Thursday, September 01st

Past Perfect Simple

Use:

Completed action before something in the past.

now

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.

e.g.: John had written a letter when his mother arrived.

xamples:

She only understood the movie because she had read the book. 2. I had never seen such a beautiful sunset before I went to Hawaii.

Adverbs:

The Past Perfect Simple is often used with:

before after for since when just - already

Structure
AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES
SUBJECT + HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE + REST

E.g.:
Shed talked a lot in the classroom.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

SUBJECT + HAD + NOT + PAST PARTICIPLE + REST

E.g.:

She hadnt talked a lot in the classroom.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

HAD + SUBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE + REST + ?

E.g.:
Had she talked a lot in the classroom? Yes, She had. No, She hadnt.

Time to practice!
Karen __________________ (finish) making dinner by the time her husband came home. When I arrived at the store, it _______________ (close) already.

Past Perfect Continuous

Use

When something had been happening for a period of time before something else happened.

now

Examples

Ken gave up smoking two years ago. Hed been smoking for 30 years.
Our game was interrupted. Wed been playing for about half an hour when it started to rain.

The past perfect continuous is often used with:

just for - since

Structure
AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES
SUBJECT + HAD + BEEN + VERB-ING + REST

E.g.:
Shed been talking all day long.

NEGATIVE SENTENCES

SUBJECT + HAD + NOT + BEEN + VERB-ING+ REST

E.g.:

She hadnt been talking all day long.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

HAD + SUBJECT + BEEN + VERB-ING + REST + ?

E.g.:
Had she been talking all day long? Yes, She had. No, She hadnt.

Time to practice!
Karen __________________ (finish) her homework when the celphone rang. When I arrived at home, my brother ___________________ (leave) the house.