PAST PERFECT

When talking about the past, we often refer to different points in the past, and for these different points in the past we have different past tenses. PAST PERFECT is the tense used to talk about an action that happened before another in the past.

Let's see an example:

Last summer I went to Ireland. It wasn't the first time I was there, I had visited Dublin in 2007.

(2007 is previous to last summer, so the action that happened before - in 2007 - is expressed in Past Perfect)

Anyway, Matías will explain it to you:

Let's see some more examples:

And now, here you are some practice:

• http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-exercise-1.html
• http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/past-perfect-simple/exercises
• http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastperfect/exercise1.html
• http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs11.htm
• http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/pastperfect/exercise2.html

REMEMBER!

                   
         The expression "By the time" is followed by a simple tense (present or past, depending on the tense we are talking):

By the time he arrived, I had already left

Para cuando él llegó, yo ya me había marchado