I had studied vs I studied

Both "I had studied" and "I studied" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "I studied" is used to talk about a past action that happened at a specific time in the past. On the other hand, "I had studied" is used to talk about a past action that was completed before another past action or time in the past.

Last updated: March 19, 2024 • 3728 views

I had studied

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate a past action that was completed before another past action or time in the past.

Use "I had studied" when you want to talk about a past action that was completed before another past action or time in the past. It is often used in past perfect tense constructions.

Examples:

By the time I arrived, I had studied for the exam for three hours.
She realized she had studied the wrong chapter after the test was over.
I had studied French before I moved to Paris.
He had studied the map before going on the hike.
They had studied the market trends before making the investment.

Show examples from the web [+]

But I put everything that I had studied and learned into those plans.
Seeing for real the things I had studied, or what was left of them.
Keeping with my interest in media, I had studied journalism and had continued to learn web programming on my own.
I had studied a couple of photographic manuals during the week, and found that, in practice, the mysteries of the camera demand a little more than ordinary intelligence, plus the ability to judge the subject upside-down.
We all agreed that I should go live in Germany. I had studied German for two years in college which ought to be enough preparation for moving to a strange land and understanding the natives.
So as a journeyman, I put an ad into the paper that I had studied, that I was a down-to-earth potter's journeyman and I was looking for a job as a journeyman.
I started talking because I had studied environment. I'd studied environment at this formal level,
Instead of living in the world of academics, "as provincial superior I could take the many theories that I had studied and transform them into action. I could make the theories real."
I wish I had studied harder when I was young.
Since I had studied at the French school in Teheran,
I also had a bit of an advantage in my self-recovery because I had studied depression in relation to neuroscience.
I had studied abroad in Russia before and I want to work as a Japanese Teacher there in the future.
When I had studied, I had to go to work in the field.
CLÁUDIO HUMMES: When I arrived in Rome for the first time in 1959 the Holy City made a huge impression on me: everything I had studied, imagined, I found there before my eyes.
The convention centre was linked by Dial-up over ISDN network and I had studied metropolitan networks DQDB (IEEE 802.6) and was extremely interested in developments of ISDN Broadband (ATM-based transport).
HR: I was lucky to study with Mohamed Abla. If I had studied at the academy I would have had to struggle for a long time overcome these experiences again.
I had studied this huge dossier for only one year, and I had not yet reached that branch. There were enough people interested in the Dutroux case, for us to have a reason of worrying about it.
The next day when I came to class I broke into a smile because I saw on the blackboard that the test was on the very topic I had studied and learned.
If I had studied so much work in the Silicon Valley, now!
My husband and I had studied and worked overseas (Canada and Singapore) for about 10 years. We had lived in foreigners' families when we were young students and understand how to adapt to cultural differences.

Alternatives:

I had been studying
I had already studied
I had completed my studies
I had finished studying
I had reviewed

I studied

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to talk about a past action that happened at a specific time in the past.

Use "I studied" when you want to talk about a past action that happened at a specific time in the past. It is often used in simple past tense constructions.