past perfect tense · the past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. this...

Past Perfect Tense

Lesson 7 - Past Perfect Tense

John had gone out

when I came in the

office.

I had saved my

document before

the computer

crashed.

He was very

tired because

he hadn't

slept well.

Had you studied E

nglish before you

moved to New

York?

• I had met him before you introduced us. • I had owned this place for two years before I sold it. • Kristine had never been to an opera before last night. • Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?

More examples:

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The Past Perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This

tense talks about the "past in the past“.

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1. An action that happened before another action in the past:

• I lost so much weight because I had begun exercising. • He stayed up all night because he had received a lot of homework.

2. An action that happened before a specific time in the past:

• They had established their business before 2002. • We had gotten married before 1985. • Kate had never played the drums until last night.

We use the Past Perfect to talk about:

subject + auxiliary have + main verb

conjugated in present simple

had past participle


subject + auxiliary

verb + main verb + rest of the sentence

He/ She/ It

I /We / You/

They

had eaten lunch before 12 noon.

The auxiliary verb (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has

The main verb is invariable in past participle form: -ed (or irregular)

More examples:

• Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times. • She only understood the movie because she had read the book. • I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.

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1. I (study) ________ Japanese before.

2. She ________ (bake) a lot before she ________ (open) her shop.

3. We ________ (have) a lot of trouble because we ________(lose) our passports.

4. Brian ________ (know) many people at the club because he ________ (be) there

many times.

5. They ________ (study) English before they ________ (move) to Canada.

6. You ________ (enjoy) the movie because you ________(read) the book.

7. She really ________ (like) him because he _________ (help) her.

8. Amy ________ (study) a lot before she ________ (take) the test.

9. We ________ (get) into the restaurant only because we ________ (reserve) our

places.

10. I ________ (be) to India before 1986.

11. They ________ (have) a lot of trouble before they finally ________ (succeed).

12. Chris ________ (own) that car for 5 years before he ________ (sell) it.

13. Sharon ________ (be) very sick until she ________ (stop) eating junk food.

14. I ________ (be) in Greece for 7 months before I ________ (move) to Spain.

15. You ________ (cook) a lot, because you ________ (be) so hungry.

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verbs.

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When we use the Past Perfect in speaking, we often contract the subject and the

auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this in informal writing:

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I’d gone out before the fire started

He’d gone out before the fire started.

She’d gone out before the fire started.

1. (Sam / wash the car / after he fill it with gas)

2. (Frank/leave the table/after he finish eating)

3. (By the time / my wife / come home / I do the laundry)

4. (I/ go to work/ after I walk the dog)

5. (By the time/ she/get to school / the class / start already)

6. (we/ watch TV / after our daughter / go to bed)

7. (we / have that car / for ten years / before we sell it

8. (By the time/Maria /finish her report/ she be working on the computer for over 3 hours.

9. (She / visit Victoria / once in 1993 / before she / move there / in 1996)

10. (Ming/ work/ as a carpenter / before he be laid off.

Make positive past perfect sentences. Use contractions.


subject + auxiliary verb

(negative + main verb + rest of the sentence

He/ She/ It

I /We / You/ They had not eaten lunch before 12 noon.

For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

More examples:

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• We had not prepared at all before we took that test. • He had not studied Italian before he move to Italy

In negative sentences, we may contract the auxiliary verb and "not":

• I hadn’t gone out before the fire started • He hadn’t gone out before the fire started.

For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

auxiliary

verb + subject + main verb + rest of the sentence

Why Had He/ She/ It

I /We / You/ They gone out?

More examples:


Make negative past perfect sentences.

1. The man was hit by a red car. The driver (see) him.

2. I saw him because he (leave) for work.

3. The girl was afraid. She (fly) on a plane before.

4. Tamsin was happy to see John again. They (meet) for a long time.

5. He didn't get the job because he (send) all his papers.

6. The apartment was dirty. They (clean) it for a long time.

7. The dog was really hungry. Mary (feed) it since Monday.

8. She (iron) her blouse. She looked a mess.

9. The house didn't fall down. Luckily, the termites (eat)

all the floors as originally thought.

10.Derrick was very tired. He (sleep) at all.

11. The driver (stop) at the traffic lights, so the police car chased him.

12.The budgie flew away because Jim (close) the window.

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Make yes or no and WH questions using the words and phrases below.

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1. (you/go/there before we go together)

2. (she/see/ the film already)

3. (Why /he / forget / about the meeting)

4. (it/be/ cold all week)

5. (I/read/ the book before the class)

6. (When/ she arrive / we /eat / already)

7. (Where/you/be/when/I /see/you)

8. (they/travel/by bullet train before)

9. (John/meet/Lucy/before they work together)

10.(you/do/your homework/before I see you)

11.(Where/she/work)

12.(I/pay/the bill before we leave)

13.(we/visit/my parents already that winter)

14.(When you call/they/eat/dinner)

15.(How/he/manage to fix the cooker)


Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.

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1. She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in

with them in 1996.

2. We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.

3. By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over

eight years.

4. Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.

5. We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in

advance.

6. Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.

7. You had studied English before you moved to New York.

8. He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.

9. He told us that the train had left.

10.I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.


Past perfect or past tense?

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1. He (work) in a supermarket before he (work) as a postman.

2. She (feed) the dog as soon as she (do) her homework.

3. My sister (live) in England before she (move) to Belgium.

4. After he (eat) all the sandwiches, he (drink) some orange juice.

5. We (be) tired because we (work) all day.

6. As I (miss) the bus, I (walk) home again.

7. After they (install) the file, they (can) go on working.

8. He (just start) to watch TV when the mobile phone (ring).

9. Before she (go) to bed, she (listen) to her favorite CD.

10. After he (lose) all his money, he (be) poor as a church mouse.

11. She (have) a cup of coffee before she (write) the letter.

12. My sister (eat) all the jam before our parents (come) home.

13. Tom (be) very angry because Ann (shout) at him.

14. She (go) home again as soon as she (do) her shopping.

15. They (go) to a sightseeing tour after the bus (arrive).


subject Auxiliary

verb

Main

verb

Rest of

the

Sentenc

e

+ He/ She/ It

I /We / You/ They had

been to

Jakarta

- not

? Had

He/ She/

It

I /We /

You/ They Why

Look at these example sentences with the Past Perfect Tense:

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The End

past perfect tense · the past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. this...

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