Past Perfect

El pluscuamperfecto

El pasado perfecto en ingls corresponde al pluscuamperfecto de espaol. En general, lo usamos para

acciones que han ocurrido antes de otra accin en el pasado.

Grammatical Rules (Reglas gramaticales)

Form (Forma)
Igual que en el presente perfecto, se forma el pasado perfecto con el verbo auxiliar to have y el
participio pasado. El verbo auxiliar estar en pasado.

Sujeto

I, you, he, she, it, we,

they

Verbo
Auxiliar

had

Forma Corta

Participio Pasado

Id, youd, hed, shed, itd, wed,

theyd

studied, visited,
worked

Nota: Ten cuidado porque la contraccin -d tambin se utiliza con el verbo modal would para
formar el condicional. Como tal, la forma corta Id puede tener dos significados diferentes. Podemos
distinguir entre estos dos significados por la forma del verbo principal que les sigue. Si queremos decir
Id en el sentido de pasado perfecto, el verbo principal est en la forma de participio pasado, mientras
que con el condicional, Id va seguido por el verbo en infinitivo. Para ms informacin, ver la leccin
sobre las frases condicionales.

Structure (Estructura)
1. Affirmative Sentences (Frases afirmativas)
Sujeto + had + participio pasado
Ejemplos:

I had [Id] visited the Louvre before, so I knew where the Mona Lisa was. (Haba visitado
el Museo del Louvre antes, as que saba donde estaba la Mona Lisa.)

They had [Theyd] studied English before they went to London. (Haban estudiado ingls
antes de irse a Londres.)

Henry changed careers because he had [hed] worked as an accountant for many years
and was bored. (Henry cambi de profesin porque haba trabajado como contable durante muchos aos y
estaba aburrido.)

2. Negative Sentences (Frases negativas)

Sujeto + had + not + participio pasado
Ejemplos:

I had not [hadnt] visited the Louvre before so I didnt know where the Mona Lisa
was. (No haba visitado el Museo del Louvre antes, as que no saba donde estaba la Mona Lisa.)
They had not [hadnt] studied English before they went to London. (No haban estudiado
ingls antes de irse a Londres.)

Henry changed careers even though he had not [hadnt] worked as an accountant for
long. (Henry cambi de profesin a pesar de que no haba trabajado como contable durante mucho tiempo.)
3. Interrogative Sentences (Frases interrogativas)
Had + sujeto + participio pasado?
Ejemplos:

How did you know where the Mona Lisa was? Had you visited the Louvre
before? (Cmo sabas dnde estaba la Mona Lisa? Habas visitado el Museo del Louvre antes?)
Had they studied English before they went to London? (Haban estudiado ingls antes de irse a
Londres?)

Had Henry worked as an accountant for long before he changed careers?(Henry haba
trabajado como contable durante mucho tiempo antes de cambiar de profesin?)

Uses (Usos)
1. Usamos el pasado perfecto para referirnos a una accin o evento que comenz en el pasado y
que es anterior a otra accin tambin en el pasado. La accin que ocurri primero es en pasado
perfecto y la que sigue en pasado simple.
Ejemplos:

Id read the book before I saw the movie. (Haba ledo el libro antes de ver la pelcula.)
Donna had just left when you called. (Donna haba salido justo cuando llamaste.)

Had you ever flown before the trip to France? (Alguna vez habas volado antes del viaje a Francia?)
2. Se usa para acciones que ocurrieron antes de un tiempo especfico en el pasado.
Ejemplos:

I had already woken up when the alarm clock rang at 7am. (Ya me haba despertado cuando
son el despertador a las 7.)

He hadnt been to France before the trip in 2008. (No haba estado en Francia antes del viaje del
2008.)

3. Tambin, como en el presente perfecto, con algunos verbos usamos el pasado perfecto para
situaciones que han empezado en el pasado y que siguieron hasta un punto especfico en el pasado.
Ejemplos:

She had only owned one car before she bought her new BMW. (Haba tenido un coche antes de
que compr su nuevo BMW.)

Id been depressed for a long time before I changed jobs. (Haba estado deprimido durante
mucho tiempo antes de que cambiara de trabajo.)

Nota: Ver una lista de los verbos que no usamos, la leccin de los tiempos continuos de los verbos.

Notes:
1. The written lesson is below.
2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.
The past perfect is formed by combining the auxiliary verb had with the past
participle.
I had studied.
He had written a letter to Mara.
We had been stranded for six days.
Because the past perfect is a compound tense, two verbs are required:
the main verb and theauxiliary verb.

I had studied.
(main verb: studied ; auxiliary verb: had)
He had written a letter to Mara.
(main verb: written ; auxiliary verb: had)
We had been stranded for six days.
(main verb: been ; auxiliary verb: had)
In Spanish, the past perfect tense is formed by using the imperfect tense of the
auxiliary verb haber with the past participle. Haber is conjugated as follows:
haba
habas
haba
habamos
habais
haban
You have already learned in a previous lesson that the past participle is formed by
dropping the infinitive ending and adding either -ado or -ido. Remember, some past
participles are irregular. The following examples all use the past participle for the
verb vivir.
(yo) Haba vivido.
I had lived.
(t) Habas vivido.
You had lived.
(l) Haba vivido.
He had lived.
(nosotros) Habamos vivido.
We had lived.
(vosotros) Habais vivido.
You-all had lived.
(ellos) Haban vivido.
They had lived.
For a review of the formation of the past participle [click here].

When you studied the past participle, you practiced using it as an adjective. When
used as an adjective, the past participle changes to agree with the noun it modifies.
However, when used in the perfect tenses, the past participle never changes.
Past participle used as an adjective:
La puerta est cerrada.
The door is closed.
Past participle used in the past perfect tense:
Yo haba cerrado la puerta.
I had closed the door.
Here are a couple of more examples:
Past participle used as an adjective:
Las puertas estn abiertas.
The doors are open.
Past participle used in the past perfect tense:
Juan haba abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.
Note that when used to form the perfect tenses, only the base form (abierto) is
used.
Lets look more carefully at the last example:
Juan haba abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.
Notice that we use haba to agree with Juan. We do NOT use haban to agree
with puertas. The auxiliary verb is conjugated for the subject of the sentence, not
the object. Compare these two examples:
Juan haba abierto las puertas.
Juan had opened the doors.
Juan y Mara haban puesto mucho dinero en el banco.
Juan and Maria had put a lot of money in the bank.
In the first example, we use haba because the subject of the sentence is Juan.
In the second example, we use haban because the subject of the sentence is
Juan y Mara.

The past perfect tense is used when a past action was completed prior to another
past action. Expressions such as ya, antes, nunca, todava and despus
will often appear in sentences where one action was completed before another.
Cuando llegaron los padres, los nios ya haban comido.
When the parents arrived, the children had already eaten.
Yo haba comido antes de llamarles.
I had eaten prior to calling them.
This idea of a past action being completed before another past action need not
always be stated; it can be implied.
Juan haba cerrado la ventana antes de salir. (stated)
Juan had closed the window before leaving.
Juan haba cerrado la ventana. (implied)
Juan had closed the window.
The auxiliary verb and the past participle are never separated. To make the
sentence negative, add the word no before the conjugated form of haber.
(yo) No haba vivido.
I had not lived.
(t) No habas vivido.
You had not lived.
(l) No haba vivido.
He had not lived.
(nosotros) No habamos vivido.
We had not lived.
(vosotros) No habais vivido.
You-all had not lived.
(ellos) No haban vivido.
They had not lived.
Again, the auxiliary verb and the past participle are never separated. Object
pronouns are placed immediately before the auxiliary verb.
Pablo le haba dado mucho dinero a su hermana.
Pablo had given a lot of money to his sister.

To make this sentence negative, the word no is placed before the indirect object
pronoun (le).
Pablo no le haba dado mucho dinero a su hermana.
Pablo had not given a lot of money to his sister.
With reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun is placed immediatedly before the
auxiliary verb. Compare how the present perfect differs from the simple present,
when a reflexive verb is used.
Me lavo las manos. (present)
I wash my hands.
Me haba lavado las manos. (past perfect)
I had washed my hands.
To make this sentence negative, the word no is placed before the reflexive
pronoun (me).
No me haba lavado las manos.
I had not washed my hands.
For a review of reflexive verbs click [here] and [here].
Questions are formed as follows. Note how the word order is different than the
English equivalent.
Haban llegado ya las chicas?
Had the girls arrived yet?
Habas probado ya el postre?
Had you tried the dessert yet?
Here are the same questions in negative form. Notice how the auxiliary verb and
the past participle are not separated.
No haban llegado ya las chicas?
Hadnt the girls arrived yet?
No habas probado ya el postre?
Hadnt you tried the dessert yet?
Lets add another verb flashcard for the past perfect tense:

VERB FLASHCARDS
COMPLETE LIST

Past Perfect
haber + past participle
haba hablado, haba comido, haba vivido
haba
habas
haba
habamos
habais
haban