Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He admitted to the Committee that he had not been aware of many of the faults which the investigators had spaded up at Lockland, that "we weren't doing a job in some respects."
From Time Magazine Archive
I was spading up a place for a garden in front of The Dump, and I’m not lying, this was hard work, since no one had spaded up this ground since forever.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
When Sam came back I had spaded out at least two and a half shovelfuls of dirt, that I found surprisingly heavy, from the hole for the first lilac.
From Over Paradise Ridge A Romance by Maria Thompson Daviess
He had spaded but a minute when Mary saw him run past the window, leap the fence, and go hurrying down the path to the river.
From At the Foot of the Rainbow by Gene Stratton-Porter
By mid-afternoon I had spaded quite a sizable garden plot.
From Neighbours by Robert J. C. Stead
