Unit 15 Past perfect (I had done)

Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past: Sarah arrived AT the party. This is the starting point of the story.

Then, if we want to talk about things that happened before this time, we use the past perfect (had...): When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.

Who is that woman? I’ve never seen her before.

I didn’t know who she was. I’d never seen her before. (=before that time)

We aren’t hungry. We’ve just had lunch.

We weren’t hungry. We’d just had lunch.

The house is dirty. They haven’t cleaned it for weeks.

The house was dirty. They hadn’t cleaned it for weeks.

Was tom at the party when you arrived? No, he had already gone home.

But: Was Tom there when you arrived? Yes, but he went home soon afterwards.

Ann wasn’t at home when I phoned. She was in London.

But: Ann had just got home when I phoned. She had been in London.