I Had Done It Before You Did (Past Perfect)

Grammar Point

Talking about the past is not usually as simple as describing one event. In some cases, you need to describe an event that had happened before another one took place. To be able to do that, you will need to use the past perfect tense effectively. This tense is for when talking about a past event before another past event happened.

Take the example: We had left the house when it rained. (two past events)

This means that first the event, "We had left the house", had taken place before another event, "it rained", happened.

Other examples:
I had prepared dinner when she invited me out. (First event: had prepared dinner)
They had finished the meeting when the fire alarm went off.
She had found another job before she tendered her resignation letter.

Vocabulary/Helpful Expressions

Get back to (somebody): used when you are not ready to give the information about something or when you are not ready to do something with somebody

Examples:
I will get back to you on your question.
She said she would get back to me on the matter.
My client will get back to me on our offer.

NEVER: Confuse this expression with "get back at". When used with the preposition "at", this means to take revenge.

Examples:
They will get back at us tomorrow after throwing them at lot of difficult questions during their presentation.
He will get back at me for not taking his side.
I never thing of getting back at anyone no matter what they have done to me.


Practice
I had already finished my presentation when he asked a question. As there was no longer any time left for a discussion, I told him that I would get back to him on that. I would put everything in an email. He still pushed for answers even after I had closed my computer. I think it was his way of getting back at me for not helping him with his project.



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