Past Perfect
Lesson 3 of 4 · ~9 minutes

Lesson 3 · Past Perfect

I got up and had breakfast

Past Perfect or Past Simple

Not every sentence with two past events needs the Past Perfect. If the events simply follow one another in order, the Past Simple is enough for both. You need the Past Perfect only when it matters to show that one happened before the other.

when you don't need the Past Perfect

  • just the order of eventsI got up and had breakfast — the events come in order, both Past Simple
  • which came firstWhen I arrived, the meeting had already started — the meeting started earlier, and that's worth showing

Situation

events in order
one before the other

Tenses

I got up, had breakfast and left.
When I arrived, the meeting had already started.
Situation
Tenses
events in order
I got up, had breakfast and left.
one before the other
When I arrived, the meeting had already started.

I got up, had breakfast and left for work.

When I arrived, the meeting had already started.

She cooked dinner and then called her mother.

He was tired because he had worked all night.

Where people usually slip

Don't put had before every past event: not I had got up and had had breakfast.

If the events simply come in order, use the Past Simple for both: I got up and had breakfast. You only need had for the event that happened before the others.

In short

  • just the order of eventsboth events in the Past Simple
  • one came firstearlier — had + V3, later — Past Simple
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