She'd published her first poem by the time she was eight. We use the past perfect simple ( had + past participle) to talk about time up to a certain point in the past. Grammar explanation Time up to a point in the past
My new job wasn't exactly what I’d expected. The hotel was full, so I was glad that we'd booked in advance. He couldn't make a sandwich because he'd forgotten to buy bread. Look at these examples to see how the past perfect is used.
