When to Use The Past Perfect Tense
Expressing action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past.
- The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9:15am. When we arrived, the train had left.
In reported speech after verbs like: said, told, asked, thought, wondered
- He told us that the train had left.
- I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
Instead of the time being now the time is before.
For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9:15am. The stationmaster says to you:
- “You are too late. The train has left.”
Later, you tell your friends:
- “We were too late. The train had left.”
