Past perfect
El past perfect indica que algo ocurrió antes de otro hecho pasado. Forma: had + participio, como el pluscuamperfecto (había hecho).
| antes (past perfect) | después (past simple) |
|---|---|
| The film had started | when we arrived. |
| I had never seen snow | before I moved to Canada. |
Cuándo se necesita
- Para aclarar el orden: When I got there, the shop had closed (cerró antes).
- Con after, before, by the time, already.
- Si el orden es evidente, basta el past simple: I locked the door and left.
Ejemplos
- She had already left when I called.Ya se había ido cuando llamé.
- I realised I had forgotten my passport.Me di cuenta de que había olvidado el pasaporte.
- By the time we arrived, they had eaten everything.Cuando llegamos, ya se lo habían comido todo.
- He told me he had worked there for ten years.Me dijo que había trabajado allí diez años.
- We had just sat down when the lights went out.Acabábamos de sentarnos cuando se apagaron las luces.
Errores comunes
- ✗ When I arrived, the film started. (it was already running)✓ When I arrived, the film had started.Lo que había empezado antes de mi llegada va en past perfect y no en past simple.
- ✗ After I had finished, I have gone home.✓ After I had finished, I went home.Tras la acción anterior en past perfect, la siguiente va en past simple y no en present perfect.
- ✗ I had saw it.✓ I had seen it.Tras had se usa el participio seen y no la forma del pasado saw.
- ✗ I hadn’t eat anything.✓ I hadn’t eaten anything.Tras hadn’t se usa el participio eaten y no la forma base.
- ✗ I had never seen snow before I move to Canada.✓ I had never seen snow before I moved to Canada.Tras before se usa el past simple moved para el hecho posterior.