Present Perfect or Past Perfect?

 

How do you choose between the Present Perfect and Past Perfect?

 

The Present Perfect is used to talk about an action that took place in the recent past and is still relevant to the present moment.

• The bus has left and we have to wait for another one.

 

The Past Perfect is used to talk about an action that took place before another moment in the past.

• The bus had left before we arrived to the station.

 

Consider the following examples:

 

Present Perfect	Past Perfect
I am so excited. I have just passed my exam.	I was so excited. I had passed my exam.
We’ve finished the game and now we have dinner.	We’d finished the game when mom called us for dinner.
His team has won and he’s very happy.	His team had won, so he went to the bar to celebrate their victory.