had

/hæd/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Used to form the past perfect tense, expressing an action that took place prior to a reference point that is itself in the past.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Dùng để tạo thì hoàn thành quá khứ, thể hiện hành động xảy ra trước một điểm tham chiếu trong quá khứ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Verb

Examples

I felt sure that I had seen him before.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “had” mean?

Used to form the past perfect tense, expressing an action that took place prior to a reference point that is itself in the past.

Is “had” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.