Grammar Café ☕Past Perfect vs. Past Simple
- Tom Lockhart
- Apr 28
- 2 min read
☕ Today’s Special is for B2 level learners who want to feel more confident with Past Perfect and Past Simple.
What’s the Past Simple?
We use the Past Simple to talk about an action that finished at a specific time in the past.👉 Structure: Subject + Verb 2 (the past form)
🧠 Quick Espresso Tip: Verb 2 is the simple past form — not the past participle (Verb 3)!
Examples of Verb 2:
work → worked
visit → visited
eat → ate
go → went
👉 Examples:
I visited London last year.
She finished the report yesterday.
They watched the match on Sunday.
Key Tip: We often mention when the action happened — yesterday, last week, or in 2010.
What’s the Past Perfect?
We use the Past Perfect to talk about an action that happened before another action in the past.👉 Structure: Subject + had + Verb 3 (the past participle)
🧠 Quick Espresso Tip: Verb 3 is the past participle form of the verb.
Examples of Verb 3:
work → worked
visit → visited
eat → eaten
go → gone
👉 Examples:
I had already eaten when he arrived.
She had finished the report before the meeting started.
They had left by the time we got there.
Key Tip: Think of Past Perfect as "the past before the past."
☕ Easy Comparison Menu
Past Simple | Past Perfect |
One completed action at a specific time | One action completed before another past action |
I arrived at 6pm. | I had arrived before 6pm. |
She started the project in May. | She had started the project before May. |
☕ Common Mistakes to Watch Out For
🚫 Wrong: When I arrived, he ate dinner.✅ Right: When I arrived, he had eaten dinner.
🚫 Wrong: After I had finished work, I go home.✅ Right: After I had finished work, I went home.
Notice: Use Past Perfect for the earlier action, and Past Simple for the later action.
☕ Quick Espresso Tip:
🔵 Use Past Simple to tell a story about what happened.
🔵 Use Past Perfect to show that something happened before another event.
Thanks for stopping by the Grammar Café! Want more practise? Download the worksheet below.
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