The verb to beat · Conjugation
Past Perfect of beat
The answer: had beaten
B2
A past action that happened before another past action.
Quick answer
The Past Perfect of the verb to beat is had beaten.
Example: She had already beaten the other team when I arrived.
Full conjugation in the Past Perfect
| Pronoun | Form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | had beaten | I'd beaten |
| You | had beaten | You'd beaten |
| He / She / It | had beaten | He'd / She'd / It'd beaten |
| We | had beaten | We'd beaten |
| You (pl.) | had beaten | You'd beaten |
| They | had beaten | They'd beaten |
Common mistakes to avoid
1. I had beat ❌
After had, use the past participle, not the Past Simple: I had beaten. The Past Simple of beat is beat, and the past participle is beaten.
2. Yesterday I had gone to the cinema ❌
Use the Past Perfect only for the earlier of two past actions. For one past action, the Past Simple is enough: Yesterday I went to the cinema. With beat: beat for one action, had beaten for the action that came first.
3. 'd + past participle = had
'd can mean had or would. Look at the next word. 'd + past participle = had: I'd beaten = I had beaten. 'd + base form = would: I'd beat = I would beat.
Practice quiz
What's next?
Master the Past Perfect of beat when you speak, not just on paper
The conjugation is clear in your head. On PLAY, you practise it in a game, with instant feedback, until it comes out on its own.
Practise the Past Perfect of beat on PLAYFree · No sign-up · 3 minutes
For teachersYour whole class practises the Past Perfect of beat, and you follow each student
The Academy has self-marking activities on this form, with a dashboard for each student: you see at a glance who is falling behind.
Discover the Academy30-day free trial · No bank card needed
English contestThe English contest tests the Past Perfect of beat in real sentences
Instead of a single school exercise, your students meet this tense in context, in a contest that really motivates them.
Register my students5,000 students every year · Primary and secondary
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate beat in the Past Perfect?+
Use had + the past participle beaten. The form is the same for every person: I had beaten, she had beaten, they had beaten. The short form is 'd: I'd beaten.
When do you use the Past Perfect of beat?+
Use it for an action that happened before another action in the past. It shows which action came first: When we arrived, the film had already started. The film started first, and then we arrived. Signal words: before, after, already, by the time.
What is the past participle of beat?+
The past participle of beat is beaten. You use it after have, has and had. It is different from the Past Simple. Learn the three forms together: beat, beat, beaten.
What is the difference between had beaten and have beaten?+
Have beaten (Present Perfect) connects the past to now. Had beaten (Past Perfect) connects an earlier past to a later past. Compare: I have finished my homework (so I can play now) and I had finished my homework before dinner.
How do you make the negative and the question of beat in the Past Perfect?+
Negative: I hadn't beaten (had not). Question: put had before the subject: Had you beaten…? The past participle does not change.
Related pages: beat Past Perfect
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/beat/past-perfect
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.
Keep learning
More forms of the verb to beat are coming soon.