Past Perfect Tense Chart & Table in English with Rules, Usage Examples, Definition, and Best Practices for English Learners

What is Past Perfect Tense?

To understand the concept of the past perfect tense, let’s chop the terminologies and define each word. First, tenses in English grammar refer to the time reference in a sentence or when an action happens. Generally, there are three divisions of tenses: present, past, and future.

The past shows actions or events which happened before the present moment. In short, the situation took place already. Lastly, perfect means something has been completed, finished, or accomplished.

Therefore, past perfect tenses represent activities that had been completed at some point in the past. As such, the formula of past perfect tense includes the time frame wherein the subject completed the verb.

In this article, let’s uncover the past perfect tense chart, concepts, formulas, and examples.

General Formula for Past Perfect Tense:

Below is the sentence general formula for past perfect tense:

Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.

Important notes on the general formula of past perfect tense:

• The sentence formula above is for affirmative or positive sentences. Meaning, it’s for sentences without the word “not”.
• Always include the definite time frame when the action was perfected or completed.
• Whether the subject is singular or plural, the helping or auxiliary verb “had” will be used in every sentence construction.
• For regular verbs, the past participle form of a verb is formed by adding “ed” or “d” to the base verb. To illustrate, played will turn into played, dance to danced, and apply to applied.
• Irregular verbs such as eat, fly, and drive have a different past participle verb form. Refer to the irregular verb chart below:

Past Participle Verb Forms of Irregular Verbs Chart
Base Form	Past Participle Verbs
eat	eaten
fly	flown
drive	driven
catch	caught
bring	brought
grow	grew
take	took
lose	lost
forget	forgotten

Past Perfect Tense Rules and Uses in English Grammar

The three main uses of the past perfect tense are the following:

1. Expresses actions completed sometime in the past

The past perfect form is often confused with simple past tense. Because, really, one can use the simple past tense. However, past perfect tense indicates the exact time in the past when an event happened. Observe the difference between the two sentences below:

(1) Simple past tense: I cleaned my sister’s room.

(2) Past perfect tense: I had cleaned my sister’s room.

The first sentence implies that cleaning my sister’s room was a habitual action in the past since there is no indication that the action is done once only. Meanwhile, the second sentence changed in meaning. By adding “had,” it’s clear that cleaning my sister’s room only happened once at some point in the past.

2. Denotes which action occurred first

Another use of past perfect tense is conveying the sequence of events. It helps show which happened first among the two events in the past. Aside from showing sequence, it also helps explain the reason for the occurrence.

3. Shows actions started and ended in the past

When narrating, one may have to tell how long an event lasted. The past perfect tense shows events that started in the past. And were completed at a certain time in the past too.

Past Perfect Tense Examples in Sentences

Below are 15 past perfect tense sentences examples using the positive formula of past perfect form:

1. Expresses actions completed sometime in the past

• Vina had applied to the company as a project manager.
• I had brought home pocketbooks for her.
• The teacher had forgotten to record a video lesson for his hybrid class.
• The dogs had played in my backyard.
• Lilly and Tad had walked to school.

2. Denotes which action occurred first

• Harry had visited his mom before attending the holiday dinner parties.
• The doctor had given the patient’s medicines when the nurse arrived.
• We had driven to the mall when she called to tell us she wanted to come.
• I had signed the documents before sending them to you.
• Jimmy had eaten lunch when his colleague offered him hamburgers.

3. Shows actions started and ended in the past

• On December 15, I had written government exams for a year.
• I had brought lunch to school for a month last semester.
• By 10:00 am, the professor had answered common questions students raised in the forum.
• Before his retirement, the pilot had flown planes in various parts of the world for ten years.
• James had graduated from college two years now.

Past Perfect Tense Chart with Rules, Formula, and Examples

Below is the past perfect tense rule chart summarizing the concepts above

Past Perfect Tense Rules Chart
General Formula for Past Perfect Tense:	Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.
Past Perfect Tense Rules	Examples of Past Perfect Tense
Expresses actions completed sometime in the past	My friends had traveled to India. The vase had fallen off the table.
Denotes which action occurred first	They had hiked for hours before stopping to rest. Jam had left the house when you arrived.
Shows actions started and ended in the past	Tomorrow, Kyle had tried to assemble the lego set for three days. She had shone as an artist for a decade from her debut in 2012.

Past Perfect Tense Different Sentence Structures

1. Negative Sentence Formula of Past Perfect Tense

In contrast with the positive form, negative sentences use the word “not” to express negation. The main difference between a positive and a negative sentence is that in the former the subject of the verb agrees with the predicate, while in the latter it does not. The word “not” is placed in between “had” and the past participle to structure a negative sentence.

2. Question Sentence Formula of Past Perfect Tense

To transform the general or affirmative sentence into a question or interrogative type, the auxiliary verb “had” is placed before the subject, past participle, and the rest of the sentence.

3. Conditional Sentence Formula of Past Perfect Tense

A conditional sentence, if-clause, or third conditional is used to express imaginary or hypothetical situations if someone acted differently in the past.

Two parts help form a conditional sentence. First, the conditional phrase begins with “if” followed by the subject, helping verb “had,” past participle, and the rest of the phrase. Second, the imaginary result phrase starts with the subject, then the conditional tense “would have,” past participle, and the rest of the sentence.

4. Wish Sentence Formula of Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is also used to express wishes or actions one person should have done in the past. The sentence structure starts with the phrase “Subject +wish/wishes” followed by the pronoun, helping verb “had,” past participle of the verb, and the rest of the sentence.

Past Perfect Tense Formula, Rules, and Examples Table

Review the tenses formula chart below to understand the different sentence construction of past perfect tense:

Different Sentence Structures of Past Perfect Tense Formula Chart
Past Perfect Tense Rule	Past Perfect Tense Structure or Formula	Example of Past Perfect Tense
Negative Sentence	Subject + Helping Verb (had) + not + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence	Jen had not finished her homework. I had not awoken even though my alarm clock was loud.
Question Sentence	Helping Verb (had) + Subject + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence	Had Lea looked for the cheapest flight for her trip abroad? Had the contractor built a sturdy house for you?
Conditional Sentence	Condition phrase: If + Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + rest of the phrase + Imaginary result phrase: Subject + would have + Past participle of the main verb + rest of the sentence	If I had studied harder, I would have topped the exam. If they had sent the documents earlier, the courier would have delivered it on time.
Wish Sentence	Subject + wish/wishes + Pronoun + Helping verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + rest of the sentence	Chad wishes he had availed of health insurance when he was younger. I wish I had worn a jacket before going out.

More Examples of Past Perfect Tense in Different Sentence Structures

1. Negative Sentence

Formula for Negative Sentence

Subject + Helping Verb (had) + not + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence

• I had not enjoyed the dinner because I’m allergic to seafood.
• Gina had not wanted a pet fish.
• The CEO had not imagined this fiasco would happen.
• He had not forgotten your birthday.
• Philip had not ridden a horse before.

2. Question Sentences

Formula for Question Sentence

Helping Verb (had) + Subject + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence

• Had she terminated the lease in February?
• Had the main characters survived in the movie?
• Had you read the instructions before drinking the medicine?
• Had Troy spoken to you about his review for the competitive exams?
• Had the burglar broken down your room?

3. Conditional Sentence

Formula for Conditional Sentence

Condition phrase: If + Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + rest of the phrase + Imaginary result phrase: Subject + would have + Past participle of the main verb +rest of the sentence

• If Hans had managed the store, we would have reached our target sales.
• If he had formatted the detailed exam syllabus correctly, he would have conducted the exam on time.
• If the driver had slowed down at the intersection, he would have avoided crashing with another car.
• If your mother had known your situation, she would have booked a flight here and helped you.
• If Princess had thought about the consequences of her action, she would have stopped the prank.

4. Wish Sentence

Formula for Wish Sentence

Subject + wish/wishes + Pronoun + Helping verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + rest of the sentence

• The committee wishes they had coordinated the event better.
• Ken wishes he had compared the prices of the product from three stores.
• Lilly wishes she had bought the electric bike when it was on sale.
• The sisters wish they had known how to sew their clothes.
• Amber wishes she had sold her product earlier this year.

Importance of Present Perfect Tense Chart in English Grammar

There are twelve types of tenses in English grammar, making it complicated to understand and much more to memorize. Those tense forms come with various rules and different sentence formulas. Easing the learning process is the tenses rules chart, which summarizes and simplifies the complicated verb tenses.

The present perfect tense has five sentence structures: positive or affirmative, negative, question, conditional, and the wish form. Reading and learning all about those concepts takes time. However, one can summarize those concepts using grammar charts to wrap up the information at a glance. Therefore, charts are necessary for students who are not familiar with grammar. It helps them learn quickly and easily.

Past Perfect Tense Best Practices for English Learners

Learn the rules, formula, and uses of past perfect tense using these tips and strategies below:

1. Simplify your learning by using a tense chart.
2. Read various examples of past perfect tense sentences.
3. Write at least five sentences following every rule of the past perfect form.
4. Use past perfect tense when speaking by narrating your stories.
5. Study the rules individually to avoid feeling confused and overwhelmed with information.
6. Answer online quizzes to test your knowledge.
7. Find a tutor or teacher to guide you learn the rules correctly.
8. Download an English learning app like LillyPad to help you improve your language skills.

Conclusion

When you want to show actions completed in the past, the past perfect tense is the proper form to use among the twelve tenses. Note that the auxiliary or helping verb “had” followed by the past participle form of a verb is used to complete the formula of the past perfect tense. It gives color in expressing or narrating experiences in the past clearly with more detail.

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