Past Perfect

The structure

When you use it

• To show which past action happened first: The train had left before we reached the station.
• With before, after, by the time, already, when to make the order clear.
• In reported speech, when the original words were in the past simple: He said he had lost his passport.
• In third conditional sentences: If I had studied, I would have passed.

Words that signal this tense

Examples

• The train had left before we reached the station.ہمارے اسٹیشن پہنچنے سے پہلے ٹرین جا چکی تھی۔
• She had finished her work before the guests came.مہمانوں کے آنے سے پہلے وہ اپنا کام مکمل کر چکی تھی۔
• I had not seen that film before.میں نے وہ فلم پہلے نہیں دیکھی تھی۔
• Had you eaten before you left home?کیا تم گھر سے نکلنے سے پہلے کھانا کھا چکے تھے؟
• By the time I called, he had already slept.جب میں نے فون کیا، وہ پہلے ہی سو چکا تھا۔

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