Past Perfect

Positive Sentences

S + had + V3 +

I
You
We
They
John and Tom
My friends
He
She
It
John
My friend

had lived
had built
had bought

Negative Sentences

S + had not/hadnt +V3 +...

I
You
We
They
John and Tom
My friends
He
She
It
John
My friend

hadnt lived
hadnt built
hadnt bought

Questions/Interrogative Sentences

Had

in the USA before last year.

the house before 1995.
the car before 2009.

I
you
we
they
John and Tom
my friends
he
she
it
John
my friend

lived
built
bought

in the USA before last year.

the house before 1995.
the car before 2009.

Had + S + V3 +...?

in the USA before last year?

the house before 1995?
the car before 2009?

Look at this example:

I had bought a car before 2009.
had bought

2009

Past Perfect expresses an activity that happened before another time in the past.