The verb to choose · Conjugation
Past Perfect of choose
The answer: had chosen
B2
A past action that happened before another past action.
Quick answer
The Past Perfect of the verb to choose is had chosen.
Example: She had already chosen a book when I arrived.
Full conjugation in the Past Perfect
| Pronoun | Form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | had chosen | I'd chosen |
| You | had chosen | You'd chosen |
| He / She / It | had chosen | He'd / She'd / It'd chosen |
| We | had chosen | We'd chosen |
| You (pl.) | had chosen | You'd chosen |
| They | had chosen | They'd chosen |
Common mistakes to avoid
1. I had chose ❌
After had, use the past participle, not the Past Simple: I had chosen. The Past Simple of choose is chose, and the past participle is chosen.
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 choose: chose for one action, had chosen 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 chosen = I had chosen. 'd + base form = would: I'd choose = I would choose.
Practice quiz
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Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate choose in the Past Perfect?+
Use had + the past participle chosen. The form is the same for every person: I had chosen, she had chosen, they had chosen. The short form is 'd: I'd chosen.
When do you use the Past Perfect of choose?+
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 choose?+
The past participle of choose is chosen. You use it after have, has and had. It is different from the Past Simple. Learn the three forms together: choose, chose, chosen.
What is the difference between had chosen and have chosen?+
Have chosen (Present Perfect) connects the past to now. Had chosen (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 choose in the Past Perfect?+
Negative: I hadn't chosen (had not). Question: put had before the subject: Had you chosen…? The past participle does not change.
Related pages: choose 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/choose/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.
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More forms of the verb to choose are coming soon.