Past Simple vs Past Perfect

EXERCISES:
A) Choose the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Perfect).
1. The removal van had arrived/ arrived before they finished/ had finished packing.
2. Before they had moved/ moved to this town, they had lived/ lived in Chicago.
3. After the kids had eaten/ ate their lunch, they had taken/ took a little nap.
4. Soon after sunrise we had cycled/ cycled to an observation point that I had never heard/
never heard of before.
5. By the time I had come/ came home, my mother had already prepared/ already prepared
dinner.
6. After Monica had finished/ finished her homework, she had gone out/ went out to play with her
friends.
7. By the time we had got/ got to the cinema the film had started/ started so we missed the first
five minutes.
8. When I rang the bell there was no answer. The neighbour had told/ told me that they had gone
out/ went out about half an hour ago.
9. I had seen/ saw Casablanca for the first time last night. I hadn’t seen/ saw it before.
10. I had spent/ spent a week in Miami recently. I hadn’t been/ wasn’t there before.

B) Complete the sentences with the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Perfect).
1. The wind _____________ (blow) away the leaves that we __________________ (collect).
2. She ________________ (throw) away the letter that she __________________ (write).
3. They _____________ (show) me the pictures, they ____________ (take) during their holidays.
4. In the evening, the children _________________ (tell) their daddy what they
_____________________ (see) at the zoo.
5. The boy ________________ (be) sorry for what he ______________________ (do).
6. Jenny _____________ (come) home, ____________ (sit) down and ___________ (switch) on
the telly.
7. Before that day in winter, the African boy ____________________ (never see) snow in his life.
8. We ___________ (go) to London because the Queen ___________________ (invite) us for
tea.
9. He ______________ (hear) the news, ______________ (go) the telephone and
_________________ (call) a friend.
10. Jane __________________ (already / type) ten pages when her computer
_________________ (break down).
11. By the time he ______________ (arrive) at the pub, they ________________ (run) out of
beer.
12. Before that day we _________________________ (never / think) of going to Japan.

C) Join the two sentences to make one sentence. Then, match each one with a photo.
1. He recorded 37 top 20 albums. He died in 1977.
When he died in 1977, he had recorded 37 top 20 albums.
2. She acted in Spain for many years. Then she moved to Hollywood.
Before __________________________________________________________________________.
3. They were together for eleven years. Then the group decided to split up.
When ___________________________________________________________________________.
4. He performed his first role as Luke in Growing Pains. Then, he went on to make movies such as
Titanic and Gangs of New York.
After ___________________________________________________________________________.

5. She began as a soap opera star. In recent years, she became a pop icon.
When __________________________________________________________________________.
6. He sang in Take That for six years. Then he decided to become a solo artist.
By the time ______________________________________________________________________.

D) Look at the cues and write sentences using PAST SIMPLE and PAST PERFECT and the
conjunction given:

Alfred (spend) his holiday in Italy / he (want) to learn Italian – After

_________________________________________________________________________________________
Jill (phone) Dad at work / she (leave) for her trip – Before
_________________________________________________________________________________________
she (arrive) / the match (already / start) – When
_________________________________________________________________________________________
I (be) very tired / I (study) too much – Because
_________________________________________________________________________________________
he (be) 25 / he (travel) to ten foreign countries – By the time
_________________________________________________________________________________________

E) Read this article about talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey and fill in the blanks with
either the simple past or the past perfect tense.

Oprah Winfrey _________________ (begin) speaking publicly in church at the age of

two. By the time she _________________ (be) twelve years old, she
_________________ (already decide) what to do for a living. She
_________________ (want) to be "paid to talk". In fact, not too long afterward, she
_______________ (get) her first radio job. Although she _________________ (not
have) any previous experience, she _________________ (be) hired to report the
news.
When Winfrey _________________ (get) her own TV talk show in 1986, she _________________
(already be) a TV news reporter and _________________ (make) her acting debut in a major
Hollywood movie "The Color Purple". Oprah's warm personality _________________ (make) her TV
guests comfortable. Her human-interest stories on topics such as child abuse ___________ (touch)
the hearts of her viewing audience. In fact, Oprah, herself __________ (be) a victim. "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" quickly __________ ( become) one to the most popular shows in the United States,
and by the late 1980's "Oprah Winfrey" ____________ (become) a household word. When asked
about her future, Winfrey says, "...it's so bright it burns my eyes."

F) Fill in past simple or past perfect simple.

1. After they _______________ (see) the Tower, they _________________ (go) to

Westminster Abbey.
2. He ________________ (ask) me which animals I _______________ (see) in Africa.
3. After Columbus _______________ (discover) America, he _______________
(return) to Spain.
4. Before they ___________________ (move) to Liverpool, they _________________
(sell) everything.
5. After he _________________ (work) very hard, he ___________________ (fall) ill.
6. She ____________________ (open) the box after she ________________ (find) the
key.
7. They ___________________ (go) to a restaurant after they ___________________
(sail).
8. Before they __________________ (start) the party, they __________________
(invite) some friends.
9. After she ____________________ (wash) the curtains, she __________________
(clean) the windows.
10. They ___________________ (go) for a sightseeing tour after the bus
__________________ (arrive).
11. Before he ________________ (mow) the lawn, he __________________ (pick)
some roses.
12. After he _________________ (finish) school, he _________________ (work) for a
magazine.
13. They _____________________ (drink) a cup of tea after they ________________
(finish) lunch.
14. He ____________________ (ask) me for her telephone number before he
_________________ (phone) her.
15. My sister ___________________ (eat) all the chocolate before my parents
______________________ (come) home.

G) Look at the cues and write sentences using PAST SIMPLE and PAST PERFECT and the
conjunction given:

1. Tim (GO) to bed early last night / he (NOT SLEEP) well the night before. BECAUSE

___________________________________________________________________________

2. I (ARRIVE) / Jack (ALREADY GO) home. WHEN

___________________________________________________________________________

3. We (HAVE) dinner / I (SERVE) the dessert. AFTER

__________________________________________________________________________

4. I (PASS) the exam / I (STUDY) very hard. SO

__________________________________________________________________________
H) Fill in the blanks with Simple Past or Past Perfect Tenses.

a) When I (1) _____________ (arrive) home last night, I (2) ______________

(discover) that Jane (3) _________________ (prepare) a beautiful candlelight
dinner.

b) When I (4) _______________ (turn) the radio on yesterday, I

(5)_________________ (hear) a song that was popular when I was in high
school. I (6) __________________ (not hear) the song for years, and it
(7)___________________ (bring) back some great memories.

c) Last week, I (8) __________________ (run into) an old friend of mine. We

(9)___________________ (not see) each other for years and both of us
(10)__________________ (change) a great deal.

d) When Emilio (11) ___________________ (enter) the room, I (12)

____________________ (not recognize) him because he (13) _______________
(lose) so much weight and (14) ____________________ (grow) a beard. He (15)
__________________ (look) totally different.