The past perfect
Bei mehreren Ereignissen in der Vergangenheit drückt man mit dem past perfect (Vorvergangenheit) aus, welches weiter zurücklag. Highlight 4 Unit 5; Cornelsen Verlag, Berlin, 1997 (2004), Seite 95
After Jenny had finished her homework, she went to bed.
After I had washed up, I put the things in the cupboard.
Nachdem ich abgespült hatte, stellte ich die Sachen in den Schrank.
We had closed all the windows before we left the house.
Wir hatten alle Fenster geschlossen, bevor wir das Haus verließen.
Before the students went to London, they had read a lot about the city.
Bevor die Schüler London besuchten, hatten sie viel über die Stadt gelesen.
Das past perfect wird gebildet mit had und dem Partizip Perfekt des Verbs.
Das Partizip Perfekt ist die dritte Form des Verbs: go - went - gone
When mum came home, we had cooked lunch.
When dad came home, we had eaten lunch.
Events before a particular time in the past: the past perfect If you want to talk about a past event or situation that occurred before a particular time in the past, you use the past perfect. Collins Cobuild English Grammar; Harper Collins Publishers, Glasgow, 1990 (2004), page 252