he went to the zoo vs he had gone to the zoo

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "He went to the zoo" uses the simple past tense to refer to a completed action in the past. "He had gone to the zoo" indicates that going to the zoo happened before another past event.

Explained by Camille
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: December 01, 2024 • 10146 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used to talk about a completed action in the past.

"he went to the zoo"

This phrase is used to describe a past action that has already been completed. It is simple past tense.

Examples:

He went to the zoo yesterday.
She went to the zoo with her friends.
They went to the zoo to see the new exhibit.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 19, 2024

Nov 21, 2023 ... This was a "moment" - and Jerry tells Peter he went to the zoo to figure out how humans and animals can get along together. Jerry's rant ...
Oct 9, 2017 ... After a moment, Peter is interrupted by Jerry (played by Sam Weinberg '20), who shouts that he “went to the zoo!” There is an immediately ...
He went to the zoo, the pool, parks, the sensory gym and worked on a bunch of independence skills with my babysitter at home. I had found her for him. And ...
May 25, 2023 ... And, at 2 he may or may not remember that one day he went to the zoo, but he'll have fun and see new things and learn from the experience ...
Nov 20, 2013 ... He went to the zoo in Amsterdam while I went to the Anne Frank House. The animals at the Berlin Zoo really were fun to watch though! Have ...
Oct 18, 2023 ... Gary was a collector, he loved nut crackers, M&M figures and monkeys, that was his favorite animal when he went to the zoo. He loved to ...
Jan 29, 2021 ... He went to the zoo, which he enjoyed. There were a lot of fun activities, which he also enjoyed.
Apr 14, 2017 ... When he went to the zoo: Ron: I came here for the same reason people go to the zoo. Shhh, look at that thing. Nature is amazing.
Apr 5, 2024 ... When Billy was six years old, he went to the zoo and fell down. He hates that place now. 1. See answer.
Jul 12, 1981 ... He went to the zoo a few days after he spoke his first word. We were in the elephant house. The elephant lumbered by. ''Big dog, very big ...

Alternatives:

He visited the zoo.
He traveled to the zoo.
He took a trip to the zoo.
He went to the zoo last week.
He went to the zoo on Saturday.

This phrase is correct and is used to indicate that the action of going to the zoo happened before another past event.

"he had gone to the zoo"

This phrase is used in past perfect tense to show that the action of going to the zoo was completed before another past event.

Examples:

He had gone to the zoo before the storm hit.
By the time they arrived, he had already gone to the zoo.
She realized he had gone to the zoo without her.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 19, 2024

Mar 24, 2021 ... He told me that he had gone to the zoo to check on things with Gretchen and found all of the meat that she was supposed to be feeding to the ...
May 22, 2023 ... Moore: I remember he had gone to the zoo on an off day before a game in Columbus with some teammates and got clawed by a bobcat or something.
Mar 29, 2011 ... I realised it was my sister's handbag. I text the father asking to clarify who he had gone to the zoo with and I also text my sister asking ...
Feb 26, 2016 ... It was the first time in Ford's life he had gone to the zoo, Jarrell said, and he was in awe. “There are little things we take for granted ...
Feb 26, 2016 ... It was the first time in Ford's life he had gone to the zoo, Jarrell said, and he was in awe. “There are little things we take for granted ...
Dries Langeveld told me this. He had gone to the zoo in Amsterdam, because they have one there. Its color cannot change, but it is very indefinable. For one ...
Oct 1, 2010 ... Interspecies love. He told me, by the way, that he had gone to the zoo - this is honestly true, you can't make this up ...
Zack said (that) he had gone to the zoo the previous week. 7. “I was at home at 9 o' clock yesterday”, Pat said to her friend. Pat said to her friend (that) ...
Jun 6, 2017 ... A more apt analogy is that he had gone to the zoo to tap on the glass in the reptile house, or to throw twigs at some tired crocodiles in a ...

Alternatives:

He had visited the zoo.
He had traveled to the zoo.
He had taken a trip to the zoo.
He had gone to the zoo last week.
He had gone to the zoo on Saturday.

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he went to the zoo vs he had gone to the zoo

"he went to the zoo"

"he had gone to the zoo"

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