Explanation
Use the past perfect to show that one past action happened before another past time. The form is "had" + past participle.
In "When I arrived, the shop had already closed.", "arrived" is the later past time, and "had closed" is the earlier event. "Had" tells us the closing happened first, and "already" makes that order even clearer. Japanese often uses two past forms in one sentence, but English shows the earlier action with "had".
過去完了は、過去のある出来事より前に起きたことを表します。形は "had" + 過去分詞です。
例えば "When I arrived, the shop had already closed." では、"arrived" があとで起きた過去、"had closed" がそれより前の出来事です。"had" があるので、閉まったのが先だと分かります。日本語では「着いたら店はもう閉まっていた」のように言えますが、英語では前の出来事を "had" で示します。
Examples
- When I arrived, the shop had already closed. 着いたときには、店はもう閉まっていました。
- She had finished her homework before dinner. 彼女は夕食前に宿題を終えていました。
- Had you seen that movie before? その映画は前に見たことがありましたか。
- I had not met him before the meeting. 会議の前には、私は彼に会ったことがありませんでした。
- We were tired because we had walked for two hours. 私たちは2時間歩いていたので、疲れていました。
- By the time the train came, everyone had left. 電車が来るころには、みんなもう帰っていました。
Common Mistakes
Japanese learners often use the past simple for both actions: "When I arrived, the shop already closed." In English, the earlier action needs "had": "When I arrived, the shop had already closed." Use the past perfect for the event that happened first, and the past simple for the later past event.
日本語の感覚で、過去の出来事をどちらも過去形で言ってしまうことがよくあります。誤りは "When I arrived, the shop already closed." です。英語では先に起きた出来事に "had" を使って、"When I arrived, the shop had already closed." とします。前の出来事は過去完了、あとで起きた出来事は過去形です。