Simple past or perfect past? Did you eat anything before you went to the theater?

[Cisco795]

"Had you eaten anything before you went to the theatre?"
"Did you eat anything before you went to the theater?"

Which tense is to be used? and why?
Thanks in advance.
God bless and merry Christmas.
Cisco.
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[Hoda]

Did you eat anything before you went to the theater?
This is correct because to eat is an act that doing and it end

[Cisco795]

[Jamie (K)]

Either one is correct, depending on the context.

If the person is in the middle of telling a story that took place in the past (for example, when explaining something to the doctor or to the police), it would be most appropriate to ask, "Had you eaten anything before you went to the theatre?" but informally we might also say, "Did you eat anything before you went to the theater?"

If we have met someone at the theater -- so we are at theater now -- we would probably say, "Did you eat anything before you came to the theater?" We might say this before inviting someone to a restaurant or to our home to eat.

[Cisco795]

Awesome!

Thanks a lot Jamie (K).

God bless you.
Cisco.
_________________
Please, always correct me if I have made any kind of mistakes in my posts.