The past perfect, also called the pluperfect, is a
verb tense used to talk about actions that were
completed before some point in the past.
Example
We were shocked to discover that someone had graffitied
“Tootles was here” on our front door. We were relieved that
Tootles had used washable paint.
The past perfect tense is for talking
about something that happened before
something else. Imagine waking up one
morning and stepping outside to grab
the newspaper. On your way back in,
you notice a mysterious message
scrawled across your front door: Tootles
was here. When you’re telling this story
to your friends later, how would you
describe this moment? You might say
something like:
Example
I turned back to the house and saw that
some someone named Tootles had
defaced my front door!
The Past Perfect Formula
The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is
singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.
USE
So what’s the difference between past
perfect and simple past? When you’re
talking about some point in the past
and want to reference an event that
happened even earlier, using the past
perfect allows you to convey the
sequence of the events. It’s also
clearer and more specific.
How to Ask a Question
The formula for asking a
question in the past perfect
tense is had + [subject] + [past
participle].
Had Tootles caused trouble
in other neighborhoods
before he struck ours?