What does past perfect tense refer to?
Action that occurred in the past prior to another past action. It is a compound tense akin to “I had eaten”
How do you form past perfect tense in Spanish?
use imperfect of haber + past participle on main verb
I had returned
yo había vuelto
you had started
tú habías empezado
she had done
ella había hecho
we had known
nosotros habíamos sabido
they(ellas) had eaten
ellas habían comido
When is past perfect tense used?
In sentences and questions that are directly linked to the past. Expresses action that precedes other action. Sentence may begin with imperfect or preterit tense and continue with past perfect.
You (Ud) knew that we had left.
Ud. sabía que habíamos salido.
I believed that he had died.
Yo creí que él se había muerto.
They saw the woman who hadn’t said anything.
Ellos vieron a la mujer que no había dicho nada.
Where do reflexive, indirect and direct object pronouns go in past perfect?
before haber
She knew that he hadn’t written to me.
Ella sabía que él no me había escrito.
I realized that they hadn’t done it.
Me di cuenta de que ellos no lo habían hecho.
Infinitive form of haber is used after a preposition
FYI
After having arrived in Peru, the adventurers looked for a hotel in Cuzco.
Después de haber llegado a Perú, los aventureros buscaron un hotel en Cuzco.
After having eaten, I went to the train platform.
Después de haber comido, fui a la plataforma del tren.
The actor learned the dialogue without having rehearsed much.
El actor aprendió el diálogo sin haber ensayado mucho.
The children thought that their parents had left.
Los niños pensaron que sus padres habían salido.
I had already set the table when my family arrived.
Yo había puesto la mesa cuando mi familia llegó.
Roberto went to a country that he had never visited before.
Roberto fue a un país que él nunca había visitado antes.
My colleagues told me that they had finished their work.
Mis colegas me dijeron que habían terminado sus trabajo.
The professor knew that I had studied.
El profesor sabía que yo había estudiado.
The girl thought that her dog had returned.
La niña pensaba que su perro había vuelto.