You know from Grammar 8-1 that we use the Past Simple to talk about completed actions in the definite past. The time of the action can be recent or long ago.
In the following example, the Past Simple is used to give a chronological (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) order of events to a story:
John finished work and got into his car to head home. After he left the parking lot in his brand-new Honda, John turned onto Main Street. Suddenly, his cell phone rang, and John started arguing with his wife. He became distracted and didn't notice a stop sign. Another car crashed into the side of John's car and pushed it onto the side of the street. John was in pain, but he managed to exit his damaged Honda.
Until this point in the story, everything has been told in order. If we want to write or talk about something that happened before John managed to exit his damaged Honda (the last sentence), we use the Past Perfect.
Form
- Past Perfect Simple = had + past participle
For further details on how to form the Past Perfect Simple, please refer to Smrt 120 - Grammar 3-2.
The other car had turned on its side and hit a tree. (this happened before John managed to exit his damaged Honda)
Unlock full access by logging in. Registered users can explore the entire lesson and more.