Worksheet 3 - Past Perfect

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8º ano ____ Inglês - Mariana Silva Data / /

Past Perfect

Section A – Analysis

1. Consider the following sentences, taken from chapter 5 of the book The Outsiders:

"Then for the first time since Dally and I had sat down behind those girls at the Nightly Double, I
relaxed. We could take whatever was coming now."

A) Which action happened first?

Feeling relaxed / Sitting down behind the girls

"I was glad I had had to run away with him instead of with Two-Bit or Steve or Dally. That would be
one thing they'd never think of - soap."

B) Which action happened first?

Having to run away/ Feeling glad

"I half convinced myself that I had dreamed everything that had happened the night before. "

C) Which action happened first?

Dreaming about what happened/ Convincing myself

2. We can then say that we use the had/ hadn't + verb (past participle) when …

A) We are talking about the past and want to mention something that happened at the same time.
B) We are talking about a past action that happened to a near future.
C) We are talking about a past action that is still in progress up to the present.
D) We are talking about the past and want to mention an earlier past action.

3. In which of these two examples can we find past perfect?

A) I'd never been on a date with such pretty girls like that.
B) I'd never think Cherry would go out with Greasers like me.

Section B – Practice

1. Match the sentences halves:

I couldn't get into my flat because … ( C )

1) When our friends arrived... ( )
2) I took the jacket back because... ( )
3) Jill didn't come with us because... ( )
4) I turned on the TV news … ( )

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5) Johnny was nervous because... ( )
6) When I got to the supermarket checkout... ( )

a. she'd made other plans.

b. I realized that I'd left my wallet at home.
c. I'd lost my keys.
d. I had bought the wrong size.
e. it was the first time he had flown.
f. to see what happened.
g. we hadn't finished cooking dinner.

2. Put these plots events in the order they happened in The Outsiders:

Example: ( 2 ) Cherry sat with the Greasers for a movie.

( 1 ) Cherry had a fight with her Soc boyfriend.

A) ( ) Johnny killed the Soc.

( ) Johnny was jumped by a group of Socs when he was alone.

B) ( ) Dally spent some time in jail.

( ) Dally came back to Tulsa.

C)( ) Darry had to take care of his two younger brothers.

( ) Ponyboy's parents died.

3. According to the order in the previous exercise, explain how the events are connected using
past perfect:

Example: Cherry had already had a fight with her boyfriend when she sat with the Greasers for a
movie.

A)

B)

C)

4. Put each verb given in Past Simple or Past Perfect Simple. There is one example:

The police suspected that Brian a) had broken (break) the window at his house because he b) …..................
(want) to make them think that a burglar c) ….................. (steal) his valuable fidget-spinner collection. They d)
….................. (think) that Brian e) ….................. (do) this because he f) ….................. (need) the money.
However, they g) ….................. (not know) that Brian h) ….................. (fly) to Salvador the week before, and i)
….................. (be) abroad when the burglar j) ….................. (take place).

5. Read the beginning of the sentences below and complete them with your own ideas (using
the Past perfect tense).
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A) When my mom got home last week, ____________________________________________
B) When I finally got my new cell phone, ____________________________________________
C) By the time the police found out the identity of the thief, he _________________________
D) When my friend came to visit us last year, _________________________________________
E) When she got to the airport, she realised __________________________________________

Adapted from:

 English File Student's book. Christina Latham-Koenig and Clive Oxenden. Oxford Press, 2018.
 Intermediate Language Practice. Michal Vince. Macmillan Heinmann, 2014.
 https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/past-perfect