Interrogative sentence in the past perfect. Past Perfect: rules of formation and cases of use

English grammar is sometimes very tricky. But you can avoid all the traps set if you clearly study all the rules and practice them, and consolidate each step. So, having learned, disassembled Past examples Perfect, you will insure yourself against falling into a trap.

The past completed tense helps to convey events that have already ended before a certain point in the past. This can be either a time frame or another, later action. Having become familiar with the rule, it’s time to move on to examples using the Past Perfect, which will help dot all the i’s.

Examples of sentences in the Past Perfect

When considering any statement, find the moment of the conversation where it contains important information or the main idea. In relation to a given situation, the action in the past perfect may already be completed or continue upon the arrival of another, later moment. Some sentences with the Past Perfect are often accompanied by perfect adverbs, or signal words, as they are sometimes called.

When we arrived we realized that the manager had reserved the wrong room for us.— When we arrived, we discovered that the manager had booked the wrong room for us.

“Was Ann at work when you arrived?” "No, she had gone."— Was Anna at work when you arrived? No, she's already left.

When I left my friend’s house I realized that I had forgotten the keys.— When I left my friends’ house, I discovered that I had forgotten my keys.

We had bought the goods by that time.— By that time we had bought all the goods.

That factory had produced all goods acooding to its yearly plan by the 5th of December.— By December 5, the factory had produced all goods according to its annual plan.

We hadn't reached the airport when it began to snow.“We barely had time to get to the airport when it started snowing.

That was the best time I had ever had here.-It was best time what I spent here.

It was the third serious mistake you had made here.- It was the third serious mistake, which you allowed here.

We had expected that m ore people attended the fair. — We expected that more people would visit the fair.

We had hardly arrived at the hotel, when it started to rain.— We had barely arrived at the hotel when it started to rain.

As can be seen from the example sentences in the Past Perfect, an action can take place literally a second before another event, or, at a certain date, time. This must be specified in the proposal.

Exercises on the Past Perfect are as varied as the English language. These could be tests to compare past tenses, tasks on constructing different types of sentences or the passive voice in this tense. It is advisable to practice as much as possible, because only this will help sort everything out. On our website you will find not only varied, but also exciting tasks.

Past Perfect Exercises

1. Open the brackets and put the verbs inPast Simple orPast perfect.

It was the first time I (see) this film.
It was quite at home when I (get), so I (go) straight home.
He was driving along the forest when suddenly he (see) a car which (break) down, so we (stop) to see if we could help.
Mary (lend) Dick some money only after he (promise) to give it back the next day.
I (intend) to repair the car, but I ran out of time.
David (eat) Chinese food before so he (know) what to order.
He (open) the door that he (unlock) before.
When she (open) the fridge she (find) that her flat mate Lucy (drink) all the milk.
This was the third cake you (eat) this morning.
The minister hardly (start) his speech he was interrupted.

Had seen
Got/went
Saw/ had broken/ stopped
Lent/had promised
Had intended
Had eaten/knew
Opened/had unlocked
Opened/found/had drunk
Had eaten
Had hardly started

2. Translate sentences into English

When he arrived, we had already had lunch.
He suggested we have a snack before we start studying for the exam, since he hadn't eaten anything since the morning.
She had just entered the house as soon as I called her.
Alice complained that she had gained weight.
This was the first time she had been so kind to children.
I hoped that they would tell me the result of the meeting. But they didn't call.
When I woke up, my wife had already taken my daughter to school.
He intended to start his own business, but spent the money.
I discovered that I forgot my umbrella on the bus when it started to rain.
This was the only time I was late for work.

When he arrived we had dinner.
He was offered to have a snack before we begin to prepare for our examination because he hadn’t eaten anything since morning.
She had just entered the house as I called her.
Alice complained that she had gained the weight.
It was the first time when she had been so kind with children.
I had hoped they informed me of the result of the meeting. But they didn't call.
When I woke up, the wife had already taken a daughter to the kindergarten.
He had intended to start a business, but he spent the money.
I realized that I had forgotten the umbrella in the bus, when it rained.
It was the only time when I had been late for a job.

Education Past Perfect Tense

1. Past Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the form of the past tense (had) and the form of the past participle (Past Participle) of the semantic verb: I had worked, he had worked.
2. In interrogative form auxiliary verb placed before the subject: Had I worked? Had he worked?
3. Negative form is formed using the particle not, which is placed after the auxiliary verb: I had not worked, he had not worked.
4. In the interrogative-negative form, the negation not is placed immediately after the subject: Had I not worked? Had he not worked?

Affirmative form

Question form

Negative form

Interrogative-negative form

He (she, it) had worked

Had he (she, it) worked?

Had they worked?

I had not worked

He (she, it) had not worked

We had not worked

You had not worked

They had not worked

Had I not worked?

Had he (she, it) not worked?

Had we not worked?

Had you not worked?

Had they not worked?

The following abbreviations are commonly used in colloquial speech:

Time Past Perfect formed using an auxiliary verb to have in the past tense and the past participle of the significant verb, that is, its “third form”.

To have in the past tense has a single form had.

Second participle or past participle ( Participle II), can be obtained by adding the ending to the initial form of a significant verb -ed:

examine - examin ed, enjoy - enjoy ed,close-close ed

However, in English there is also a fairly large group irregular verbs, which form the past tense form not according to general rules.

IN interrogative sentence The auxiliary verb is placed in front of the subject, and the significant verb remains after it:

Had you brushed your teeth before you went to bed?
Did you brush your teeth before going to bed?

IN negative sentences the auxiliary verb is followed by a negative particle not. In doing so, they can be reduced to the form hadn't.

How did you hope to pass the exam if you had not (hadn't) even opened the textbook?
How did you expect to pass the exam if you hadn’t even opened your textbook before?

Cases of using Past Perfect:

1. When there is an indication of the point in time at which an action in the past ended:
By 9 o"clock we"d finished the work.
By 9 o'clock we finished work.
She had written only two letters by noon.
By noon she had written only 2 letters.

2. When an action in the past took place before another action:
When you arrived, he had just left.
When you arrived, he had just left.
He had worked at the university for thirty years before he retired.
He worked at the university for 30 years before retiring.

3. B indirect speech to convey the present perfect and simple past tense:
He said he had studied English for two years. (He said: "I have studied English for two years.")
He said he has been studying English for two years.
She said she had published her first story 10 years before. (She said: "I published my first story 10 years ago.")
She said she published her first story 10 years ago.

She had written a letter by 5 o"clock on Saturday.
- She had not written a letter by 5 o"clock on Saturday.
? Had he written a letter by 5 o"clock on Saturday?
Yes, he had. No, he had not. (No, he hadn't.)

4. To denote actions that began before a specified moment in the past and continue until that moment. Usually such actions are expressed using Past Perfect Continuous, but used with static verbs Past Perfect. In this case, the period of time during which the action took place must be indicated:

I felt as if I had known her all my - I had a feeling like

life. It's like I've known her all my life.

We went to see Mr Fennel who - We went to see Mr. Fennell,

hadbeen a widower for two years. who had been a widower for two years.

5. To express unfulfilled hopes, desires, etc., relating to both the past, present and even future tense:

I had hoped we could leave - I was hoping that we could leave

tomorrow but it’s beginning to tomorrow, but it seems it's becoming

look difficult. not easy (about a future event).

I had intended to make a cake but - I was going to make a cake, but

I ran out of time. didn’t have time (about a past event).

6. In subordinate tenses to express an action that is future in relation to past events and must occur before the beginning of the event expressed by the main sentence:

Not decided he wouldn't look at- He decided that he would not watch

his watch till he had read 30 pages. on the clock until it reads 30

Past Perfect not used:

1) when we're talking about about the immediate sequence of events in the past, especially about the immediate reaction of people:

I got a real shock when I opened - I got really scared when

the box. opened the box.

2) when describing short sequential actions performed by different persons:

When I put the cat out he ran - When I put the cat out, he ran away

away to the bushes. into the bushes.

3) in subordinate clauses relating to sentences where the predicate is expressed by a verb in Past Perfect:

He told me that someone had - He told me that someone called

phoned when I was out. when I wasn't there.

Pivot table

Formation of forms
had + V+ ed/ III form of irregular verb
Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative

He/she/it had run.	He/she/it had not run.	Had he/she/it run?

	You didn't run.
	They had not run.
Cases of use
1. An action completed in the past, but connected with the present through the result.	I had done my home work before he called me. I had gone shopping before they arrived. When I rank, she had already left. When I came back home, I found out that my wallet had been stolen. I though that I had seen him somewhere before. She had cooked dinner at 2 p.m.	I made mine homework before he called me. I went shopping before they arrived. When I called, she had already left. When I returned home, I discovered that my wallet had been stolen. I thought I had seen him somewhere before. She prepared lunch by 2 o'clock.
2. An action that began before some point in the past and was still continuing at that moment. Instead of The Past Perfect Continuous with verbs not used in Continous.	They had known each other for many years when they decided to marry. They had lived in this town for years when the flood destroyed all the place.	They had known each other for many years when they decided to get married. They lived in this city for many years when a flood destroyed the entire area.

So, let's summarize the word formation in THE PAST PERFECT TENSE.

4.1. Affirmative form:

I had come - I came
He had come - He came
She had come - She came
It had come - He, she, it, it came (about inanimate objects)
We had come - We came
You had come - You came, you came
They had come - They came

4.2. Question form:

Had I come? - Am I here?
Had he come? - Has he come?
Had she come? - Has she come?
Had it come? - He, she, it, did it come? (about inanimate objects)
Had we come? - Have we arrived?
Had you come? -Have you come? Have you come?
Had they come? -Have they come?

4.3. Negative form:

I had not come - I didn’t come
He had not come - He did not come
She had not come - She did not come
It had not come - He, she, it, it did not come (about inanimate objects)
We had not come - We did not come
You had not come - You didn’t come, you didn’t come
They had not come - They did not come

Use of THE PAST PERFECT TENSE

The main and most common cases of using Past Perfect:
1. When expressing actions that have already ended at a specified point in time in the past. Typically, these actions express exact date, hour, etc.:

They had finished our work by seven o"clock. - They (already) finished their work by seven o'clock.

2. When expressing actions that preceded another action in the past:

She had written two articles, when the door was open and Bill Clinton comes in the room.
She had written two articles when the door swung open and Bill Clinton walked into the room.

Past Perfect is one of the forms of the past tense, denoting an event that happened at a certain moment before another action began.

The very existence of this grammatical phenomenon is a vivid example of how ordered the English language is, how important the sequence of completed events is within the framework of its type-time paradigm. As shown in the diagram below, the action expressed in this tense occurs before some other action in the past.

Also, instead of action 2, there may be some point in time in the past, before which some event occurred, as shown in the following example:

Methods of forming Past Perfect

Affirmative sentences

In order to get a statement in the Past Perfect, you need the verb had and the 3rd form of the main verb (V3). The ending - ed is added to the regular verb, and if the verb is irregular, its form is taken from the 3rd column (Participle II).

Below is a table with an example where you can observe the construction of this past tense form.

Structure	Subject (Who? What?)	HAD	V3 (V+ed/Participle II)
Scheme	☺	had	V3
Example	Mom	had	painted	the wall by 5 o'clock.
Translation	Mother		painted	wall by 5 o'clock.

It is worth noting that abbreviations are common. In statements, had is combined with using an apostrophe (‘)

She had = She'd

I had = I'd

We had = We'd

Below are examples of the use of verbs in the Past Perfect, both in full and in shortened form.

Full form	Short form	Translation
I had read.	I'd read.	I read it.
He had smoked.	He'd smoked.	He smoked.
She had written.	She'd written.	She wrote.
It had flown.	It'd flown.	It flew away.
We had broken.	We'd broken	We broke it.
You had rung.	You'd drunk.	You called.
They had invented.	They'd come.	They invented it.

Negative type of sentences

Negative sentences are formed by adding not between had and the semantic verb. In this case, the words are arranged in the same order as in the affirmative.

Structure	Subject (Who? What?)	HAD	V3 (V+ed/Participle II)
Scheme	☺	had not	V3
Example	Mom	had not	painted	the wall by 5 o'clock.
Translation	Mother	Not	painted	wall by 5 o'clock.

Abbreviated forms in speech are used much more often than full ones. To shorten, you need to combine the auxiliary verb had with the particle not using an apostrophe (’), as shown below:

I had = I hadn’t

You had = You hadn’t

She had = She hadn’t

Below are examples of the use of verbs in the Past Perfect, both in full and in shortened forms of negative types of sentences.

Full form	Short form	Translation
I had not put.	I hadn't put it.	I didn't put it.
He had not blown.	Didn't blown.	He didn't cheat.
She had not learned.	She hadn't learned.	She didn't learn.
It didn't flow.	It didn't flow.	It didn't fly away.
We had not broken.	We hadn't broken.	We didn't break it.
You weren't drunk.	You weren't drunk.	You haven't had a drink.
They had not invented.	They hadn't invented.	They didn't invent it.

Interrogative sentences

In interrogative sentences, the word order will be reversed. As you can see in the table below, the auxiliary verb had should come first, then the subject, and then the semantic verb V3:

Structure	HAD	Subject (Who? What?)	V3 (V+ed/Participle II)
Scheme	Had	☺	V3	?
Example	Had	Mom	painted	the wall by 5 o’clock?
Translation	Did you paint it?	Mother		wall by 5 o'clock.

The following table shows examples of using the Past Perfect in interrogative sentences. You can also observe that the word order is reversed everywhere:

Using the Past Perfect

1. Most often Past Perfect means an event in the past that happened before some other action. This subsequent action often occurs in the Simple Past.

We drove up to the opera house, but the performance had finished. – We arrived at the opera house, but the performance had already ended. (first the performance ended, then we arrived at the opera house).

2.Past Perfect denotes an event, which happened in the past at the designated time. In this case, the very moment at which the action was completed will be indicated. In the example below, this point is indicated by by:

Matt had finished repairing the car by 9 o’clock. – Mat finished repairing the car by 9 o’clock. (repair was completed by the time the clock was 9)

3.Sometimes the Past Perfect indicates that an event expressed in this time is the cause of another, subsequent action or state.

She was happy. She had received lots of gifts. - She was happy. She received many gifts.

She didn’t invite him for dinner as she had burnt the chicken in the oven. “She didn’t invite him to dinner because she burned the chicken in the oven.”

4.Using Past Perfect denotes a continuous action that began earlier and continued for some time. In this case, the prepositions since and for are most often used, which are translated as “since” and “during”, respectively.

He died last Monday. We had remembered him since he was a toddler. “He died last Monday.” We remembered him since he was a one-year-old baby.

She was a talented violinist. We had loved her playing for 10 years. – She was a talented violinist. We enjoyed her playing for 10 years.

It should be noted that the Past Perfect in this case is used only with that express emotions and perception. For example, love, know, adore, think, feel, regret, etc. With dynamic verbs, the Past Perfect Continuous is necessary to express duration.

Ben retired on July, 2. This dude had been coaching us for 10 years. – Ben retired on the second of July. This guy worked as our coach for 10 years.

5.B conditional sentences third type Past Perfect used to express regret about something that did not happen. Something in the past could have been done if the condition had been met, but at the present moment it is no longer possible to influence the situation.

If I had met Harry, I would have given a hug to him. “If I met Harry, I would hug him.”

If she had ironed her dress, her parents would have given her some more funds. If she had ironed her dress, her parents would have given her more money.

6. In sentences that use words such as hardly... when and no sooner... than, Past Perfect denotes a sequence of events. The use of this tense emphasizes that one action happened immediately after another. Such constructions are translated using the expressions “didn’t have time...”, “as soon as...”, “barely...”. In sentences of this type the opposite is true.

Hardly had Jens gone out, when somebody threw a stone to his head. Jens had barely left when someone threw a stone at his head.

No sooner had Tony sunk into the sea water than the funny dolphin was seen nearby. - Before Tony had time to plunge into sea water when a funny dolphin appeared nearby.

Use of time adverbs

Past Perfect is used with the following time markers:

by(at some time/moment)
Kate had smoked 10 cigarettes by the moment they came (Kate smoked 10 cigarettes by the time they came);
after(after)
After he had lost 10 pounds, he changed the size of his clothes (After he lost 10 pounds, he changed the size of his clothes);
before(before/before)
Before I came home, I had delayed at college to help the tutor (Before I came home, I stayed in college to help the teacher);
when(When)
Molly had crossed the brook when the dog looked at her (Molly crossed the brook when the dog looked at her);
earlier(earlier)
I didn’t know where my boyfriend was as he had snaffled my money earlier (I had no idea where my boyfriend was, since he stole my money earlier);
just(just now)
It was 7 p.m. and she had just taken the shower (It was 7 o'clock in the evening and she had just taken a shower);
already(already)
They were going for that city as she had already got a new job (They moved to that city because she had already found a new job);
yet(still, already)
They arranged the party but they hadn’t brought the drinks yet (They organized the party, but haven’t brought the drinks yet).

Also used with markers such as yet, already and just. It is necessary to understand that when using the Past Perfect, the speaker refers to the past, and the Present Perfect denotes an event that happened in the past, but its consequences affect the present.

I have written 7 poems already. – I have already written 7 poems. (I already have 7 written poems)

By the moment I lost my vision, I had written 7 poems already. – By the time I lost my sight, I had already written 7 poems. (I had already written 7 poems, and then I lost my sight).

Cases of replacing Past Perfect with Past Simple

At the moment, there is a tendency to replace Past Perfect with Past Simple if the order of actions is obvious from the context. Most often this happens in . Sentences like these use different time markers.

after (after)

After she had washed the walls in the bathroom, she peeled the vegetables for a salad. = After she washed the walls in the bathroom, she peeled the vegetables for a salad.
After she washed the bathroom walls, she peeled the vegetables for the salad.

before (before/before)

I had visited my cousin once before I left for Hungary. = I visited my cousin once before I left for Hungary.
I visited cousin once before I left for Hungary.

earlier (earlier),

I helped my neighbors though I was incensed by them as they had crashed my motorbike earlier. = I helped my neighbors though I was incensed by them as they crashed my motorbike earlier.
I helped mine neighbors, Although was Very angry on them, That's why What They smashed my moped.

But: If the conjunction when is used in a sentence, changing the tense is not possible, as the meaning will change.

When we hauled our bags to the hotel, Mary had checked in. – When we brought the bags to the hotel, Mary had already checked in.
(Past Perfect means Mary checked in before we even brought our bags to the hotel)

When we hauled our bags to the hotel, Mary checked in. – When we brought our bags to the hotel, Mary checked in.
(Past Simple shows that we brought our bags to the hotel first, and then Mary checked in)

At first glance, this time seems difficult. It is important to remember the basic principle - the Past Perfect is where two actions occurred sequentially. The one that happened before is expressed in the Past Perfect, and the one that happened after it is expressed in the Past Simple.

In addition, this tense indicates that some past event has ended at some point. In order to make it easier to understand in what cases this tense is used, it is necessary to remember the markers that are used with the Past Perfect, study the structure of sentences, and also visualize the sequence of actions.

And in order to finally consolidate the material and put everything “on the shelves,” we recommend watching the video:

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Past perfect - Past perfect

Designations: + statement, ? question, - negation.

+		?			-
... had + III.		Had ... +III?			... had not + III.
I	had painted.	Had	I	painted?	I	had not painted.
You			you		You
We			we		We
They			they		They
He			he		He
She			she		She
It			it		It

Abbreviations: I had = I"d, you had = you"d, we had = we"d, they had = they"d, he had = he"d, she had = she"d, it had = X, had not = hadn't().

-ed pronounced according to the following rules:
1. [d]- after vowels and voiced consonants:
[b], [?], [v], [ð], [z], [?], , [m], [n], [?], [l], [j], [w], [ r]; except [d] (point 3)
2. [t]- after voiceless consonants:
[p], [k], [f], [θ], [s], [?], [h], ; except [t] (point 3)
3. [?d]- after sounds [d] and [t]

Note: About sounds - in the material "Sounds of the English language. Phonetic notes."

Using the Past Perfect

1. Past Perfect is an action that completed before a certain point in the past. The period can be determined:
A. Circumstance of time.
By Wednesday she had already prepared for the journey. By Wednesday, she was already prepared for the trip.
In such sentences, the expression by + time (by which the action took place) is used.
by midnight
by six o"clock by six o'clock
by Friday by Friday
by the 20th of June by the twentieth of June
by the end of the month
by then/by that time by that time
by that moment
etc.
b. Another, later past action, expressed in the Past Simple.
When I looked out of the window the rain had already started. When I looked out the window, it had already started to rain.
V. Context or situation.
He showed me the ring he had bought for her. He showed me the ring he bought for him.
2. Past Perfect is often used instead of Past Perfect Continuous to express an action that began before a certain moment in the past and was still continuing at that moment. Used with verbs that are not used in the continuous form.
When Grace came to the destination Austin had already been there for an hour. When Grace arrived at the appointed place, Austin had already been there for an hour.
In such proposals, the time period must be specified.

Note 1: Verbs that express desire, intention and hope are used in the Past Perfect to indicate that this intention, hope or desire did not come true.
He had expected you to support, but you didn't. He counted on you to help, but you didn't.

Note 2: Sometimes when Not it is necessary to focus on the duration of action, since fact is important his accomplishments, the Past Perfect is used.
When I got my first job I had lived outskirts of town. When I got my first job, I lived on the outskirts of the city.
But grammatically it is more correct to use the continuous form:
When I got my first job I was living outskirts of town.

3. Past Perfect is a future perfect action in the past in subordinate clauses of time.
She said that Michael would come back as soon as he had done all the work. She said that Michael would return as soon as he finished all the work.
4. Past Perfect is used in constructions with words hardly/scarcely (barely), as well as with the adverb no sooner (only; as soon as).
He had hardly entered the room when the phone rank. He had barely entered the room when the phone rang.
or the same thing, but with a different word order:
Hardly had he entered the room when the phone rank.
He had no sooner come home then he saw his brother. As soon as he entered the room, the phone rang.
with different word order:
No sooner had he come home then he saw his brother.

How to get out of the past and return to an earlier past? It’s not a time machine that comes to the rescue, as one might initially think, but a solution that is much simpler and at the same time interesting: Time Past Perfect Simple- Past Perfect, which is studied in grades 6-7.

General information

There are three tenses in English: Past (past), Present (present) and Future (future). In this regard, the Russian language is in solidarity with its fellow language. But there are also differences between them - temporary forms. Depending on what kind of action we have before us - regular, long-term or completed, in each of the three times four aspects are distinguished: Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous.

Today the focus is on the rules for using Past Perfect Simple - Past Perfect tense.

Past Perfect rules and examples

If it seems that the work is easy to do, then it certainly turns out to be difficult. And vice versa - complex problems always have simple solutions. This unwritten rule also applies to the Past Perfect. It is not as complicated as it seems. The first thing to remember is that this tense is never used independently. It always “works” cohesively, side by side with another action in the past, and indicates that the action expressed by it occurred before another action or before a certain time. Let's look at two examples:

We came to the bus stop and the bus left - We came to the bus stop and the bus left.
We came to the bus stop, but the bus had left - We came to the bus stop, but the bus left.

Before using one or another temporary form, it is necessary to understand what happened first and what happened second, or whether two actions occurred simultaneously. In the first case, we managed to catch the bus we needed and use the Past Simple (Simple Past), that is, the events in this sentence happened sequentially one after another. In the second example, we were late and did not catch the bus we needed - it had already left. In other words, the action happened before we arrived, and therefore the Past Perfect form is used here.

Cases of use

There are other, less common cases of using the tense form Past Perfect:

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To explain the reason for what happened : the action expressed by the predicate verb in the Past Perfect tense form is the “culprit” of what happened later (He was not able to buy a new book as he had lost his credit car - He could not buy a new book because he lost my credit card);
To describe your past experiences (By the time I bought my new flat I had worked hard for several years - By the time I bought my new apartment, I had worked hard for several years).

Time markers

Past Perfect time markers include the following circumstances, conjunctions and prepositions:

By the time - by the time (By the time they came home, my mother had baked an apple pie - By the time they returned home, mine baked an apple pie);
After - after a certain moment (She fell asleep after I had left her - She fell asleep after I left her);
Before - until a certain point (She had never been to London before she came here last month - She had never been to London before she came here last month);
When - when (The train had left when he arrived at the station - The train left when it arrived at the station);
Just - just (When she entered the room I had just heard the news - When she entered the room, I just heard the news);
Already - already (I had already finished with my dinner when he knocked on the door - I had already prepared dinner when he knocked on the door);
Yet - yet (She moved to another city but she had not told her parents about it yet - She moved to another city, but has not yet told her parents about it);
For - during (He thought that he was not able to drive a car anymore because he had not driven it for 20 years - He thought that he could no longer drive a car, because he had not driven it for 20 years)
Since - since then (Her new book was wonderful because she had worked on it since last year - Her new book was wonderful because she had been working on it since last year).

The adverbs yet (yet), just (just), already (already) are common feature for two tenses Present Perfect (Present Perfect) and Past Perfect (Past Perfect).

Formation of the affirmative form

The temporary form Past Perfect (Past Perfect) is formed according to a certain scheme: had + Participle II(Past participle or third form of the verb). Regular verbs form Participle II (Past Participle) using the ending - ed: to use - used (use - used). If the verb belongs to the group of irregular verbs, then the required form must be taken from the third column of the table of irregular verbs: I had opened (I opened), she had studied (she taught), we had bought (we bought).

Negation

The negative form of the Past Perfect is formed using a negative particle not (not) which is placed between the auxiliary verb had And Participle II(Past participle):

I had not opened (I did not open), she had not studied (she did not teach), we had not bought (we did not buy).

Question

In an interrogative sentence in English, the word order changes. In the Past Perfect tense, the auxiliary verb comes first in the question had, followed by the subject (pronoun or noun) and the main verb, expressed Participle II (Past Participle):

Had I opened? (did I open it?), Had she studied? (did she teach?), Had we bought? (we bought it?).

In special questions, the scheme is preserved with the only difference - in the first place question words(Who? - Who?; What? - What?; Which? - Which?; When? - When?; Where? - Where?; Where? - Where?; Why? - Why?; How? - How?; How much/many? - How much?): What had I opened? (What did I discover?), Where had she studied? (Where did she study?), When had we bought? (When did we buy?).

What have we learned?

Today we were introduced to the Past Perfect, which is one of the tense forms of the past tense in English, and denotes an action in the past that preceded another action in the past. We also learned about its features, when it is used in a sentence and with what time markers.