"he took holiday" vs "he had taken holiday"

Question

"he took holiday" vs "he had taken holiday"

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'He had taken holiday' is used when referring to a past action that was completed before another past event. 'He took holiday' is used to simply state that he took a holiday at some point in the past.

Last Updated: March 27, 2024

This phrase is used to state that someone took a holiday at some point in the past without specifying when exactly it happened.

Examples:

He took holiday last month.
She took holiday during the summer.
They took holiday after the project was completed.
He took holiday to spend time with his family.
She took holiday to travel around Europe.

Alternatives:

he took a holiday
he went on holiday
he went on vacation
he took time off
he took a break

This phrase is used to indicate that someone took a holiday before a specific point in the past. It is often used in the context of narrating past events.

Examples:

He had taken holiday before the company announced the new policy.
By the time he returned, he had taken holiday for two weeks.
She had taken holiday when the project started.
They had taken holiday before the pandemic hit.
Before the accident, he had taken holiday to relax.

Alternatives:

he had taken a holiday
he had taken time off
he had gone on holiday
he had gone on vacation
he had taken a break

Answer 1

he took holiday

This phrase is correct and commonly used to indicate a simple past action of taking a holiday.

Answer 2

he had taken holiday

This phrase is correct and commonly used when referring to a past action that was completed before another past event.

"he took holiday" vs "he had taken holiday"

he took holiday

he had taken holiday

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