The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "had" + the past participle of the main verb. The past perfect is used to describe the earlier of two past actions or states, and it is often used to provide context for the main verb in a sentence.
For example, consider the sentence "I had finished my homework before I watched TV." In this sentence, the action of finishing homework (had finished) was completed before the action of watching TV. The past perfect tense allows the speaker to indicate that the homework was finished before the TV watching, and that the two actions occurred at different times in the past.
Another example, "By the time the guests arrived, the cake had been baked." This sentence is describing that the action of baking the cake (had been baked) was completed before the action of guests arriving. The past perfect is used to indicate that the action of baking was completed before the guests arrived.
In some cases, the past perfect can also be used to describe an action that was continuing up until another past action occurred. For example, "I had been studying for three hours when my friend called." This sentence indicates that the action of studying (had been studying) was continuing up until the point at which the friend called.
It's important to note that the past perfect is used to describe events that occurred before a specific point in the past, not events that are still ongoing or that occurred simultaneously with another action.