What Had Already Happened
Past Perfect
The past perfect expresses an action that had finished before another action took place in the past. The past perfect is often used to provide reasons for making a decision in the past.
Example:
Had you archived the files to a the long-term storage medium before you emailed them to Tom?
Had you asked him how many pixels he'd need before you submitted the artwork?
She hadn't had time to ping iTunes before a listener downloaded the podcast.
Positive Form:
Subject + had + past participle + (object(s))
I had already set up anti-phishing protocol before the conman called.
Negative Form:
Subject + had + not + past participle + (object(s))
She hadn't had time to ping iTunes before a listener downloaded the podcast.
Question Form:
(Question Word) + have + subject + past participle?
Had you archived the files to a the long-term storage medium before you emailed them to Tom?