Past perfect or past simple: When I had breakfast I went to school.

[Penuel]

Hi everybody!
Please help me with the following senteces if they're correct:
1. When I had breakfast I went to school.
2. When she spent all her money she went home.
3. When the children had dinner they went for a walk.

Thanks!

[Kanjikook]

1. When I had had breakfast I went to school.
2. When she had spent all her money she went home.
3. When the children had had dinner they went for a walk.

[Daemon99]

[Kanjikook]

Yes, they would, but one of the 'had' s would be contracted to sound more like "When the children h'd had dinner..." - the two 'had' s are there, but the first would be hard to hear as a separate word.

The contraction applies with the other examples also, (When she'd spent..., When I'd had breakfast...)

[Penuel]

IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:
• When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
• She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.
When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.
Example:
• I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

Refer to EnglishPage.com