How to find out the time of perfect distinctive pastes. Companion words of all times in English. Past perfect tense

Learning English grammar is impossible without the Past Perfect tense. It is only at first glance that this tense seems extremely complex and incomprehensible - it does not exist in the Russian/Ukrainian languages. If you calmly understand these tables and learn to analyze time intervals, you will never get confused. Past Perfect is inextricably linked with time and, since it is used to denote an action that happened before some other action in the past.

For example:
“I didn’t go to the cinema because I had already seen the film.” Note that both actions are in the past tense, but the one that happened earlier (first) - “already saw” is used in the Past Perfect - “had already seen”, and the one that happened later (second) - “didn’t go” - in the Past Simple - “didn't go.”

The Past Perfect is used:

1. for an action completed at a certain point in the past:
   1. The children cleaned the room by 7 pm.
      Children had cleaned the room by 7 p.m.
   2. My sister left before I called her.
      My sister had gone away by the time I called her.
2. for an event(s) that happened in the past before another:
   1. I couldn't find the magazine he lent me.
      I couldn't find the magazine that he had tape me.
   2. After my son told me his story, he felt better.
      After my son had told me his story, he felt better.
   3. Before I returned, my husband had already prepared dinner.
      Before I came back, my husband had already made dinner.
   4. Her boyfriend left the audience before she sang the song.
      When she sang a song her boyfriend had left the hall.
      (sequence: 1. Her boyfriend left the hall, 2. She sang a song)

      When the sequence of events is obvious, you can also use the Past Simple:
      When she sang a song her boyfriend left the hall.
      (sequence: 1. She sang a song, 2. Her boyfriend left the hall)
      After she sang the song, her boyfriend left the hall. When we finished/had finished the meal, she offered some coffee. After we ate, she offered us coffee.

3. in indirect (indirect) speech:
   1. Maria said that she bought apples yesterday.
      Mary said she had bought the apples the day before yesterday.
   2. Alice asked if I had been to London.
      Alice asked if I had ever been to London.

Markers for the past perfect tense

Markers for The Past Perfect Tense are:

1. adverbs and expressions denoting certain periods of time: just, already, yet, for, since, ever, never, it was the first/second time, it was the most... For example: "We met again. We hadn’t seen each other for several months.”

2. subordinate clauses with: when, before, after, until, as soon as, by that time, by the winter, by 5 p.m. For example: "Most of the engineers had arrived by 10 a.m."

To consolidate your knowledge about Past Perfect, watch this video carefully:

THE PAST PERFECT TENSE

Past perfect tense

Affirmative form
+

Interrogative form
?

Wh-?
Special questions

(start with special words)

Negative form
—

Interrogative-negative form
(Speaking)
?-

Exercise.
Translate the sentences in Past Perfect into English:

1. The girl was happy because she talked to her mother.
2. I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t eaten anything since the morning.
3. Most of the children arrived before 9 am.
4. She told me that her friend invited her to the cinema.
5. Unfortunately, we did not read the novel until then.

1. The girl was happy because she had talked to her mum.
2. I suddenly remembered that I had eaten nothing (hadn’t eaten anything) since morning.
3. Most of the children had arrived by 9 a.m.
4. She told me that her friend had invited her to the cinema.
5. Unfortunately, we hadn’t read the novel by that time.

Tenses in English.

English verb tenses- the basis of the grammar of this language. Many people face this problem: they seem to have memorized the rules of use and education, but in practice they still find it difficult to determine what time to set. When we first started studying tenses, we said that the key to success was special words that indicate a specific time. We called these words markers. Markers are words designating periods of time. Only one specific time is used with each marker.

Simple (Indefinite) tenses

Table 1. Time markers in English. Simple time

Action in general: something that happens always/regularly/usually

PRESENT Present tense	PAST Past tense	FUTURE Future
every day/ week/ month every day/week/month	yesterday yesterday	tomorrow Tomorrow
usually usually	the day before yesterday day before yesterday	the day after tomorrow day after tomorrow
sometimes Sometimes	last month* last month	next month* next month
often often	two days ago 2 days ago	in two days in 2 days
rarely/rarely rarely	the other day** the other day	one of these days** the other day
from time to time occasionally

* Although in Russian we say “Last month”, “Next week”, in English you cannot put prepositions before the words next and last.

**Please note that “the other day” is translated differently for the past and future tenses. Under no circumstances should they be swapped or used instead of the other.

Continuous tenses -
Continuous (Progressive) tenses

Present Continuous (Progressive) tense —
action in development, unfinished, occurring at the moment of speech.

Past Continuous (Progressive) tense —
a continuous action that began before a certain point in the past and is still happening at that moment. A moment can be indicated by time notations.

Future Continuous (Progressive) tense —
an ongoing action that will take place at some point or period of time in the future. The moment of action can be indicated by time notations.

Table 2. Time markers in English. Continuous time

* It is known that continuous tenses in the past and future tenses can also denote simultaneous actions. At the same time, it is not necessary that they all be long, one is enough. Therefore, in the Past Continuous and Future Continuous you can often see the conjunctions when (when) and while (while).

• When my mother was talking on the phone, I switched the TV on.
• While/ When my mother was talking on the phone, I was having dinner.

Completed tenses

Remember these definitions of completed time:

Present Perfect tense -
an action that has already taken place; the speaker pays attention to the result arising from the action at the time of speech.

Past Perfect tense —
an action or state that ended before a certain point in the past.

Future Perfect tense —
an action that will be completed before a certain point in the future.

Table 3. Time markers in English. Completed time

* In the Present Perfect, to denote “over a certain period of time,” as many as 6 equivalent expressions are used: over the last/ past two weeks, in the last/ past two weeks, during the last/ past two weeks.

**Always can also be used with simple tenses, but with a difference in meaning. Let's take the Present Simple, for example.

• We always book tickets in advance.
• We have always booked tickets in advance.

*** To put it simply, yet is an interrogative and negative form of already.

• The twins have already arrived.
• The twins haven't arrived yet.
• Have the twins arrived yet?

Please note that already is placed directly next to the verb, and yet is only placed at the end of the sentence.

Although you can often find already in interrogative sentences:

• Have they already gone to Spain?

Continuous completed tenses -
Perfect Continuous tenses

Let’s remember the definitions, and then study the markers of this time:

Present Perfect Continuous tense -
an action or state that began before the present moment, lasted for a period of time and continues at the moment of speech or ended immediately before the moment of speech.

Past Perfect Continuous tense -
expresses a long-term action or state that began earlier than another action or state, usually expressed by the Past Simple form, and when this action or state occurred was still continuing for some time or was interrupted.

Future Perfect Continuous tense -
an action or state that begins before a certain point in the future and continues up to that point (or continues at that point), indicating the entire period of the action or state.

Table 4. Time markers in English. Continuous completed time

* Note that all day long in the present tense requires the Present Perfect Continuous, and not just the Present Continuous, despite the fact that the action is happening at the moment.

They are divided into 4 groups: simple (Simple/Indefinite), continuous (Continuous/Progressive), perfect (Perfect) and perfect continuous (Perfect Continuous) tenses. What will help us choose the right option?

Marker words tenses in English help to correctly determine the tense form, so it is recommended to learn them by heart. With an asterisk* Ambiguous time indicators that may occur in different cases are marked.

Table of satellite words for all tenses of the English language

Used to describe actions in the present that occur regularly, with repetition, and not just at the moment of speech. Used to describe a routine, schedule, habits, etc.

Usually- usually
I usually wake up at 7 o’clock. I usually wake up at 7 o'clock.
Always- Always
Alice always gets good marks at school. Alice always gets good grades at school.
Often- often
Terry often drinks tea in the morning. Terry often drinks tea in the morning.
Every day / morning / week – every day/every morning/every week
Every week Rob goes to the gym. Rob goes to the gym every week.
Sometimes / from time to time / occasionally - Sometimes
Sometimes I visit my Granny in the suberbs of Moscow. Sometimes I visit my grandmother in the suburbs of Moscow.
At the weekend / on weekends / on Saturdays / on Friday – On weekends / Saturdays / Fridays
We have a party on Fridays. On Fridays we have a party.
Seldom/rarely- rarely
We rarely go to the swimming pool. We rarely go to the pool.
Never* / hardly ever– never / almost never
Ann never watches horror films. Ann never watches horror films.

2. Companion words Past Simple

Used to describe actions that happened in the past.

Yesterday- yesterday
Yesterday we were at home. Yesterday we were at home.
A week / a year ago– a week/year ago
Alex moved to the USA a week ago. Alex moved to the USA a week ago.
Last month/year– last month/year
Last month Fred sold his car. Last month Fred sold his car.
When*- When
I was in the kitchen, when you came. I was in the kitchen when you came.

3. Future Simple satellite words

Used to describe actions that will occur in the uncertain future.

Tomorrow- Tomorrow
Tomorrow Jared will go to London. Jared is leaving for London tomorrow.
Next month/year– next month/year
Jack will finish school next year. Jack will graduate from school next year.
In…days/years– in … days/years
Ronald will arrive in 2 days. Ronald will arrive in 2 days.

4. Companion words Present Continuous

Used to describe actions occurring at the moment, at the time of speech.

Now- Now
Mary is playing the guitar now. Now Mary plays the guitar.
At the moment- At the moment
The refrigerator isn’t working at the moment. The refrigerator is not working at the moment.
Still*- still
John is still washing the dishes. John is still washing the dishes.

5. Companion words Past Continuous

Used to describe actions that occurred at some point or period in the past.

From…till…*- From to …
Helen was watching a movie at the cinema yesterday from 5 till 7. Helen yesterday watched a movie at the cinema from 5 to 7.
- all day
He was working hard all day long. He worked hard all day.

6. Future Continuous satellite words

Used to describe actions that will occur at a specific moment or period in the future.

from…till…*- From to …
Tony will be working in the office tomorrow from 9 to 11 o’clock. Tony will work in the office tomorrow from 9 to 11 o'clock.
All day long* / for the whole day* - all day
He will be writing an article all night long. He will write the article all night.

7. Companion words Present Perfect

Used to describe actions that have completed at the time of speech or the present as a whole.

Just- just now
Harry has just made a cake. Harry has just made a cake.
Already- already
I have already done my homework. I've already done my homework.
Yet- still
Liza hasn’t chosen the flowers yet. Lisa still hasn't chosen flowers.
Since- With
I haven’t played football since finishing the university. I haven't played football since graduating from university.
Recently- recently
Sally has recently been at the theater. Sally was recently at the theater.
Never* / ever*– never / ever
I have never been to London. I've never been to London.

8. Companion words Past Perfect

Used to describe an action that was completed at some point in the past.

Before* / after*- before after
I had brushed my teeth before I went to bed. I brushed my teeth before going to bed.
By*- To
Ann had spoken with her boss at 12 o’clock yesterday. Yesterday at 12 o'clock Ann spoke to her boss.

9. Future Perfect satellite words

Used to describe actions that will last until a specific point or period in the future.

By*- To
I will have been finished my project by the end of the month. I will finish my project by the end of the month.
Before*- before
Chris will have found a job before Christmas. Chris will find a job before Christmas.

10. Word-markers of Perfect Continuous tenses

As the name suggests, the band's Perfect Continuous times are a mixture of Perfect and Continuous. Therefore, their function is a long-term action that led to a result in the past / present / future.

for*- during
I had been reading for 5 hours. I've been reading for 5 hours already.
I have been reading for 5 hours. I've been reading for 5 hours already.
I will have been reading for 5 hours. I'll be reading for 5 hours already.

WARNING: marker words are not a panacea! As we see, some of them occur in several times at once. Often this can be explained like this: take the phrase “from ... till …” and see that it is a sign of the duration of an action, and duration can be in the past, present and future tenses. However, the presence of a companion word is a very good sign of the correct tense form.

Have you studied all aspects of tenses in English, but when composing the text, you feel unsure about the correct choice of grammatical basis? Almost all people learning English experience similar feelings. But few people know about a little trick that eliminates the constant fear of mistakes and gives confidence in their knowledge. We are talking about signal words associated with a specific time aspect. Today we will get acquainted with this phenomenon in detail and try to remember the entire list of tips. A table that we have compiled specifically for this material will help you study time markers in English. But first you need to understand how these signals work.

Circumstances in English not only express conditions and time, but also act as indicators for the use of a certain aspect. Let's trace this relationship in practice.

• Igotothegymevery Friday – I go to the gym every Friday.

Pay attention to the phrase everyFriday. It is this that indicates that the sentence must use Present simple, and not, for example, Present Perfect. If we replace these tense indicators, then the grammatical structure of the entire sentence will change.

• Ihaven'tgonetothegymthis week – I didn’t go to the gym this week.

Examples prove the influence of circumstances on the use of one or another aspect. But let’s immediately make a reservation that not all time indicators are used with only one aspect. They are not a panacea, but they are a fairly solid support for those who have been learning English for a short time.

Signal words for Simple

Simple tenses are associated with periodicity, regularity, or constancy. Accordingly, the meaning of their markers should be similar. Here is a list of adverbial satellites for different aspects of the Simple group and examples of their use.

Present

The present tense is associated with the following clues:

• usually (usually), regularly (regularly);
• often (often), as a rule (as a rule);
• rarely (rarely),rarely (very rarely);
• always (always), sometimes (sometimes), from time to time (from time to time);
• everyday/week/month (every day, every week, every month).

• I rarely use metro – I very rarely use the metro.
• She usually doesn’t watch TV in the morning – She usually doesn’t watch TV in the morning.
• They always send Christmas cards to their friends – They always send Christmas cards to their friends.

Past

The simple past is characterized by such satellites as:

• ago (long ago, years ago),inthosetimes (at those times);
• that day (onThatday), the other day (ondays);
• yesterday(yesterday), the day before yesterday (the day before yesterday);
• lastFriday/week/month (last Friday, last week, last month).

• The incident happened the day before yesterday – This incident happened the day before yesterday.
• They met the other day – They met the other day.
• I saw it last week – I saw this last week.

Future

The use of the simple future is indicated by the following tense markers in English:

• tomorrow (tomorrow), the day after tomorrow (the day after tomorrow);
• soon (soon), one of these days (ondays);
• inaweek/month (in a week, in a month);
• nextweek/year/ (next week, next month);
• in the near future (in the near future).

• It will be hot tomorrow - Tomorrow it will be hot.
• My grandfather will visit us soon - My grandfather will visit us soon.
• We will go to Italy next week – Next week we will go to Italy.

Time markers for Continuous

Aspects of the Continuous group, or as they are also called Progressive, are characterized by an indication of a specific time or (in rare cases) a time period.

Present

The present continuous tense describes circumstances such as:

• now (now),rightnow (right now);
• atthemoment (at the moment);
• atpresent (currently);
• next (in the next one),soon (soon)*
• constantly (constantly), always (always)**

*These tense indicators are used when we are talking about the planned future, and the sentence uses either verbs of motion or the phrase to be going to.

**The designation of regularity is used in the continuous tense to express irritation and dissatisfaction with any constantly occurring actions (for example, bad habits).

• We are playing chess now – We are playing chess now.
• My friend is leaving soon - My friend is leaving soon.
• Jane is always losing her gloves! Jane keeps losing her gloves!

Past

Past events are also marked with a specific time indication:

• at 10 o’clock yesterday (yesterdayV 10 hours);
• while (while...),when* (when);
• the whole dayday);
• still (still),allday

*when is a conjunction that joins a subordinate clause, so it can be used with different aspects of time.

• While I was cleaning my room, Jack was cooking supper – While I was cleaning my room, Jack was preparing dinner.
• Children were still sleeping when their father left – The children were still sleeping when their father left.
• She was watching the TV show at 7 o'clock yesterday – Yesterday at 7 o’clock in the evening she was watching a TV show.

Future

The continued future is characterized by the markers already listed, only adjusted for upcoming events:

• atthistimenextSunday (this time next Sunday);
• at 7 o’clock tomorrow (tomorrowV7 o'clock);
• in a week (viaa week);
• all day long tomorrow (alltomorrowday).

• In a week she will be meeting with her friends – In a week she will meet with her friends.
• I will be working at 5 o'clock tomorrow – Tomorrow at 5 o’clock I will work.
• At this time tomorrow we will be flying to Moscow - Tomorrow at this time we will be flying to Moscow.

Perfect usage indicators

Perfect tenses indicate completed (or near completion) actions and have a fairly impressive list of signal words.

Present

The perfect present helps to denote such circumstances as:

• ever (ever),never (never);
• already (already) , not… yet (yet)No);
• just (just now)before (before, before...);
• lately (last time),recently (recently);
• for (during),since(since).
• thisweek (this week),today (Today)*

*Characteristic of other aspects as well.

• My little brother has never been to Norway – My younger brother has never been to Norway.
• They have already written it – They have already written it.
• I have been in hospital for six days – I stayed in the hospital for 6 days.

Past

For the Past Perfect, similar signal words are used:

• for (during);
• since (with...);
• by (to..., to that moment);
• after (after),before (before...).

• We had cleaned our room by 3 o’clock – By three o’clock we cleaned our room.
• She had bought the dress the week before her wedding – She bought this dress a week before her wedding.
• I was hungry. I hadn't eaten for 10 hours already – I was hungry. I haven't eaten for 10 hours.

Future

This aspect is not used very often, so it does not have unique time markers:

• by the time (by that time);
• by (to...);
• before (before...).

• We will have read this book by the time - By then we will have read this book.
• She will have cooked supper before her son return – She will cook dinner before her son returns.

Tense indicators for Perfect Continuous

This group of tenses is intended to describe processes that have already produced some results, but the action is still not completed. Accordingly, at any time, circumstances will describe the duration of events. Typical aspect indicators:

• for (during...);
• since (with...);
• allday/night (all day, all night);
• by (to...);
• when (when).

• The dog was tired. It had been running all day . The dog is tired. She ran all day.
• I have been writing this novel since 2012 – I have been writing this novel since 2012.
• We have been playing this game for 2 hours already – We have been playing this game for two hours already.

Now that you have familiarized yourself with these useful tips, the question of what tense should be used in a given sentence will not be difficult for you. In order to summarize the information received and memorize the list of signal words, below is a summary table of English tenses with time markers. You can easily print it out and carry it with you as a cheat sheet, gradually learning the information by heart.

Time markers in English table (with translation of words)

Present	Past	Future
Simple tense
usually (usually),regularly (regularly),often (often),asarule (as a rule),rarely (rarely),rarely (very rarely),always (always),sometimes (sometimes),fromtimetotime (from time to time),everyday(every day).	ago (long ago, years ago),inthosetimes (in those days),thatday (on that day),theotherday (the other day),yesterday (yesterday),thedaybeforeyesterday (the day before yesterday),lastweek (last week).	tomorrow (tomorrow),thedayaftertomorrow (the day after tomorrow),soon (soon),oneofthesedays (the other day),inaweek (in a week),nextweek (next week),inthenearfuture (in the near future).
Continuous tense
now (now),rightnow (right now),atthemoment (at the moment),atpresent (currently). next (in the next one),soon (soon)* constantly (constantly),always (always)**	at 10o'clockyesterday (yesterday at 10 o'clock),while (while...),when*** (when),thewholesaleday (all day),still (still),alldaylong (all day).	atthistimenextSunday (this time next Sunday),at 7o'clocktomorrow (tomorrow at 7 o'clock),inaweek (in a week),alldaylongtomorrow (all tomorrow).
Perfect tense
ever (ever),never (never),already (already),not...yet (not yet),just (just now)before (before, before...),lately(last time),recently (recently),for (during),since(since).thisweek (this week),today(Today)****	for (during),since (with...),by (to..., by that time),after (after),before (before...).	bythetime (by that time),by (to...),before (before...).
PerfectContinuoustense
for (for...),since (with...),allday/night (all day, all night),by (to...),when (when).
* Used with verbs of motion and the phrase to be going to. ** About annoying constant actions, habits. ***when is a conjunction of a subordinate tense, characteristic of different aspects. **** Can be used with other aspects.

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As we know, the British love order in everything, and the English language is no exception. In their opinion, every action should have its own order. In Russian, we use one tense to express all past actions. We list a few events, then go back to another event that happened before all the others. An Englishman will never tolerate such “chaos” in his speech. If he forgot about an important event that happened before everyone else, then he will report it in a specially designated time called Past Perfect. This is what we will talk about today. C"mon!

What is Past Perfect

Past Perfect Tense is the past perfect tense. We usually use it to talk about an action that ended at or before some point in the past.

For example: When he read the book, he went to bed.

What was the first action? First he read the book and then went to bed. That is, by the time he went to bed, he had already read the book. To show that the first action ended before the second happened, you need to use the Past Perfect in the first part of the sentence - “When he had read the book, he went to bed.” In other words, we use the Past Perfect to show the order of actions, i.e., that one action in the past occurred before another.

How is Past Perfect formed (formulas + examples)

• Statement. The predicate in the Past Perfect consists of two parts: the auxiliary verb " had" And third form of the main verb(add the ending “-” to the correct verb ed", and we take the irregular form from the third column of the table of irregular verbs).

• Negation. In a negative sentence between the auxiliary verb " had" and the particle " appears as the main verb not».

As with many other tenses, the Past Perfect has shortened forms that are used in colloquial speech. IN affirmative sentence " had» unites With pronoun, V negative- with the particle " not" For example:

I'd come.
You'd finished.
I hadn't come.
You weren't finished.

• Question. An interrogative sentence begins with an auxiliary verb " had", followed by subject And main verb.

Past Perfect marker words

If a sentence contains the following words, then it belongs to the Past Perfect Tense:

by- To;
hardly… when / no sooner… than- as soon as I barely had time;
after- after;
earlier- earlier, before - before;
first- first;
when- When;
just- just now;
already- already;
yet- already, not yet.

Past Perfect marker table

Marker	Example	Translation
by	Unfortunately, most of the audience didn’t stay by the end of the play.	Unfortunately, by the end of the performance most of the audience left.
hardly...when	Hardly had they crossed the road when the accident happened.	They had barely crossed the road when the accident happened.
no sooner...than	No sooner he had came in than he heard congratulations and his friends gathered around him.a	As soon as he entered, he heard congratulations and friends gathered around him.
after	After the boy had done his hometask he went out to play football with his friends.	After the boy did his homework, he went for a walk.
earlier	She knew how to cook a cake because she had made it earlier.	She knew how to bake a cake because she had made it before.
before	James easily won this game because he had played it many times before.	James played this game easily as he had played it many times before.
first	First we had taken all our bags, then understood that we forgot our tickets on the table.	First we took our things, and then we realized that we had forgotten the tickets on the table.
when	John had sat to work when his boss called for him.	John sat down at his desk to work when his boss called him.
just	I just had sat to have lunch when my friend called me.	I had just sat down to lunch when my friend called me.
already	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and told that she bought a cake too.	We had already bought a cake when Jill called us and said that she also bought a cake.
yet	I hadn’t served the table yet when the guests came.	I had not yet set the table when the guests arrived.

Cases of using Past Perfect:

• The past perfect shows an action that happened before another action or a specific moment in the past. Another action in the past is most often denoted by the Past Simple, and special words may be used: “ by"(to some time/moment), " after" (after), " before"(before, before), " when" (When), " earlier" (earlier), " first"(first, first).

Before Anna called her husband she had finished all the work. - Before Anna called her husband, she finished all the work.

Nota bene: if actions are placed in chronological ok, then you need to use Past Simple:

Anna finished all work and called her husband. - Anna finished all the work and (then) called her husband (chronological order).

• The Past Perfect explains the reason: we want to show that the action expressed by the Past Perfect has become reason that another action has taken place.

He was hungry. He hadn't eaten for eight hours. - He was hungry. He didn't eat for eight hours.

She couldn’t buy a new pair of shoes as she had lost her credit card. - She couldn't buy a new pair of shoes because she lost her credit card.

• Past Perfect is used after " if"in conditional sentences of the third type ( third conditional). This type of conditional shows regret about the past. We could have done something in the past if we had fulfilled the condition, but in the present we can no longer change the situation.

If I had known about your problem, I would have helped you. - If I knew about your problem, I would help you.
If you had read the morning newspaper, you would have agreed with me. - If you read the morning newspaper, you would agree with me.

• Past Perfect is used in the constructions " hardly … when" And " no sooner … than" These constructions show that one action happened immediately after another. The peculiarity is that they use back order words, as in the question. Such sentences are translated into Russian using the words “as soon as...”, “I didn’t have time...”, “as soon as I...”.

Hardly had the plane landed at the Miami airport, when it started to rain. - The plane had barely landed at Miami airport when it started to rain.
No sooner had I chewed my sandwich than somebody knocked at the door. - Before I had time to chew my sandwich, someone knocked on the door.

• Enumeration of actions happened in the past until the time of the story generally:

I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog had scratched the furniture, had torn the wallpapers and had eaten my lunch on the table. - I finally caught Lucky and looked around. The nasty dog ​​scratched the furniture, tore the wallpaper and ate my lunch on the table.

Formation Past Perfect Passive

Like most tenses, the Past Perfect has passive design .

• Statement: subject + had been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].

The test had been finished by the end of the day.- The test was completed by the end of the day.
The picture had been painted by the Monday. - The picture was painted by Monday.

Negation: subject + had + not + been + verb 3 forms + [by an object].

The test had not been finished by the end of the day. - The test was not completed by the end of the day.
The bicycle had not been repaired by 2 o’clock. - The bicycle was not repaired by two o'clock.

Question: had + subject + been + verb 3 forms + [by object]?

Had the questions been discussed before the exam?- Were the questions discussed before the exam?
Had the picture been painted by the Monday?- Was the picture painted by Monday?

Present Perfect vs Past Perfect

Very often, when translating from Russian into English, you can get confused in choosing the right tense, because they both have similar features. Let's look at the table to get rid of doubts about the differences between Present Perfect and Past Perfect.

Difference between Present Perfect and Past Perfect

Indicates that an action expressed by the Present Perfect has been completed by now or during the present time: The shopping center has just opened. - The shopping center has just opened.	Indicates that an action expressed by the Past Perfect happened before another action or a specific moment in the past: We came to the office, but the administrator had already gone away. - We arrived at the office, and the administrator had already left.
Shows that the action occurred in the past, it is unknown and no matter when exactly, but its result is visible in the present: He knows her name. They have already met. - He knows her name. They've already met.	Shows that an action occurred in the past and caused or led to another action occurring in the past: My brother felt hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday. - My brother was hungry. He hasn't eaten since yesterday.

Nota bene: We recommend that you read the short theory again and complete the task in our online simulator so that you never have doubts about using the Past Perfect again.

Conclusion

So, today we looked at the forms of formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in the Past Perfect, both in active and passive voice. We remembered which markers you should pay attention to, and figured out how not to confuse the Present Perfect and Past Perfect. But the most important thing to remember is that next to the Past Perfect there must be another action in the past.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with other tenses of the English language

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