Ich wusste nicht, dass er nach Deutschland gereist war.
I didn’t know that he had travelled to Germany.Nachdem die Eltern nach Hause gegangenwaren, feierten die
jungen Leute weiter.
After their parents had gone home, the youngsters continued
to party.For more information on verbs taking sein, see Unit 11.The past perfect in main and subordinate clauses
Main clauses
In main clauses, the simple past of habenorseinis the second element
and the past participle is placed at the end:Wir hattenuns seit der Schulzeit nicht mehr gesehen.
We hadn’t seen each other since we left school.Subordinate clauses
Insubordinate clauses, the relevant form of habenorseinmoves to the
end of the clause, preceded by thepast participle:Ich öffnete die Tür, nachdem ich den Schlüssel gefunden hatte.
I opened the door after I had found the key.Ich machte ihm Kaffee, nachdem er angekommen war.
I made him coffee after he had arrived.Note that subordinate clauses in the past perfect tense are often intro-
duced by the conjunction nachdem‘after’.Usage with other past tenses
When the past perfect tense is used in a subordinate clause, the main
clause connected to it can either be in the present perfectorsimple past
tense:Present perfect Ich habe die Tür geöffnet, nachdem ich den Schlüssel
gefunden hatte.98 Unit 13: The past perfect tense