Session 15

23rd January 2025

sunny, chilly 

Thursday

PAST PERFECT 

 A finished action before another action  in the past.

• When we arrived, the film had started (= first the film started, then we arrived).

We usually use the past perfect to make it clear which action happened first. Maybe we are already talking about something in the past and we want to mention something else that is further back in time. This is often used to explain or give a reason for something in the past.

• I'd eaten dinner so I wasn't hungry.
• It had snowed in the night, so the bus didn't arrive.

If it's clear which action happened first (if we use the words 'before' or 'after', for example), the past perfect is optional.

• The film started before we arrived / the film had started before we arrived.

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a2/past-perfect/

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a2/past-perfect/2/

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a2/past-perfect/3/