Past Perfect Tense in English and also With Urdu/Hindi examples
Back to: Tenses English Grammar with Examples and Guidance
Now it’s turn for for Past Perfect tense. While i hope so that you have gone through all of those previous Lectures. which are about forms of verbs and Basic introduction about Tenses.
Well, Past Perfect tense is used to describe an action which was already completed in past and have a relation to later action.
In Urdu/Hindi we say : Chuka Tha, Chuki Thi, Chukay Thay, Liya thaa, Liye Thay , etc etc.
In past perfect tense we use helping verb had and that too along with the third form of the verb.
Examples:
English: She had finished her homework before the party started.
Urdu: اس نے پارٹی شروع ہونے سے پہلے اپنا ہوم ورک ختم کر لیا تھا۔
Roman Urdu: Usne party shuru honey se pehle apna homework khatam kar liya tha.
English: By the time I arrived, they had already eaten dinner.
Urdu: جب میں پہنچا تھا، وہ خانہ کھا چکے تھے۔
Roman Urdu: Jab mein pahuncha tha, woh khana kha chuke thay.
English: They had lived in that house for ten years before they moved.
Urdu: وہ اس گھر میں دس سال رہ چکے تھے پہلے انہوں نے منتقلی کی۔
Roman Urdu: Woh us ghar mein das saal reh chuke thay pehle unhone manzil ki.
English: The train had already left when we arrived at the station.
Urdu: جب ہم اسٹیشن پر پہنچے تو ٹرین پہلے ہی رواں ہو چکی تھی۔
Roman Urdu: Jab hum station par pahunchay to train pehle hi rawan ho chuki thi.
English: He had forgotten his keys at home before he left for work.
Urdu: وہ کام کے لئے نکلنے سے پہلے ہی اپنی چابیاں گھر پر بھول گیا تھا۔
Roman Urdu: Woh kaam ke liye nikalne se pehle hi apni chabian ghar par bhool gaya tha.
Rule # 1:
In this rule we will talk about helping verb “Had” . Well we use this helping verb with Singulars (He, She, It ,noun (name) ) but with the third form of the Verb.
Examples:
She had studied French for two years before she traveled to Paris.
He had finished his presentation before the meeting began.
The chef had cooked dinner by the time the guests arrived.
The professor had written the book before he became famous.
Sarah had bought the tickets before the concert sold out.
The flowers had wilted by the time she remembered to water them.
Rule # 2:
In this rule we will talk about helping verb “Had” . Well we use this helping verb with Plurals as well (I, We, you and, They). Here also we will use third form of the verb as well.
Below you see examples to understand in more better way.
Examples:
They had completed their assignments before the deadline passed.
Urdu: وہ لازمی تاریخ سے پہلے اپنے تسکینات مکمل کر چکے تھے۔
Roman Urdu: Woh lazmi tareekh se pehle apne tasks mukammal kar chuke thay.
The students had already left the classroom when the teacher returned.
Urdu: استاد واپس آنے پر طلباء پہلے ہی کلاس سے نکل چکے تھے۔
Roman Urdu: Ustad wapas aane par talbaa pehle hi class se nikal chuke thay.
We had prepared the presentation before the projector malfunctioned.
Urdu: ہم نے پروجیکٹر کی خرابی سے پہلے ہی پریزنٹیشن تیار کر رکھی تھی۔
Roman Urdu: Hum ne projector ki kharabi se pehle hi presentation tayar kar rakhi thi.
The birds had migrated south before the onset of winter.
Urdu: موسم سرما کے آغاز سے پہلے ہی پرندے جنوب کی طرف کیا مچرچ کر چکے تھے۔
Roman Urdu: Mausam sarma ke aghaaz se pehle hi parindey junub ki taraf kiya murchch kar chuke thay.
They had finished their chores before their parents returned from work.
Urdu: ان کا کام ختم ہو چکا تھا جب ان کے والدین کام سے واپسی کر رہے تھے۔
Roman Urdu: Unka kaam khatam ho chuka tha jab unke walidain kaam se wapsi kar rahe thay.
Rule # 3 Negative sentences:
In this scenario we use Not after the helping verb (had ) to form a sentence.
Examples:
She had not finished her homework before the teacher collected it.
Urdu: اس نے اپنا ہوم ورک مکمل نہیں کیا تھا جب استاد نے اسے جمع کیا۔
Roman Urdu: Usne apna homework mukammal nahin kiya tha jab ustad ne use jama kiya.
They had not left for the airport when the flight was announced.
Urdu: جب پرواز کا اعلان ہوا تو وہ ائیرپورٹ کے لئے روانہ نہیں ہوئے تھے۔
Roman Urdu: Jab parwaaz ka elaan hua to woh airport ke liye rawana nahin hue thay.
He had not repaired the car before it broke down on the highway.
Urdu: جب گاڑی ہائی وے پر خراب ہوئی تو وہ اسے تھیک نہیں کر چکا تھا۔
Roman Urdu: Jab gaadi highway par kharab hui to woh usay theek nahin kar chuka tha.
The company had not signed the contract before the deadline expired.
Urdu: موعد ختم ہونے سے پہلے کمپنی نے عہدہ نہیں دیا تھا۔
Roman Urdu: Muddat khatam hone se pehle company ne ahda nahin dia tha.
We had not heard the news before it was broadcasted on television.
Urdu: ہم نے خبر سنی نہیں تھی جب تلویزن پر اسے نشر کیا گیا۔
Roman Urdu: Hum ne khabar suni nahin thi jab television par usay nashar kiya gaya.
In above you can clearly see the the Negative (Not) is being used after helping verb.
Rule # 4 Interrogative Sentences:
Interrogative mean those sentences which contains some question or Question mark at the end of the sentences. In these type of sentences usually helping verb (Had) is used in the beginning of the sentences.
Had she finished her homework before the teacher collected it?
Had they left for the airport when the flight was announced?
Had he repaired the car before it broke down on the highway?
Had the company signed the contract before the deadline expired?
Had we heard the news before it was broadcasted on television?
In above sentences you can see clearly the helping is in the beginning of the sentences.