What is past perfect tense?

Past perfect refers to some action that happened in the past and was completed (perfected) before another event in the past. e.g. I had only just put the washing out when it started to rain!

ANSWER For a summary of verb tenses, with simple charts and examples of verb forms in the various tenses, see the website linked below. A Quick Answer for those in a hurry I'd just like to give a quick example for anyone who doesn't want to look on the website. The past perfect in English is 'had + past participle': for example, 'I had done it' or 'she had slept'. It is mostly used to show which of two actions in the past happened first. 'When I arrived at the cinema, the film had started.' (It's clear the film started before I arrived) Compare this to a sentence without the past perfect: 'When I arrived at the cinema, the film started.' (The film started at the same time, or shortly after I arrived) ____________________________

== == Form: had + been + verb+ing. Example: Actually, I had been thinking of phoning you when you called me last night. Used to refer to a continuous or repeated activity that was taking place in the time leading up to an identified moment in the past, and the activity was temporary or expected to be temporary. == ==