Lesson Fifteen:

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): had visited

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.

* find out / found out = learn; discover

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)

By the time we arrived at the airport, the plane had already left.

They had worked and saved a lot of money before they retired last year.