Here are examples of past perfect simple affirmative:
Instead, the Ryans had decided to take a more old-fashioned route.
I must say I‘d hoped for better.
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 points 34 in the category of PAST are defined as:
past perfect simple: a time before another time in the past.
and B1 point 38 in the category of PAST is defined as:
past perfect simple affirmative
A search in iWeb for:
_NN _VHD _VVN
1 TIME HAD COME 3284
2 TIME HAD PASSED 1468
3 YEARS HAD PASSED 1385
4 FATHER HAD DIED 937
5 PEOPLE HAD DIED 917
6 CANCER HAD SPREAD 906
7 MOTHER HAD DIED 897
8 THINGS HAD CHANGED 792
9 WAR HAD ENDED 663
The American Civil War had ended a few years prior.
10 THINGS HAD GONE 656
11 FAMILY HAD MOVED 640
12 ANALYSTS HAD EXPECTED 584
13 PEOPLE HAD COME 577
14 SUN HAD SET 541
15 DAYS HAD PASSED 534
16 LORD HAD SAID 518
17 FATHER HAD GIVEN 502
18 MINUTES HAD PASSED 500
19 PEOPLE HAD GATHERED 494
20 MONTHS HAD PASSED 488
21 DUST HAD SETTLED 482
22 LIFE HAD BECOME 447
23 HUSBAND HAD DIED 434
24 CROWD HAD GATHERED 418
25 HOURS HAD PASSED 415
26 THING HAD HAPPENED 414
27 PEOPLE HAD SEEN 408
28 LORD HAD COMMANDED 406
29 WIFE HAD DIED 392
30 FAMILY HAD LIVED 381
31 SON HAD DIED 379
32 TEAM HAD WON 369
33 ECONOMISTS HAD EXPECTED 366
34 COURT HAD RULED 366
35 CANCER HAD RETURNED 362
36 LIFE HAD CHANGED 362
37 THINGS HAD HAPPENED 358
38 PEOPLE HAD SIGNED 354
39 YEAR HAD PASSED 353
40 PEOPLE HAD HEARD 352
41 WORLD HAD CHANGED 348
42 PEOPLE HAD MADE 346
43 FATHER HAD LEFT 344
44 WAR HAD BEGUN 336
45 TIME HAD ELAPSED 332
46 POPULATION HAD GROWN 320
47 NUMBER HAD GROWN 318
48 PEOPLE HAD TAKEN 318
49 COMPANY HAD MADE 316
50 SNOW HAD FALLEN 315
51 LORD HAD GIVEN 314
52 MOTHER HAD GIVEN 307
53 PARENTS HAD DIED 307
54 NUMBER HAD RISEN 306
55 PEOPLE HAD LOST 304
56 MOTHER HAD TOLD 299
57 NUMBER HAD INCREASED 296
58 FATHER HAD PASSED 294
59 RAIN HAD STOPPED 290
60 GOVERNMENT HAD MADE 288
61 PEOPLE HAD LEFT 286
62 STUDIES HAD SHOWN 286
63 MAN HAD GONE 285
64 MOTHER HAD LEFT 283
65 DOCTOR HAD TOLD 282
66 NUMBER HAD DROPPED 282
67 YEARS HAD ELAPSED 279
68 MAN HAD DIED 276
69 RESEARCH HAD SHOWN 274
70 PEOPLE HAD BECOME 268
71 THINGS HAD GOTTEN 268
72 FATHER HAD MADE 265
73 PEOPLE HAD GONE 264
74 HEART HAD STOPPED 263
75 FIGURE HAD RISEN 260
76 CHILDREN HAD DIED 259
77 FRIEND HAD TOLD 255
78 FATHER HAD TAKEN 254
79 GOVERNMENT HAD FAILED 253
80 FATHER HAD TOLD 253
81 PATIENTS HAD RECEIVED 251
82 BABY HAD DIED 250
83 TEAM HAD MADE 250
84 FAMILY HAD GONE 249
85 TRUMP HAD ASKED 249
86 SITUATION HAD BECOME 248
87 WORLD HAD SEEN 240
88 RAIN HAD FALLEN 239
89 SUN HAD RISEN 237
90 WEEKS HAD PASSED 236
91 COURT HAD HEARD 234
92 CHILD HAD DIED 234
93 PEOPLE HAD SAID 234
94 PEOPLE HAD TOLD 234
95 HOUR HAD PASSED 231
96 INCIDENT HAD OCCURRED 230
97 MOTHER HAD MADE 226
98 DAY HAD COME 225
99 BROTHER HAD DIED 225
100 PARTIES HAD AGREED 225
A2 vocabulary:
agreed, become, company, crowd, ended, failed, fallen, grown, happened, heart, lost, moved, passed, received, returned, set, team, war, won
When I had studied the eight parts of speech in that eighth grade class, we had spent a week on each.