When we talk about something that happened in the past we sometimes want to refer back to something that happened before that time. We can use the past perfect tense (had + past participle) to do this.
Look at these two sentences.
Veena left the house at 6:30 yesterday morning.
Meena rang Veena’s doorbell at 7:15 yesterday.
Both actions happened in the past so we use the past simple tense. But look at how we can combine the sentences.
Meena rang Veena’s doorbell at 7:15 yesterday but Veena had already left the house.
We use the past perfect (had left) because the action happened before another action in the past (Veena rang the doorbell.)
When we talk about something that happened in the past we sometimes want to refer back to something that happened before that time. We can use the past perfect tense (had + past participle) to do this.
Look at these two sentences.
Veena left the house at 6:30 yesterday morning.
Meena rang Veena’s doorbell at 7:15 yesterday.
Both actions happened in the past so we use the past simple tense. But look at how we can combine the sentences.
Meena rang Veena’s doorbell at 7:15 yesterday but Veena had already left the house.
We use the past perfect (had left) because the action happened before another action in the past (Veena rang the doorbell.)