What are some examples of els past verses past perfect sentences?

Answer by  pious57 (112)

When there are two past actions, the action that was completed first takes past perfect tense and the action that was completed after that takes simple past tense. Eg: When I reached the station, the train had already left. When the father came from the office, the child had slept.

Answer by  patti (29325)

The explanation is just a bit much for the space allowed here. Best to refer to a grammar book/online site that addresses the difference between the two tenses.

Answer by  Tellara (95)

The perfect tense indicates that an action was completed before the time being talked about. Example: 'When I went shopping yesterday I bought [regular past] a tie to match the shirt I had bought [past perfect] last week'. At the time you are talking about (yesterday), buying the shirt had already been completed so you use the past perfect.