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Grammar, compared

Past perfect vs past simple

The past simple tells what happened. The past perfect shows what happened before that, the earlier of two past events.

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The short answer

Past simple / Past perfect
Past simplePast perfect
I arrived at the station. (one past event)The train had already left when I arrived. (the earlier of two past events)
She called me after she finished the report.She called me after she had finished the report. (extra clear order)
When I got home, I ate dinner. (one after another)When I got home, I had already eaten dinner. (I ate before I got home)

How each one works

Past simple and past perfect compared
PointPast simplePast perfect
UseOne past event, or events in the order they happenedThe earlier of two past events, out of order or for clarity
Formverb + ed, or irregular pasthad + past participle
ExampleI finished the report and sent it.I had finished the report before she asked for it.
Common signal wordsyesterday, last week, in 2020already, just, by the time, before, after, when

Watch out if you speak Spanish

  • If the sentences are already in the order they happened, first X then Y, the past simple alone is enough: I finished the report and sent it.
  • Use the past perfect when you need to show one thing happened before another, especially out of order: before I called her, she had already left.
  • Spanish often uses the simple past or the pluperfect loosely, so the key test in English is: which one happened first, and do I need to make that clear?
  • Don't use the past perfect for every past event. It is only for the earlier of two, not a general more formal past.

Practice

Grammar practice

Choose or type the answer for each sentence, then check.

  1. 1. By the time we arrived, the film .
  2. 2. I dinner before you called.
  3. 3. She finished the report and it to her boss.
  4. 4. When I got to the party, most people home.
  5. 5. He English for five years before he moved to the US.

  6. 6. I

    my keys when I realized I was locked out.

  7. 7. We

    the film before, so we knew the ending.

  8. 8. She was tired because she

    all night.

0 of 8 checked

Questions

Do I always need the past perfect for two past events?
No. If you tell them in the order they happened, the past simple is enough: I finished and sent it. Use the past perfect to show one happened before the other, especially out of order.
Is had had correct?
Yes, in the past perfect of have: I had had breakfast before you called. The first had is the auxiliary, the second is the past participle.

Keep going

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Book a trial class. She writes back with times in Buenos Aires time.

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