Past Perfect Simple

FORM

Positive: Subject + had + verb 3 (past participle)
Negative: Subject + had not + verb 3
Question: Had + subject + verb 3?


USAGE

Past perfect simple is used to talk about an action that had happened before other past action or a given time in the past. It is normally used with these common time expressions: after, before, already, as soon as, just, yet, until, till, by the time that, etc. For examples,

 •  The robber had left when the police arrived.
 •  We had finished the project when we went on holiday.
 •  She hadn’t eaten breakfast when you talked to her.
 •  Had you scanned for viruses when you inserted the flash?