Past Perfect | Unit 15 | PrepMyEnglish
PrepMyEnglish
Accueil› English Grammar› Unit 15 — Past Perfect
Unit 15 · Grammar Lesson
Unité 15 · Leçon de Grammaire

The Past Perfect
(I Had Done) — The Tense Before the Past Le Plus-que-Parfait
(I Had Done) — Le temps antérieur au passé

Use the past perfect to describe something that happened before another past event — the tense of "already done" stories

Utilisez le plus-que-parfait pour décrire quelque chose qui s'est passé avant un autre événement passé — le temps des histoires "déjà fait"

B1 – B2 3 Rules · 3 Exercises · 200-Q Quiz · PDF 3 Règles · 3 Exercices · Quiz 200 Q · PDF 🇬🇧 EN / 🇫🇷 FR

The past perfect (had + past participle) is the tense we use when we are already talking about the past and need to go one step further back in time. Think of it as the "past of the past". The story starts with a past event — then we use the past perfect to describe what had happened before that.

Le plus-que-parfait (had + participe passé) est le temps utilisé quand on parle déjà du passé et qu'on doit remonter encore plus loin. C'est le "passé du passé". L'histoire commence avec un événement passé — puis on utilise le plus-que-parfait pour ce qui s'était passé avant.

A

Formation and Core Meaning

Formation et sens principal

The past perfect is had + past participle. It is the same for all persons. The contracted form is I'd, she'd, they'd, etc.

Le plus-que-parfait est had + participe passé. Il est identique pour toutes les personnes. La forme contractée est I'd, she'd, they'd, etc.

had (= I'd / she'd / they'd …) + past participle (gone · seen · finished · broken …)
SubjectPositiveNegativeQuestion
I / we / they / youI'd goneI hadn't goneHad I gone?
he / she / itshe'd seenshe hadn't seenHad she seen?
Timeline — Paul left at 10.30, Sarah arrived at 11.00
Chronologie — Paul est parti à 10h30, Sarah est arrivée à 11h00
past perfect
past simple now

Paul had gone home (past perfect) → when Sarah arrived (past simple)

When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.
→ He left BEFORE she arrived. Past perfect marks the earlier action.
→ Il est parti AVANT qu'elle arrive. Le plus-que-parfait marque l'action antérieure.
When we got home, we found that somebody had broken into the flat.
→ The break-in happened BEFORE they got home.
→ Le cambriolage a eu lieu AVANT qu'ils rentrent.
Karen didn't come to the cinema. She'd already seen the movie.
→ She had seen it before we invited her.
→ Elle l'avait vu avant qu'on l'invite.
The people next to me on the plane were nervous. They hadn't flown before.
→ At that past point, they had never flown.
→ À ce moment passé, ils n'avaient jamais pris l'avion.
B

Past Perfect vs Present Perfect

Plus-que-parfait vs Présent parfait

The present perfect connects a past action to now. The past perfect connects a past action to another past point.

Le présent parfait connecte une action passée à maintenant. Le plus-que-parfait connecte une action passée à un autre point dans le passé.

Present perfect → links to NOW

Présent parfait → lien avec MAINTENANT

Who is that woman? I've seen her before.
We aren't hungry. We've just had lunch.
The house is dirty. They haven't cleaned it for weeks.

Past perfect → links to a PAST point

Plus-que-parfait → lien avec un point dans le PASSÉ

I wasn't sure who she was. I'd seen her before.
We weren't hungry. We'd just had lunch.
The house was dirty. They hadn't cleaned it for weeks.
💡
Pattern: Modèle : When you shift a story from present to past, present perfect → past perfect: "I've seen her before" becomes "I'd seen her before (but I couldn't remember where)." Quand on passe du présent au passé dans un récit, le présent parfait devient le plus-que-parfait : "I've seen her before" → "I'd seen her before (but I couldn't remember where)."
C

Past Perfect vs Past Simple

Plus-que-parfait vs Passé simple

When two past events are mentioned together, the past perfect marks the earlier one, and the past simple marks the later (main story) one.

Quand deux événements passés sont mentionnés ensemble, le plus-que-parfait marque le plus ancien, et le passé simple marque le plus récent (l'événement principal).

Past simple — he left shortly after

Passé simple — il est parti peu après

A: Was Tom there when you arrived?
B: Yes, but he left soon afterwards.
Kate wasn't at home when I phoned. She was at her mother's.

Past perfect — he had already left

Plus-que-parfait — il était déjà parti

A: Was Tom there when you arrived?
B: No, he'd already left. (before I arrived)
Kate had just got home when I phoned. She'd been at her mother's.
💡
Memory tip: Astuce : If you can insert "already" before the earlier action, it probably needs the past perfect: "When I arrived, he had (already) left." Si vous pouvez insérer "already" avant l'action antérieure, elle nécessite probablement le plus-que-parfait : "When I arrived, he had (already) left."

Unit 15 — Exercises with AnswersUnité 15 — Exercices avec Corrigé

Complete sentences using the correct form — check your answers instantly

Complétez les phrases avec la bonne forme — vérifiez vos réponses instantanément

15.1

Read the situations and write sentences using the words in brackets

Lisez les situations et écrivez des phrases avec les mots entre parenthèses

Use the past perfect.

Utilisez le plus-que-parfait.

1.
There was a picture lying on the floor.
Il y avait un tableau par terre.
2.
The people next to you on the plane were nervous. It was their first flight.
Les gens à côté de vous dans l'avion étaient nerveux. C'était leur premier vol.
3.
You went back to your home town after many years. It wasn't the same as before.
Vous êtes retourné dans votre ville natale après de nombreuses années. Ce n'était plus pareil.
4.
Somebody sang a song. You didn't know it.
Quelqu'un a chanté une chanson. Vous ne la connaissiez pas.
5.
I invited Rachel to the party, but she couldn't come.
J'ai invité Rachel à la fête, mais elle ne pouvait pas venir.
6.
You went to the cinema last night. You got there late.
Vous êtes allé au cinéma hier soir. Vous êtes arrivé en retard.
7.
Last year you went to Mexico for the first time.
L'année dernière vous êtes allé au Mexique pour la première fois.
8.
I met Daniel last week. It was good to see him after a long time.
J'ai rencontré Daniel la semaine dernière. C'était bien de le revoir après si longtemps.
9.
I offered my friends something to eat, but they weren't hungry.
J'ai proposé à manger à mes amis, mais ils n'avaient pas faim.
10.
Sam played tennis yesterday. It was his first game ever.
Sam a joué au tennis hier. C'était sa toute première partie.
Answers:Réponses : 1. It had fallen off the wall  ·  2. They hadn't flown before  ·  3. It had changed a lot  ·  4. I hadn't heard it before  ·  5. She had arranged to do something else  ·  6. The film had already started  ·  7. We hadn't been there before  ·  8. I hadn't seen him for five years  ·  9. They had just had lunch  ·  10. He had never played before
15.2

Complete the paragraphs — use past perfect where the action happened earlier

Complétez les paragraphes — plus-que-parfait pour l'action antérieure

Events listed in order (a before b, etc.). Paragraph starts with the underlined sentence.

Événements dans l'ordre (a avant b, etc.). Le paragraphe commence par la phrase soulignée.

(a) Somebody broke into the office. (b) We arrived at work. (c) We called the police.

1.

(a) Laura went out. (b) I rang her doorbell. (c) There was no answer.

2.

(a) Joe came back from holiday. (b) I met him. (c) He looked very well.

3.

(a) James sent Amy emails. (b) She never replied. (c) Yesterday he got a call from her. (d) He was surprised.

4.
Answers:Réponses : 1. had broken into the office / we called  ·  2. had gone out  ·  3. come back  ·  4. got / had sent her lots of emails / had never replied
15.3

Put the verb into past perfect or past simple

Mettez le verbe au plus-que-parfait ou au passé simple

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Answers:Réponses : 1. He'd gone  ·  2. I went  ·  3. had gone  ·  4. he had already travelled  ·  5. broke down  ·  6. we saw / had broken down / we stopped

Frequently Asked Questions — Past Perfect

Questions fréquentes — Plus-que-parfait

Use it when you are already talking about the past and need to refer to something that happened before that past point. "When I arrived, he had already left" — the leaving happened before the arriving.

Utilisez-le quand vous parlez déjà du passé et devez faire référence à quelque chose qui s'est passé avant ce point passé.

If the sequence is already clear from context (especially with "before" / "after"), the past perfect is sometimes optional. But it is always safe to use it to clearly mark the earlier action. "She left before I arrived" (clear). "I arrived and she had left" (past perfect clarifies she was gone when I got there).

Si la séquence est claire dans le contexte, le plus-que-parfait est parfois facultatif. Mais il est toujours correct de l'utiliser pour clarifier l'antériorité.

"He went home" = he left as part of the main sequence. "He had gone home" = he had already left before something else happened. "When I arrived, he went home" (left after I arrived) vs "When I arrived, he had already gone home" (left before I arrived).

"He went home" = il est parti dans la séquence principale. "He had gone home" = il était déjà parti avant qu'autre chose se passe.

They are parallel. Present perfect (have + pp) connects past → NOW. Past perfect (had + pp) connects an earlier past → a LATER past point. Past perfect is "the present perfect of the past".

Ce sont des structures parallèles. Présent parfait → connecte au PRÉSENT. Plus-que-parfait → connecte à un PASSÉ postérieur.

🎯 Unit 15 · MCQ QuizUnité 15 · Quiz QCM

Past Perfect — Quiz

Plus-que-parfait — Quiz

200-question bank · 10–40 questions per session · instant feedback · printable PDF

Banque de 200 questions · 10 à 40 par session · correction immédiate · PDF imprimable

200 Questions 5 Topics B1 · B1+ · B2 PDF ✓

⚙️ Quiz SettingsParamètres du Quiz

Filter by topic Filtrer par thème
All topics Core Meaning Sequence of Events vs Present Perfect Choose the Form Spot the Error

Past Perfect Quiz

Quiz — Plus-que-parfait

20 questions

—
out ofsur 20 questionsquestions
—
Correct
Correctes
—
Wrong
Incorrectes
—
Skipped
Non répondues

Ready to take your English to the next level?

Prêt à passer votre anglais au niveau supérieur ?

Discover our expert-led courses and certifications — funded options available.

Découvrez nos cours et certifications avec des formateurs experts — options de financement disponibles.

🎓

English Courses with CPF

Formations d'Anglais avec CPF

Use your Compte Personnel de Formation to fund your English training. Tailored, certified, and 100% financed.

Utilisez votre Compte Personnel de Formation pour financer votre apprentissage de l'anglais. Sur-mesure, certifié, 100 % financé.

Find out more En savoir plus
📚

All Our English Courses

Tous Nos Cours d'Anglais

Explore our complete catalogue of courses — from general English to business English, all levels welcome.

Explorez notre catalogue complet — anglais général, anglais professionnel, tous niveaux bienvenus.

Find out more En savoir plus
🏆

Exam Preparation Courses

Préparation aux Examens d'Anglais

Get ready for TOEIC, Linguaskill, Cambridge and more — structured prep with official certifications.

Préparez-vous au TOEIC, Linguaskill, Cambridge et plus — préparation structurée avec certifications officielles.

Find out more En savoir plus

PrepMyEnglish™

Learn and speak better English

Apprenez et parlez un meilleur anglais