What is the Past Perfect?
The Past Perfect is used to talk about an action that happened before another action in the past.
Arabic:
الزمن الماضي التام (Past Perfect) يُستخدم للحديث عن فعل حدث قبل فعل آخر في الماضي.
Example:
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I had finished my homework before my friend came.
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Arabic: لقد أنهيت واجبي قبل أن يأتي صديقي.
Think of it as “the past of the past”. One thing happened first (Past Perfect), and another thing happened after (Simple Past).
How to Form the Past Perfect
1. Affirmative
Subject + had + past participle
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Example: She had already eaten when I arrived.
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Arabic: كانت قد تناولت الطعام عندما وصلت.
2. Negative
Subject + had not (hadn’t) + past participle
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Example: They hadn’t seen that movie before yesterday.
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Arabic: لم يشاهدوا ذلك الفيلم قبل البارحة.
3. Interrogative
Had + subject + past participle?
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Example: Had he finished his homework before class?
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Arabic: هل كان قد أنهى واجبه قبل الحصة؟
When Do We Use the Past Perfect?
1. To show an action completed before another action
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I had eaten breakfast before I went to school.
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Arabic: لقد تناولت الفطور قبل أن أذهب إلى المدرسة.
2. To show cause and effect in the past
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She was tired because she had worked all day.
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Arabic: كانت متعبة لأنها كانت قد عملت طوال اليوم.
Common Signal Words
Look for words like:
before, after, by the time, already, just, never, yet
Example:
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By the time he arrived, we had left.
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Arabic: بحلول الوقت الذي وصل فيه، كنا قد رحلنا.
Quick Practice
Fill in the blanks
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I ______ (finish) my homework before my mother called.
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She ______ (not / see) that film before yesterday.
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By the time we got to the station, the train ______ (leave).
Correct the mistakes
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I had went to school before it rained.
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They hadn’t saw the movie yet.
Make your own sentence
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Cue: eat / breakfast / before / school
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Answer: I had eaten breakfast before school.
Tips to Remember
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Past Perfect = the past of the past
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Action that happened first = Past Perfect
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Action that happened later = Simple Past
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