Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
(also called the pluperfect) is the name some grammars give to the tense made up of the past tense of the auxiliary have and the past participle of a verb: I had gone to the store. They had slept badly. It describes an action completed sometime in the past. Compare PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. See also PLUPLUPERFECT TENSE.
