Past Perfect

Past Perfect
[had + past participle 3column]
* You had studied English before you moved to New York.
* Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
* You had not studiedEnglish before you moved to New York.

Completed Action Before Something in the Past

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also showthat something happened before a specific time in the past.
* 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.
* Tonyknew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.


Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)

With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses ofMixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.
* We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
*By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
* They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

IMPORTANT SpecificTimes with the Past Perfect

Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.* She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
MOREOVER
If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead ofthe Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, bothsentences below are correct.
* She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
* She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with...