The Importance of past perfect tense
The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one event happened before another in the past. It does not matter which event is mentioned first - the tense makes it clear which one happened first. The Past Perfect tense in English is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb to have (had) + the past participle of the main verb. We can also use the past perfect followed by before to show that an action was not done or was incomplete when the past simple action happened. Ex: They left before I'd spoken to them. The past perfect tense is used to show past actions. The past perfect tense demonstrates the past relative to timing or other past events and is often used for reporting on things that happened or were said. It is easy to form by adding had along with the past participle of any verb.
To talk about unreal or imaginary things in the past. In the same way that we use the past simple to talk about unreal or imaginary things in the present, we use the past perfect one step back in time to talk about unreal things in the past. This is common in the third conditional and after 'wish'. Ex: If I had known you were ill, I would have visited you.To show that an action happened before something else in the past, Ex: She stayed up all night because she had received bad news. Something that started in the past and continued up to another action or time in the past. The past perfect tells us 'how long', just like the present perfect, but this time the action continues up to a point in the past rather than the present. Usually we use 'for + time'. We can also use the past perfect continuous here, so we most often use the past perfect simple with stative verbs. Ex: On the 20th of July, I'd worked here for three months.
To show that an action happened before a specific time in the past, Ex:She had established her company before 2008. Keep in mind that past perfect tense makes it clear that one thing happened before another in the past. The order of events does not matter since the tense makes it clear which event happened first. Another use of past perfect tense includes reported speech. Ex: The teacher asked if we had studied for the exam. Past perfect tense can also be used to show dissatisfaction with the past. Ex:We wished we had purchased the winning ticket. Past perfect tense can also be used with the word "just." When combined, this makes it clear that the event was only a short time prior. Some examples of this include, Ex: She had just left the scene when the ambulance arrived.
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