| Form | había / habías / había / habíamos / habían + past participle | Ya habíamos cenado. | We had already had dinner. |
| Form | vosotros: habíais + past participle | ¿Habíais estado antes en Madrid? | Had you been to Madrid before? |
| Form | the participles of the present perfect: hecho, dicho, roto | ¿Quién había roto la ventana? | Who had broken the window? |
| Use | an action before another past action | Cuando llegué, el tren ya había salido. | When I arrived, the train had already left. |
| Use | experience up to a past moment, with nunca | Nunca había comido ceviche antes. | I had never eaten ceviche before. |
| Use | the cause of a past situation | Estaba cansada porque había trabajado mucho. | She was tired because she had worked a lot. |
| Use | what someone said about an earlier action | Me dijo que había perdido el tren. | She told me she had missed the train. |
| Trap | pronouns and no go before había | Ya lo había leído. | I had already read it. |