Past perfect rules base level. Past Perfect Tense - Past Perfect Tense in English

Past perfect (Paste perfect) - past perfect tense in English. At its core, it almost repeats Present perfect, but there are 3 differences:

1. Present perfect is used in simple sentences,
Past perfect - in complex-subordinate(i.e. consisting of 2 parts).

2. Present perfect is formed with "have",
Past perfect - using "had":

Present Perfect

past perfect

The secret to understanding the Past perfect lies in the verb "had". Becoming auxiliary, "had" loses its meaning "had" and acquires the meaning "already". Details about Education Past perfect can be read on the page formation of the past tense in English.

Rule 1 The task of the Past Perfect is to show the sequence of events. The event that happened first in time is used in the Past Perfect. The one that happened second is in Paste simple. If you use the Past simple in both parts of the sentence, it is not always clear which event happened first. Let's demonstrate this with examples.

Consider one proposal in three options:
The first time - without using the Past perfect,
the second and third - using the past perfect in different parts of the sentences.

Past perfect examples

Rule 2 There is a situation where the past perfect tense cannot be replaced by any other tense. It occurs in sentences with the word "if", but not always, but only in past tense. In English grammar, this situation is called subjunctive in the past tense (conditional 3). In practice, it is quite rare.

Time Past perfect tense in the system of all past tenses demonstrates the following video:

The following illustrated table will help you to see the place Past perfect among 4 types of past tenses "

past perfect formed with the help to had in past tense form ( had- for all persons) and the past participle of the semantic verb: I / he had written. Past Participle (participle) regular verbs formed by adding the ending to the infinitive –ed: to invite- invite ed. When added to a verb –ed sometimes there are changes in its spelling: to stop - stopp ed. Past Participle of irregular verbs must be remembered: to tell-told-told. Additionally about.

Abbreviated forms:

‘d= had
hadn't= had not

Using the Past Perfect

1. An action that took place before another action in the past. Indicated by the notation of time ( by Monday - by Monday, by evening - by evening, by 3 o'clock - by 3 o'clock, by that time - by that time) or other (later) actions expressed by time .

Examples: I had came to them by 5 o'clock. I came to them at 5 o'clock.
I had translated the text by Wednesday. – I translated the text by Wednesday.
my parents were glad to hear that I had passed all exams. My parents were happy to hear that I passed all the exams. (first I passed the exams - Past Perfect is used, and then my parents heard about it - Past Simple is used, i.e. one action happened before another)
my sister said that I had given her wrong address. My sister said I gave her the wrong address. (first I gave my sister the wrong address - Past Perfect is used, and then the sister said that the address was wrong - Past Simple is used, i.e. one action happened before the other)

2. An action that began up to a certain moment in the past and lasted until that moment. Past Perfect is used most often with verbs not used in continuous form. Additionally about.

Examples: When Sally arrived to the party, her friends had been there for half an hour. When Sally came to the party, her friends had already been there for half an hour.

3. Verbs in the Past Perfect can express two or more previous actions, and one of them can precede the other.

Examples: She said that she had drawn the money from her account and (had) sent them to her sister. She said she had withdrawn money from her account and sent it to her sister. (action expressed by the verb had drawn precedes the action expressed by the verb had sent)

4. If two or more past actions are transmitted in the sequence in which they occurred (i.e., actions are listed), the Past Simple form is used.

Examples: He entered room, took something from the desk and went out. He entered the room, took something from the desk and left. (here the verbs entered, took, went out denote a chain of actions that followed one after another, so they are expressed using Past Simple)

5. If the sequence of actions is interrupted by a mention of previously completed actions, then such previously completed actions are used in the Past Perfect.

Examples: He entered the room which he had reserved the day before, took something from the desk and went out. He entered the room he had booked the day before, took something from the desk and left. (here the verbs entered, took, went out denote a chain of actions that followed the bottom after another, so they are expressed using the Past Simple. These actions are interrupted by the verb had reserved- an action that happened earlier, therefore Past Perfect is used here)

In all the variety of tenses in English, Perfect tenses (perfect or completed) are notable for the fact that you will not find their analogues in Russian grammar. Perhaps for this reason, many people have difficulty mastering the perfect tenses. Let's learn to understand and use these useful and interesting English Times verbs.

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, understanding which, you can understand the entire tense 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 specific event in the past).
• Future Simple(Future Indefinite): We will play. - We will play.
• Future Perfect: We will have played. - We will play (until a certain event in the future).

Learners of English as a foreign language most often experience problems with Perfect at times. This is due to the fact that they are formed a little more complicated than their “simple” counterparts: with the help of an auxiliary verb and the past participle (III form of the verb).

• Run (run)- ran - 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.

Present Perfect Tense (Present Perfect)

Tom will repair his car on Monday. (Future Simple) - Tom will be fixing his car on Monday.

She hopes that Tom will have repaired his car by Monday evening. (Future Perfect) - She hopes that Tom will have his car fixed by Monday evening.

Like any time category Perfect, the Past Perfect Tense displays the completeness and completeness of a certain action. But its main difference from that is that there is no connection with the present, and all attention is focused on an action that has already taken place before some other action in the past.

The Past Perfect tense is used quite often, and is typical for both modern colloquial American English and classic version, which is British.

Example sentences in the Past Perfect look like this:

• He had already learned everything when we came - He already learned everything when we came
• The situation wasn't so bad as I had feared The situation wasn't as bad as I feared.

As can be seen from the examples presented, the essence of this time is to display an action that happened in the past, and it has no connection with the present time, but only shows the result that remains in the past tense.

Past Perfect Education

In many ways, the way Past Perfect Simple is formed is similar to the Present Perfect formation scheme. There is also an auxiliary verb here, only unlike Present, it is one, and this had, i.e., in fact, this is the past form of the verb have (has). The form of the main verb will also be represented as Past Participle, or, as it is also called, the third form of the verb. So, the Past Perfect Active formula looks like this:

Had + V(3) (–ed)

• He had finished his article before we came -He finished my article before topics, How We came
• When Jack called for I had already prepared all the necessary material -When Jack stopped by, I already cooked the whole necessary material

This past tense is simple: if the speaker wants to emphasize the completion of one action before another, then this is the tense that should be used.

Questions and negatives

General issues

In order to form general questions in the Past Perfect, it is enough to be guided by the same principle as with any other perfect tense. A general question is one that begins either with an auxiliary verb or with the verb to be. Since the past perfect tense in English has its own auxiliary verb, then the general question will begin with had:

• Had you explained everything before he left? -You to him All explained before Togo, How He gone?
• Had they already found out all the details of that strange case when you came? -They already figured out All details Togo strange affairs, When You came?

Special questions

Past Perfect interrogative sentences of a special type, characterized in that the speaker does not just want to hear the answer "yes" or "no", but to get more specific information, are also simple in their formation. In view of the fact that the initial position in the sentence is occupied by a special question word ( why, where, when, etc. ), and it is called special. The Past Perfect has examples of sentences with special issue look like this:

• why had you done all this hard work before we came? Why did you do all this hard work before we got here?
• Where had she been before she returned home?Where was she before she came home?

negatives

The negative with the perfect is formed even more simply: here, the particle not must go immediately after the auxiliary verb, and the rest of the structure of the sentence will remain unchanged. Often, a compressed form of negation is used for reduction (had not = hadn't):

• The rain hadn't stopped before we went away -Rain Not ceased before Togo, How We left
• We hadn't completed the task when the bell rang –We hadn't finished the task when the bell rang

Cases of using Past Perfect

The past perfect tense in English is relevant in the following situations:

1. Precedence

To indicate an action completed up to a certain moment, and the reference here can be either some other action, which will be expressed through and the subordinate part, when the completion of one action is clear from the situation. Typical time markers in this case are adverbs such as before, after, as well as all those words that are typical for any perfect: just, never, ever, yet, etc., which are used in the Past Perfect to coordinate the situation with past tense:

• They had walked only a few steps when the car appeared in sightThey had only gone a few steps when the car came into view.
• After she had cry out I felt relieved- After she cried, I felt relieved
• He told all of us that he had never done harm to anyoneHe told us all that he never hurt anyone

In such proposals, it is clearly visible.

Note: despite the fact that the Past Perfect has fairly standard usage rules, there is one point that deserves attention. Two typical constructions of the English language - hardly (scarcely) ... when ... and no sooner ... than ... - are characterized not only by the use of the Perfect Past tense, but also, i.e., the reverse order of words in the sentence, which is done to give the statement additional expressiveness. In this case, the auxiliary verb had comes before the subject, not after it. Do not confuse such situations with a question; such phrases have an affirmative meaning, but the word order in them is that which is typical for interrogative sentences:

• No sooner had I laid than I heard a doorbellNot managed I lie down, How heard door call
• Hardly (scarcely) had she arrived when al the guests left the room -Barely she arrived, How All guests left room

2. Complete completion of the action

The past complete tense is often used not only to show precedence, but simply to express the complete completion of a particular action. This is usually indicated by the translation:

By that time they had already finished all their preparations - Kto thattime they finished all the preparations

Note: the classic position taken by auxiliary words like just, already, ever, etc. - between auxiliary and semantic verb. The exception is usually the adverb yet, which is typical for questions and negatives and which is used at the end of a sentence:

She said she hadn’ t visited them yetShe said she hadn't visited them yet.

3. With certain verbs

With those (sensory perception, emotions and feelings, mental activity, etc.), the use of the Past Perfect is characteristic, even if the idea of ​​duration is emphasized. Popular indicators of such situations are prepositions for And since:

• He informed me that he had already been there for half an hour -He reported to me, What was there already half an hour
• I found out that she had known me since 2005– I found out that she had known me since 2005.

All of the above rules and examples of using the Past Perfect tense will allow you to better navigate this time, albeit not very difficult, but rather unusual for a Russian-speaking person. English as an object of study will become easier if you try to understand its structure. Specifically, this time will not cause any inconvenience, the main thing is to understand its specifics, remember all cases of use and, if possible, do exercises aimed at training this type of temporary form.

Palette English system time is simply replete with diversity. Some of the shades shine brighter, some dimmer. One of the most saturated can be called Past Perfect. How, with the help of grammatical constructions and the lexical diversity of this tense, to make speech expressive?

The past completed tense, as Russian-speaking “students” often call it, carries a certain sense of completeness. In other words, for example, when describing an event, we often make comments about what happened before the main action. “When my mother came, I already fell asleep” - in this sentence there are two past tenses - “came”, “fell asleep”. Which one happened first? The second means that we will express it Past Perfect.

Education

This form is one of the simplest. Yes, you will need an auxiliary verb. "had" + V 3 or Ved. Remember that all verbs in English can be grouped into regular and irregular. The latter have 3 forms, which, well, what to do, you have to learn by heart. All of them are placed in the table of irregular verbs. At this time, we need the 3rd column - V 3. If the verb is correct (it is not in the table), then we add the ending -ed.

I had worked. - work - the correct verb
I had taught. - teach is an irregular verb.

Let's take a closer look at the formation of all types of sentences in paste perfect using the example of to ask.

In writing, and in colloquial speech, abbreviated forms are often used, which facilitate the process of perception.

I had = I'd, you had = you'd, he had = he'd
had not = hadn't

I had written a composition by six o'clock. = I'd written a composition by six o'clock. I had written the composition by 6 o'clock.

I had not written a composition by six o'clock. = I hadn't written a composition by six o'clock. I had not written an essay by 6 o'clock.

As you can see, there is nothing terrible and difficult in education. It is worth remembering once that in the question had is placed before the subject, and in negation to this auxiliary verb not is added. It is important to remember that had is not translated.

Using The Past Perfect Tense

This time is not difficult in terms of use, if you only clearly understand the situations of its use. Some sentences often use signal words such as just, already, never, yet.

1. The action ended before another event in the past. The sentence can be complex (consist of two), one of which (dependent) is introduced by the unions when, before, after, or simple, in which the preposition by is used as an indicator of the end of the action.

• With the help of prepositions by the end of the year, by 3 o'clock, by Monday, by the time, before, after.

They had finally got their long-awaited pay rise by the end of the year. By the end of the year, they finally got the long-awaited pay raise.

Before he opened the door, he had called his sister. — Before he opened the door, he called his sister.

By that time they had finished their work. By that time they had already finished the work.

• Structures often used no sooner ... than (as soon as), hardly ... when (hardly, as), scarcely ... when (as soon as, so immediately), barely ... when (barely, like), which, by their meaning, can transform the sentence (inversion). As a rule, they are emotional in nature.

I had scarcely opened the window when the wind came blowing in. - As soon as I opened the window, the wind immediately began to blow.

Jack had no sooner arrived than he was told to come back. - Jack did not have time to arrive, as he was told to return.

• If there is no signal word in the sentence, then you will have to carefully read the context .

I tried to pnone Ann this morning. But there was no answer. She had gone out. I tried to call Anna this morning. But, there was no answer. She's already gone.

The rules for Past Perfect distinguish the following context patterns, remembering which it will be easier for you to use desired shape.

a. After designs: this/that/it was, the first/second/only/ best/ worst time smth happend:

It was the second serious mistake he had made in that job. — It was his second serious mistake he made in his work.

Those were the first things she had bought since Chrismas. It was the first thing she bought since Christmas.

B. With verbs that convey hope, plan, expectation, intention (but not fulfilled).

I had intended to visit a museum, but I ran out of time. I was going to visit the museum, but I didn't have enough time.

C. In indirect speech, with verbs such as say, tell, ask, inform, wonder. Moreover, Past Perfect is used in the subordinate clause.

I wondered if Jim had a chance to discuss the problem with them. I asked if Jim had the opportunity to discuss this problem with them.

2. An action that started before another action but is still ongoing. Here, stative verbs or, as they are also called, non continuous verbs are often used. All the little secrets of these verbs are revealed in the article "".

I knew he had been married for nearly 50 years ago. I knew that he got married about 50 years ago.

George made no answer and we found that he had fallen asleep for some time. George didn't answer and we found that he had been asleep for some time.

How to distinguish Past Perfect from other tenses?

According to the rules for the Past Perfect, this tense can be used in the passive voice. All uses Past Perfect Passive the same, but the shape of the structure is slightly different. The negative and the question are built on the same principle as in active voice(after had - not, and auxiliary ch. had before lying down)

I + had + been + V3 (Ved)

He (she, it) + had + been + V3 (Ved)

You + had + been + V3 (Ved)

They + had + been + V3 (Ved)

We + had + been + V3 (Ved)

I had been introduced to his friends before. “I was introduced to his friends earlier.

By three o'clock the dinner had been cooked. By 3 o'clock dinner was ready.

This article had been translated when they phoned. The article was translated when they called.

Well, as you can see, Past Perfect grammar is not too difficult. You look at the sentence, determine which of the actions happened first, and put in the correct form. If you learn how to use this time correctly, then believe me, you can tell any story or just retell the story in English without any problems.