He (be) an actor since he was a boy.Mark Twain(live) in

He had been an actor since he was a boy. (Past Perfect).

Mark Twain lived in the USA. (Past Indefinite).

We did not watch the news last night. (Past Indefinite).

I am hungry. I have not eaten anything since yesterday. (Present Perfect).

Mike will arrive tomorrow; I hope granny will come, too. (Future Indefinite).

When I left for school last Monday the sun was shining. (Past Indefinite, Past Continuous).

Past Perfect is formed with the the past form of the auxiliary verb to have had. 

Past Indefinite is formed with the help of the suffix -ed for regular verbs and for irregular verbs we use the second form.