Introduction The past perfect tense, also pluperfect tense, is used for actions that took place before a certain point in the past. It is often used together with the simple past tense. It is formed with the auxiliary verb had and the past participle of the main verb. Learn how to conjugate the past perfect tense in English grammar and get tips on the correct usage. In the exercises, you can test your grammar skills. Example Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet after she had made herself some porridge. She had not eaten much of her porridge when a spider frightened her away. If the spider had not frightened her, she would have finished her porridge sitting on her tuffet. Usage The past perfect tense is common in written English and storytelling. We use it together with the simple past to express actions that took place before a certain time in the past Example Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet after she had made herself some porridge.based on the nursery rhyme Little Miss Muffet She had not eaten much of her porridge when a spider frightened her away. the third conditional Example If the spider had not frightened her, she would have finished her porridge sitting on her tuffet. Learn more about the difference between the simple past and the past perfect in English grammar or test your knowledge of the English past tenses. Signal Words English Past Perfect Tense Signal words help us to recognise which tense is being used in a sentence. The signal words for the past progressive are listed below already, just never, not yet once, until that day To Note Some of the signal words for the past perfect are the same as those for the present perfect. The difference is that the signal words for the past perfect refer to the past and not to the present. Conjugation of English Past Perfect Tense To conjugate the past perfect tense in English, we follow the rule had + past participle. The table below shows the conjugation of positive, negative and interrogative sentences in the English past perfect tense. Past Participle – Spelling Rules Regular verbs are normally conjugated by adding -ed to the base infinitive form of a verb. However, there are some exceptions to this rule Then a verb ends with in -e , we only add -d. Example love – loved not loveed The final consonant is doubled after a short stressed vowel. Example admit – admitted The final consonant -l is always doubled after a vowel in British English but not in American English. Example travel – travelled British, traveled American A -y at the end of the word is replaced by an -i. Example hurry – hurried Learn the difference between the irregular past participles of the verb go with our page on been to/gone to. Contractions Contractions are a combination of certain pronouns, verbs and the word not. They are mostly used in spoken and informal written English. The table below provides an overview of contractions in the past perfect tense using the verb had. Negated Contractions In written English, we usually form contractions with a pronoun and an auxiliary verb, but not with a noun and an auxiliary verb. ExampleShe’d not eaten much of her porridge.but not The girl’d/Little Miss Muffet’d not eaten much of her porridge. The negated contractions, in which the verb and not are combined, can always be used no matter what kind of word comes before them. ExampleShe hadn’t eaten much of her girl/Little Miss Muffet hadn’t eaten much of her porridge. Online exercises to improve your English Improve your English with Lingolia. Each grammar topic comes with one free exercise where you can review the basics, as well as many more Lingolia Plus exercises where you can practise according to your level. Check your understanding by hovering over the info bubbles for simple explanations and handy tips. Past Perfect Simple – Free Exercise Past Perfect Simple – mixed exercise Lingolia Plus English Unlock all grammar exercises for English with a Lingolia Plus account 983 interactive grammar exercises for English sorted by topic and level A1–C1 with a built-in progress tracker and awards system Get started with Lingolia Plus Past Perfect Simple – Lingolia Plus Exercises Past Perfect Simple – regular verbs A2 Past Perfect Simple – irregular verbs A2 Past Perfect Simple – affirmative 1 A2 Past Perfect Simple – affirmative 2 B1 Past Perfect Simple – negative 1 B1 Past Perfect Simple – negative 2 B1 Past Perfect Simple – questions 1 B1 Past Perfect Simple – questions 2 B1 Past Perfect Simple – mixed 1 B1 Past Perfect Simple – mixed 2 B1 Past Perfect Simple – before a time in the past B2 Past Perfect Simple – third conditional B2 A1Beginner A2Elementary B1Intermediate B2Upper intermediate C1Advanced