Past Perfect

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

In grammar, the past perfect is an aspect of the verb that designates an action that has been completed before another past action. Formed with the auxiliary had and the past participle of a verb, it's used to indicate a time further back in the past than the present perfect or the simple past tense. The tense is also known as the past perfective, the pluperfect, and the past-in-the-past. The Latin plus quam per fectum means "more than perfect," and the French pronunciation of plus is close to "ploo," which is where the term pluperfect came from.

Past Perfect Examples From Literature

Past perfect tense is everywhere, so just about any literature will have examples. Here are a few.

  • "Far worst of all, the fever had settled in Mary's eyes, and Mary was blind."
    (Laura Ingalls Wilder, "On the Banks of Plum Creek," 1937)

On the Banks of Plum Creek is one of the books in the "Little House on the Prairie" series, which was turned into a long-running TV show. Walnut Grove, Minnesota, a town of fewer than 1,000 people, hosts throngs of people every summer at festivals related to the history and the books. 

  • "He camped that night on the broad Animas Plain and the wind blew in the grass and he slept on the ground wrapped in the serape and in the wool blanket the old man had given him."
    (Cormac McCarthy, "The Crossing," 1994)

Coming-of-age novel "The Crossing," set on the border of the Southwestern United States and Mexico during World War II, is noted for its spare dialogue and laconic characters.

    (Lois Lowry, "The Giver," 1993)

"The Giver," inspired by the memory loss of author's father, became a movie in 2014 starring Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.

    (William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody, "The Life of Hon. William F. Cody," 1889)


    (Maya Angelou, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," 1969)

In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou depicts her tumultuous childhood spent between her mother's and grandmother's households, racism, her rape, and her journey to discover her identity and inner strength.  

Functions of the Past Perfect With If Clauses

As in other past tenses, the past perfect in a subordinate clause, called a conditional clause, may signify hypothesis, or something contrary to fact. A past perfect modal, usually would or could have, appears in the main clause. In Sylvia Chalker and Edmund Weiner's "Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar," the authors give these examples:

  • "If you had told me before now, I could have helped. [But I didn't help.]
  • "If you had been coming tomorrow, you would have met my mother. [But you didn't meet my mother.]"

In Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson's "An Introduction to English Grammar," the authors give these examples:


Using the Tense to Show Completion

You may also use the past perfect to show completion. For example, "She stood outside until he had gone."