Past Perfect Simple Form : ( Had + past participle (verb 3) )

In English we use the past perfect when we are already talking about the past, and want to talk about an earlier past action. 

Notes for use of past perfect simple :

The past perfect simple is the same for all pronouns. Be careful - the contraction of 'had' can be confused with the contraction of 'would'. We can use 'by the time', 'when', 'because', 'so', 'before', 'after', 'as soon as' and 'until' to make sentences with the past perfect simple. 

The table below shows the different forms of past perfect simple :

Past Perfect Simple Example sentences :

Positive Examples of Past Perfect Simple :

• By the time we arrived, the film had already started.
  
• Halfway through the film, I realised I had seen it before.
• She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
• I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
• Tony knew London so well because he had visited the city several times.

Negative Examples of Past Perfect Simple :

• Kristine hadn't been to an opera before last night.
• We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
• She hadn't seen a tiger in the wild before.
  

Question Examples of Past Perfect Simple :

• Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
• Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
• Where had he left the car before he went to the concert?
  

In English we don't have to use the past perfect simple with 'because', 'so', 'before', 'after', 'as soon as' or 'until' because the order of events is usually clear.

Example Sentences :

• I (had) turned off the TV before i went to bed.
• I waited until everyone (had) sat down at the table.

In English we often use the past perfect simple after 'knew', 'realised', 'thought', 'forgot' and 'remembered'.

Example Sentences :

• I thought you'd forgotten our anniversary.
• He realised he had left his laptop in the library.