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Meaning of "past perfect" in the English dictionary

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DICTIONARY
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PRONUNCIATION OF PAST PERFECT

past perfect play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF PAST PERFECT

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Past perfect can act as a noun and an adjective.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES PAST PERFECT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Pluperfect

The pluperfect is a type of verb form, traditionally treated as one of the tenses of certain languages, used in referring to something that occurred earlier than the time being considered, when the time being considered is already in the past. The meaning of the pluperfect is equivalent to that of English verb forms such as " had arrived" or " had written". The word derives from the Latin plus quam perfectum, "more than perfect" – the Latin perfect refers to something that occurred in the past, while the pluperfect refers to something that occurred "more" in the past than the perfect. In English grammar, the equivalent of the pluperfect is now often called the past perfect, since it combines past tense with perfect aspect. English also has a past perfect progressive form: "had been writing".

Definition of past perfect in the English dictionary

The first definition of past perfect in the dictionary is denoting a tense of verbs used in relating past events where the action had already occurred at the time of the action of a main verb that is itself in a past tense. In English this is a compound tense formed with had plus the past participle. Other definition of past perfect is the past perfect tense. Past perfect is also a verb in this tense.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE PAST PERFECT

past
past anterior
past definite
past historic
past it
past life therapy
past master
past one´s sell-by date
past participle
past tense
pasta
pastance
paste
paste-up
pasteboard
pastedown
pastel
pastel-coloured
pastelist
pastellist

WORDS THAT END LIKE PAST PERFECT

affect
counterfect
defect
effect
future perfect
hearing defect
imperfect
in effect
infect
knock-on effect
letter-perfect
note-perfect
perfect
pluperfect
prefect
present perfect
preterperfect
side effect
take effect
word-perfect

Synonyms and antonyms of past perfect in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «past perfect» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF PAST PERFECT

Find out the translation of past perfect to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of past perfect from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «past perfect» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

过去完成时
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

pasado perfecto
570 millions of speakers

English

past perfect
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

अतीत सही
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الكمال الماضي
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

Past Perfect
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

perfeito passado
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ঘটমান অতীত
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

parfait passé
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Masa lalu sempurna
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Plusquamperfekt
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

過去完了
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

과거 완료
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Kepungkur sampurna
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

quá khứ hoàn thành
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கடந்த முற்றுபெற்ற
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

पूर्ण भूतकाळ
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

geçmiş zaman
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

perfetto passato
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

past perfect
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

Past Perfect
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

perfectă trecut
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

παρελθόν τέλεια
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

perfekte verlede
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

tidigare perfekt
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

fortid perfekt
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of past perfect

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «PAST PERFECT»

The term «past perfect» is regularly used and occupies the 71.080 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
67
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «past perfect» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of past perfect
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «past perfect».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «PAST PERFECT» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «past perfect» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «past perfect» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about past perfect

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PAST PERFECT»

Discover the use of past perfect in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to past perfect and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Past Perfect
Chelsea knows what to expect when she returns for a summer of historical reenactment at Colonial Essex Village until she learns that her ex-boyfriend is working there and she meets the very attractive Dan who works nearby.
Leila Sales, 2012
2
Moving Past Perfect: How Perfectionism May be Holding Back ...
Looks at the difficulty of overcoming a perfectionist attitude, explains what perfectionism is and where it originates, and describes steps that parents and families can take to eliminate the trait.
Thomas S. Greenspon, 2012
3
Past Perfect
When Laurie and her family move to a new home in Connecticut, she is delighted to discover that her childhood friend Gregg is attending the same school, but their old relationship is soon altered by romance.
Fran Michaels, 1987
4
Past Perfect: Letters to Adti
In the summer of 2002, I was in London waiting for a liver transplant.
Anna Varughese, 2011
5
Past Perfect: 2
A middle-aged Israeli engineer travels to Europe in the hope of finding a new meaning for his life
Yaakov Shabtai, 1987
6
Past Perfect, Present Tense: New and Collected Stories
Presents a collection of short stories that deal with the ways things could be, including "The Electric Summer" and "Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground."
Richard Peck, 2008
7
Past Perfect
Set in modern day Christchurch and France, with a backdrop of the 1840 French settlement of Akaroa, the novel is enriched by the diversity and complexity that make up our past.
Karen Zelas, 2012
8
Past Perfect
Albertine, Tremblay's most unforgettable heroine, sets out to re-conquer her lost beau. Cast of 3 women and 2 men.
Michel Tremblay, 2004
9
Incredible Hulk: Past Perfect
Featuring the Abomination, Jarella, Doc Samson, Rick Jones, the Fantastic Four, Captain America and more! COLLECTING: INCREDIBLE HULK (2000) 21-33,ANNUAL 2001
‎2012
10
Past Perfect: A Novel
Susan. Isaacs. Past. Porfoct. j,. SCRIBNER NeWYork London Toronto Sydney New Delhi Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty- Three Chapter Thirty-Four.
Susan Isaacs, 2012

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PAST PERFECT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term past perfect is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Past Perfect, Present Tense,Future Bright
KODUNGALLUR:An air of eerie calm always wafts in the sky over the villages of Kodungallur, which is a Left bastion in record books of the poll ... «The New Indian Express, Jul 15»
2
Magdalena at the Ivy: refined and gorgeous
The black bass might have sat a minute too long before delivery; it wasn't quite overcooked, but it was a bit past perfect. Instead of a bound ... «Baltimore Sun, Jul 15»
3
Fellowship program collaborates with Greater Pittston Historical …
... each as they enter the objects into the GPHS collections management database, which operates under the software platform "Past Perfect. «Misericordia University, Jul 15»
4
'Present and Past Perfect' at Greensburg Art Center
For his raku and clay pieces in “Present and Past Perfect,” the Greensburg Art Center's current open juried exhibition, Don Pollock received ... «Tribune-Review, Jul 15»
5
When did auctions become 'curated' sales?
In the case of Sotheby's, the show was curated by Mario Tavella; Christie's went further with Christie's Curates: Past Perfect/Future Present, ... «Art Newspaper, Jul 15»
6
Christie's Curates: Past Perfect/Future Present
How does the intricate engineering of a Spitfire find its echo in contemporary sculpture? Set to open on 12 June, a new exhibition at Christie's ... «Christie's, Jun 15»
7
Everyday Grammar: Advanced Conditionals
To form the past unreal conditional, use the past perfect in the if clause. Use had followed by a past participle verb to form the past perfect. «VOA Learning English, Jun 15»
8
Sounders can't push past perfect Jaime Penedo
CARSON, Calif. — Sounders forward Lamar Neagle leaned into the side of the goal, grabbing fistfuls of net in his clenched fists. Moments ... «The Seattle Times, Apr 15»
9
RADTKE: Local museum keeping up with an ever-changing world
During the past few years, we have shared a lot of information in regards to our use of Past Perfect Software. Building a searchable database to ... «Grand Haven Tribune, Mar 15»
10
Pack Future Past Perfect pour Groove Agent
Le pack d'expansion Future Past Perfect comprend 33 kits de batteries électroniques et plus de 500 sons de grosses caisses, caisses claires, ... «Audiofanzine, Mar 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Past perfect [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/past-perfect>. Apr 2024 ».
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