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Past perfect: advanced points

Past perfect or simple past with after, as soon as, etc​

We can use time conjunctions (e.g. after, as soon as, when, once) to talk about two actions or events that happened one after the other. Usually the past perfect is not necessary in these cases, because we are not ‘going back’ from the time that we are mainly talking about, but simply moving forward from one event to the next.

  • After it got dark, we came back inside.
  • As soon as Megan arrived, we sat down to eat.
  • Once it stopped raining, we started the game again.

However, we can use the past perfect with after, as soon as, etc to emphasise that the first action is separate, independent of the second, completed before the second started.

  • She didn’t feel the same after her dog had died.
  • As soon as he had finished his exams, he went to Paris for a month.

This use of the past perfect is especially common with when. (When has several meanings, so we often have to show the exact time relations by the verb form.) Compare:

  • When I had opened the windows, I sat down and had a cup of tea. (not When I opened the windows, I sat down …: the first action was quite separate from the second.)
    When I opened the window, the cat jumped out. (More natural than When I had opened the window, …: one action caused the other.)
  • When I had answered my emails, I did some gardening. (not When I answered my emails, I did some gardening.)
    When I wrote to her, she came at once.

Unrealised hopes and wishes; things that did not happen​

The past perfect can be used to express an unrealised hope, wish, etc. Had is usually stressed in this case.

  • I HAD hoped we would leave tomorrow, but it won’t be possible.
  • He HAD intended to make a cake, but he ran out of time.

Past perfect with It was the first/second … that …​

We generally use a past perfect after it was the first/second … that … and similar structures (see here).

  • It was the first time that I had heard her sing.
  • It was the fifth time she had asked the same question.
  • It was only the second opera I had seen in my life.
note

For the past perfect with before (e.g. He went out before I had finished my sentence), (see here).