past perfect

The past perfect looks back from a moment in the past to something even earlier. You tell a story in the past simple, and when you need to go back further, you use had and the past participle (gone, seen, finished).

Had is the same for every person: I had, she had, they had. In speech and messages it becomes 'd: I'd, she'd, they'd.

Order of events

Compare these two sentences. The tense tells you what happened first.

When before or after already makes the order clear, the past simple is fine too.

Already, just, never, by the time

These words often go with the past perfect. Already, just and never sit between had and the participle.

Questions and negatives

Put had before the subject for a question. For a negative, use hadn't (had not).

Common mistakes

Use the past perfect only for the earlier of two past events, not for any event a long time ago.

• × I had been to Paris in 2015. → I went to Paris in 2015.
• × When I arrived, the party already finished. → When I arrived, the party had already finished.
• × She had went home. → She had gone home.

'd can also mean would. After 'd, a past participle (I'd gone) means had, and a base verb (I'd go) means would.