I had already bought it vs I have already bought it

Both phrases are fine/correct; however, they're used in different contexts. 'I had already bought it' is used when referring to a past action that happened before another past action. 'I have already bought it' is used when referring to a past action that has relevance to the present moment.

Explained by Miss E.
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: July 07, 2024 • 78842 views

I had already bought it

This phrase is correct when referring to a past action that occurred before another past action.

This phrase is used to indicate that the buying action was completed before another event in the past. It is often used in past perfect tense to show the sequence of events.

Examples:

I had already bought the tickets before you asked me to.
She had already bought the dress when the sale started.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: October 22, 2024

When I clicked to buy it, it said I had already bought it and gave me the option to re-download it for free. Hope this works! Show more Less. (1). Upvote if ...
Nov 6, 2021 ... Recently re-downloaded Steep for the PS4 and for some reason it says the Olympics DLC is gone? I had already bought it awhile back but it ...
Jan 27, 2019 ... I uninstalled pubg and I went to reinstall it and it says buy it for 30.00 but I had already bought it so I dont know what to do.
Feb 1, 2022 ... 12 votes, 19 comments. So I already know that you get a frog for this, but I already have one (I didn't know so I had already bought it by ...
Jun 4, 2021 ... Minecraft telling me i need to buy full version after i had already bought it for the second time now. I had bought mine craft on my pc once ...
Aug 31, 2020 ... I immediately became obsessed with it, and in fact posted a photo of it on instagram, joking that in my mind I had already bought it, renovated ...
Aug 5, 2022 ... I had already bought it once, forgotten it, bought it a second time, and forgotten both that I'd already bought it and also what must surely ...
Mar 30, 2011 ... Unfortunately, I had already bought it at that point. More unfortunately, he was right. On the positive side of things, the book confirmed ...
Aug 25, 2015 ... I had already bought it once, forgotten it, bought it a second time, and forgotten both that I'd already bought it and also what must surely ...
Jul 5, 2019 ... I use Splice but have never used it with pay to rent with Serum as I had already bought it. I have since opened Splice and everything seems ...

Alternatives:

I had bought it already
I had purchased it already
I had already made the purchase
I had already acquired it
I had already obtained it

I have already bought it

This phrase is correct when referring to a past action that has relevance to the present moment.

This phrase is used to indicate that the buying action was completed in the past and has relevance to the present moment. It is often used in present perfect tense to show a completed action.