The past perfect tense is usually used
with two past actions. The verb in the past perfect shows
the first past action.
She had visited several doctors before she found out what the problem was.
First action (verb): visit
Second action (verb): found out
The word order can be changed but it doesn't change the meaning:
Before she found out what the problem was, she had
visited several doctors.
simple
past
past participle
find
found
found
visit
visited
visited
* find out / found out = learn; discover
Remember to in your notebook
Singular
Plural
I had visited
We had visited
You had visited
You had visited
He had visited
She had visited
They had visited
It had visited
examples
He had already started to make breakfast before
his wife woke up.
(already is frequently used with perfect
tenses. It usually appears between the auxiliary verb and
the main verb: had already started)
This house had been
painted yellow before they changed it
to pink.
Notice that the past perfect tense here is
in the passive voice. The passive past tense is formed like this: The
house was painted yellow before they changed it to pink. Often using
the past tense instead of the past perfect tense is acceptable.
Past perfect passive:
had + been + (past participle)
It had been painted yellow. Now it's pink.
They had worked and saved a lot of money before they retired last year.
They'd had no idea how much they'd enjoy their retirement.
NOTE: When the verb "have" is in the past perfect it looks
like had had which is a little confusing)(they'd = they would)
If you need more help understanding the past perfect tense,
this video might help you:
This video will show you some of the differences between the past tense
