why? - Why?; How? - How?; How much/many? - How much?): What had I opened? (What did I discover?), Where had she studied? (Where did she study?), When had we bought? (When did we buy?).
What have we learned?
Today we were introduced to the Past Perfect, which is one of the tense forms of the past tense in English, and denotes an action in the past that preceded another action in the past. We also learned about its features, when it is used in a sentence and with what time markers.
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