Past perfect simple

Form

Functions and examples

We use the past perfect to talk about finished actions that happened before a certain time in the past.

I had finished lunch before they arrived.
You had left by the time they arrived.
He didn't want to come with us because he had already seen the film.

See also: Past perfect continuous / Third conditional

Teaching Past perfect simple

•   I usually draw a timeline (a long one) on the board or on a big piece of paper. Then I invite students to write about the events that day, i.e.:
  
  Student A:
  7am: I had breakfast
  8am: I went to school
  12pm: I went back home
  13pm: I finished my homework
  15pm: I arrived for my English class
  
  Student B:
  8am: I had breakfast
  9am: I went to work
  15pm: I left work
  15:15pm: I arrived (late) for my class
  
  Then I model the first sentence:
  
  When student B had breakfast, student A had already had breakfast (or had already gone to school).
  
  Then students have to come up with other sentences using the information on the board. They can do it in pairs, comparing their days (or even their lives! i.e.: When I got married, you had already had 2 children! or in a big group."
  Carol
  
•   Well for me the best way to teach the past perfect is to focus on two past actions and formulate them in a sentence using the suitable adverbial of time. Then, you can ask your students how many actions the sentence has? Ask them which action happened first and which happened second. Then ask them to figure out a rule." Ali
  

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