Past perfect tense

Functions of the past perfect

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.

In these examples, Event A is the event that happened first and Event B is the second or more recent event:

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.Forming the past perfect

To decide, past perfect

Past perfect + just

'Just' is used with the past perfect to refer to an event that was only a short time earlier than before now, e.g.

The train had just left when I arrived at the station.

She had just left the room when the police arrived.

I had just put the washing out when it started to rain.