PAST PERFECT Definition & Meaning

past perfect

noun

Grammar.

pluperfect.

past perfect

adjective

denoting a tense of verbs used in relating past events where the action had already occurred at the time of the action of a main verb that is itself in a past tense. In English this is a compound tense formed with had plus the past participle

noun

1. the past perfect tense
2. a verb in this tense

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of past perfect¹

First recorded in 1885–90

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Compare Meanings

How does past perfect compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Mueller actually said, “If we had had confidence” — an entirely correct and appropriate usage of the past perfect, an English tense hardly anyone uses in conversation and most people apparently cannot even hear.

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“I’ve only gone as far as the past perfect tense in my French book.”

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Soon we were flying past perfect rows of citrus trees, and that glorious scent was in the air.

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Has it reversed itself into the past perfect tense?

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Would we then have a present on our hands that was, at best, past perfect?

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