The verb to deal · Conjugation
Past Perfect of deal
The answer: had dealt
B2
A past action that happened before another past action.
Quick answer
The Past Perfect of the verb to deal is had dealt.
Example: She had already dealt with the problem when I arrived.
Full conjugation in the Past Perfect
| Pronoun | Form | Contraction |
|---|---|---|
| I | had dealt | I'd dealt |
| You | had dealt | You'd dealt |
| He / She / It | had dealt | He'd / She'd / It'd dealt |
| We | had dealt | We'd dealt |
| You (pl.) | had dealt | You'd dealt |
| They | had dealt | They'd dealt |
Common mistakes to avoid
1. After had, always the past participle
With deal, the Past Simple and the past participle are the same (dealt), so I had dealt is easy. But many irregular verbs have two different forms: I had gone, not I had went; I had seen, not I had saw.
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 deal: dealt for one action, had dealt 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 dealt = I had dealt. 'd + base form = would: I'd deal = I would deal.
Practice quiz
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Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate deal in the Past Perfect?+
Use had + the past participle dealt. The form is the same for every person: I had dealt, she had dealt, they had dealt. The short form is 'd: I'd dealt.
When do you use the Past Perfect of deal?+
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 deal?+
The past participle of deal is dealt. You use it after have, has and had. It is the same as the Past Simple: dealt.
What is the difference between had dealt and have dealt?+
Have dealt (Present Perfect) connects the past to now. Had dealt (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 deal in the Past Perfect?+
Negative: I hadn't dealt (had not). Question: put had before the subject: Had you dealt…? The past participle does not change.
Related pages: deal 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/deal/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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