English Legal Terminology

Past Perfect tense

The past perfect tense is a verb form used to refer to a past action that occurred before another past action.

The past perfect is formed using “had” along with the past participle of the main verb (e.g., “I had run”). All verbs in the past perfect tense take this form regardless of the subject (e.g., “she had known,” ”we had known”).


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The past perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb “had” along with a past participle.

Examples: Past perfect tense
Kora and Jill had worked together for years before they became friends.

When I got home, I realized I had left my keys at the office.

Nobody noticed that the chef had burned the turkey.

If you had asked me, I would have picked you up.

Examples: Negative past perfect sentences
Examples: Past perfect questions
Had the bus left by the time you arrived?

Had you met Peter before last night?


Aaron was tired because he had not eaten all day.

By the end of the meeting, they still hadn’t decided on a plan.

I ordered takeout last night because I hadn’t bought groceries