The past perfect tense clearly states that one action took place before another action in the past. It can also be said that the past perfect tense represents a past action that took place in the past.

General formula of past perfect tense:

Subject + had + past participle + the rest of the sentence

-Indicating the order of events in the past

Example 1:

• When my family arrived, my friends had left.

Example 2:

• The train had arrived on the second platform when we reached the station.

-Denoting the time until a specific point in the past

Example 1:

• Clare had completed all eight grades of western music by the time she was 15 years old.

Example 2:

• Had Shivam and Deep arrived when I called you yesterday?

-Representing an incomplete action

Example 1:

• The students had gone for their games period before the teacher could inform them about the homework.

Example 2:

• It was so unfortunate that the mayor had left before the problems were discussed

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