EXERCISE I.

Read this selection about talk-show host

and actress Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey began

speaking publicly in
church at the age of two.
By the time she was
twelve, she had already
decided what she wanted
to do for a living. She
wanted to be “paid to
talk.” In fact, it wasn’t
too long afterward that
she got her first radio
job. Although she hadn’t
had any previous
experience, she was
hired to report the news.

When Winfrey got her

own TV talk show in
1986, she had already
been a TV news reporter
and had made her acting
debut in a major
Hollywood movie, The
Color Purple. Oprah’s
warm personality made
her TV guests
comfortable, and her
human-interest stories
on topics such as child
abuse –Oprah, herself,
had been a victim –
touched the hearts of her
viewing audience. “The
Oprah Winfrey Show”
quickly became one of
the most popular shows
in the United States, and
by the late 1980s “Oprah
Winfrey” had become a
household word. When
asked about her future,
Winfrey says, “…it’s so
bright it burns my eyes.”

EXERCISE II. Read each numbered sentence. Then

choose the letter of the sentences whose meaning is
similar.
1. When I got home, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”
started.
a. First I got home. Then the Oprah show started.
b. First the Oprah show started. Then I got home.
2. When I got home, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” had
started.
a. First I got home. Then the Oprah show started.
b. First the Oprah show started. Then I got home.
3. By the time Oprah’s guest turned twenty, he had
appeared in ten movies.
a. First he turned twenty. Then he appeared in ten
movies.
b. He appeared in ten movies. Then he turned twenty.
4. He had saved $100,000 by the time he made his
third movie.
a. First he made his third movie. Then he saved
$100,000.
b. First he saved $100,000. Then he made his third
movie.
5. He had already lost 100 pounds when Oprah
interviewed him.
a. First he lost 100 pounds. Then Oprah interviewed
him.
b. First Oprah interviewed him. Then he lost 100
pounds.
6. Oprah had him on her show because he had written
a book.
a. First he wrote a book. Then Oprah had him on her
show.
b. First he was on Oprah’s show. Then he wrote a
book.
7. By the end of the show, I had fallen asleep.
a. First the show ended. Then I fell asleep.
b. First I fell asleep. Then the show ended.
8. When I went to bed, I had turned off the TV.
a. First I went to bed. Then I turned off the TV.
b. First I turned off the TV. Then I went to bed.
EXERCISE III. Look at some important events in Oprah
Winfrey’s life. Then complete the sentences below.
Use the past perfect with already or not yet.
 1954: was born
1957: gave first speech.
1968: entered high school.
1971: got first radio job.
1972: began Tennessee State University.
1973: got first TV job.
1983: hosted talk show.
1985: was in her first major movie.
1986: got own show. “The Oprah Winfrey
Show”

1. By 1958 Oprah had already given her first speech.

2. By 1967 she had not yet entered high school.
3. By 1971 she had not yet gotten her first TV job.
4. By 1971 she had already gotten her first radio job.
5. By 1972 she had not yet been in a major movie.
6. By 1973 she had already started classes at the
university.
7. By 1985 she had not yet gotten her own TV show,
“The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
8. By 1986 she had already been in a major movie.
EXERCISE IV. Complete this psychologist’s description
of a patient who had appeared as a guest on “The
Oprah Winfrey Show.” Use the past perfect form of
the verbs in the box.
arrest become bring have hurt leave lose
recommend see

I had seen1 a hundred like him before. He sat on the

coach and stared out the window. He was only
sixteen. His mother sat next to him. She had
brought2 him to see me. She had lost3 control of her
son. Ever since his father had left4 them four years
before, she had had5 trouble with her son. He had
become6 more and more angry and depressed.
Recently he had hurt7 someone in a school fight. The
police had arrested8 him and had recommeded9
psychological counseling. The mother was afraid
that he was going to run away from home.

EXERCISE V. A talk-show host is interviewing a

teenager. Complete the interview. Determine the
correct order of the sentences in parentheses and use
the past perfect to express the event that occurred
first.
Host: When did you decide to run away from home?
Guest: (I made up my mind to leave home. / I was
ten.)
I had made up my mind to leave home by the time I
was ten.
Host: Why did you feel that you had to leave home?
Guest: (My father beat me for the third time. / I was
afraid to stay there.)
After my father had beaten me for the third time, I
was afraid to stay there.
Host: I see. Where did you go?
Guest: To Miami.
(I arranged to stay with a friend in Miami. / I left
home.)
Before I left home, I had already arranged to stay with
a friend in Miami.
Host: But what about money? I mean, you were just
ten!
Guest: Well, my parents gave me a small allowance –
about twenty dollars a month.
(I paid for my ticket. / I saved enough money from my
allowance.)
As soon as I had saved enough money from my
allowance, I paid for my ticket.
Host: So what happened when you arrived in Miami?
Guest: (I got to Miami. / I already spent all my
money.)
By the time I got to Miami, I had already spent all my
money.
(I hardly ate on the trip. / I had very little money.)
I had hardly eaten on the trip because I had very little
money.
Host: That’s terrible. I want to hear more about that,
but first we have to pause for these words.

EXERCISE VI. Look at this schedule for a TV news

reporter.
 10:00: arrive at studio
Noon: see assignment editor
1:00: film main story for evening news
3:00: write story for evening news
5:30: makeup and hair
6:00: report news
7:00: meet with producer
9:00: dinner with Ella

Complete the questions about the reporter’s

schedule. Use the past perfect and give short
answers.
1. At 11:00 the reporter was at his desk.
a. Had he seen the assignment editor yet?
b. No, he hadn’t.
2. At 1:00 he was filming the main story for the
evening news.
a. Had he seen the assignment editor by that time?
b. Yes, he had.
3. At 4:00 he took a coffee break.
a. _Had he filmed the story for the evening news yet?
b. _Yes, he had_.
4. At 6:00 he reported the news.
a. _had he _met with_ the producer yet?
b. _No, he had_.
5. He met with the producer at 7:00.
a. _had he written_ the evening news by then?
b. __Yes, he had_.
6. He got home at 8:00.
a. _had he had dinner yet?
b. _No, he hadn’t__.