BILKENT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

MATERIALS DESCRIPTION FORM

LEVEL:INTERMEDIATE

THEME: Lost in Disneyland TITLE OF THE MATERIAL: Past Perfect Tense

Please tick the course package the material will be used in.

 UNLOCK 3 R&W  MAKING CONNECTIONS 2

UNLOCK 3 L&S PATHWAYS LISTENING & SPEAKING 2

SKILL: OBJECTIVE(S)
 Past Perfect Tense Students will have practiced

SOURCE(S): Notes to the teacher:

 https://www.englishcurrent.com/grammar/study-past-perfect-review-exercises/

 https://naurok.com.ua/test/reading-comprehension-a-lucky-escape-314160.html

PREPARED BY: Halime Kural

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 PAST PERFECT TENSE
1. Work in pairs and tell your partner about a moment that you will never forget.
You can talk about a time when you heard about or experienced an important
world event or something more personal in your own life.

2. Read the text below and answer the comprehension questions.

I will never forget the day I lost my family in
Disneyland. It had been a long flight, but the food
was good. When we finally got there, my three kids
and my husband had been exhausted but they were
so excited to visit Disneyland. They wanted to go
everywhere at once. The kids ran across Main
Street to say hello to Mickey Mouse. I thought my
husband had gone with them, so I didn’t worry
about them and stopped at a shop to buy a bottle of
water. Suddenly, I heard some loud music and
turned around to see what was happening. I saw a
music band, electric floats and many people in
costumes marching down the street. As soon as it
passed, I realized that my kids and my husband had disappeared. I started shouting
their names as loudly as I could, but no one showed up.
I knew I had to go to find my family. I tried to catch up with the parade as quickly as
possible. This wasn’t easy because the street was really crowded. I asked one of the
cartoon characters if there was a lost children’s office. By the time I got there, they had
already gone for lunch, so I could not ask for help. I was really disappointed. After
several minutes, I heard my husband’s voice calling my name. Our daughters were with
him, but not our son. We finally found him watching a clown show by the Magic castle.
He didn’t even notice that the rest of us weren’t with him. Now that we were finally back
together, I made all of them promise to stay together, and for a little while, the kids were
keeping as close to me as they could, but soon began to run around again. That’s the
last time I am taking them to Disneyland until I can tie them together with a piece of
rope!
Comprehension questions
1. How does she feel about the flight?
______________________________________________________
2. How were they feeling when they finally got there?
______________________________________________________
3. Why didn’t she worry about the kids when she stopped to buy water?
______________________________________________________

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4. Why did she start shouting her husband’s and kids’ names?
______________________________________________________
5. Why couldn’t she ask for help at lost children’s office?
______________________________________________________

3. Match the sentences from the story with their functions.

Sentences Function
1.It had been a long flight. A. An action which happened in the
past before another past action

2.By the time I got there, they had B. As a narrative device to give
already gone for lunch. background: To give background to
a story.

4. Look at the timeline below and fill in the blanks with either “action 1” or
“action 2”.

e.g. By the time I got there,

(action 2)
they had already gone for
lunch.
(action 1)

1. I realized that my kids and my husband had disappeared.

(__________) (_______________)

2. When we finally got there, my three kids and my husband had been exhausted.
(__________) (_________________)

3. I thought my husband had gone with them.

(_________) (____________)

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 5. Look at the form of the sentences below and complete the blanks with the
correct form of Past Perfect Tense.

Affirmative Negative Question Short answer

It had been a long It had not/ hadn’t Had it been a long Yes, it had.
flight. been a long flight? night?

… my kids and my 1)_________________ 2)_______________ 1) ___________

husband had ____________
disappeared.

… they had 1)_________________ 2)_______________ 2)__________

already gone for _____________
lunch.

Wh questions
He had lived in Paris for 2 years before How long had he lived in Paris before she
she returned home. returned home?

I had submitted my final assignment What 1)___________________________

before I went on holiday.

He went back home because he had Where

forgotten his wallet at home. 2)___________________________

6. Read the sentences below and write the difference between two sentences.
1) The train had left when I arrived. (_______________________________)

2) The train left when I arrived. (_______________________________)

7. Fill in the blanks with the adverbials below.

when before after by the time just already

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1. _________________ we arrived at the theatre, the movie had already started.
2. _________________ the exams had finished, they had a party.
3. Seth had learned Russian ________________he moved to Moscow but his
knowledge was not enough.
4. The train had ____________________ left when I arrived at the station.
5. I didn’t want to see that film because I had ________________ seen it.
6. _________________ he turned 40, he had been married for 3 years.

8. Now fill in the blanks with either “Simple Past” or “Past Perfect”.
a) Before ______________________, _________________________.
b) By the time/ when ________________________, ________________________.
c) After__________________________, ____________________________.
d) We use just/already with ____________________________.

9. PAST PERFECT TENSE with the following verbs:

 I realized that…
 I noticed that…
 I remembered that…
 I discovered that…
 I found out that…

Examples:
1) A: Have you ever lost your phone?
B: Yes, I was travelling to work and when I sat down I realized that phone had
fallen out of my pocket.
2) A: Have you ever made a complaint?’
B: Yes, I was staying in a hotel. When they gave me the bill, I noticed that they had
charged me for lots of things I hadn’t ordered!

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PRACTICE
Exercise 1: Circle the correct tense.
1. When Anne opened/had opened the door, she realized that somebody broke/had
broken into.
2. Elisa was very upset because her computer disappeared/had disappeared
yesterday.
3. My cousin promised/had promised me to bring me a souvenir from France last
month.
5. By the time Julia left/had left the shop, she spent/had spent all her money on
clothes.
6. I didn’t want to see that film because I saw/had seen it twice.
7. Philip tidied/had tidied his bedroom before he left/had left for work.
8. My husband did/had done the shopping after I called/had called him.
9. Alfred had worked/worked in a bank for five years before he was sent to Rome.
10. The judge said that she was guilty because she took/had taken the money for
herself.

Exercise 2: Read the story below and fill in the blanks with either Simple Past or
Past Perfect form of the verbs in parentheses.
In March 1999, thieves 1_____________ (steal) diamonds jewelry from Woolworth, a
famous jewelry shop in Boston. The thieves were very smart. Before the robbery, they
2_______________ (hide) in the building next door and 3______________ (cut) a hole
through the wall.
They used it to get into the shop. By the time the guard at the entrance 4____________
(see) them, they 5________________ (already/take) the very expensive jewelry from
the safe.
A man from the neighborhoods 6________________ (hear) some noises in the shop
and he 7________________ (call) the police but when they 8________________
(arrive) there, the thieves 9________________ (escape).

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Exercise 3: Combine the following sentences using the joining words given in
parenthesis.
1. The lesson started. Then, I got to the class. (by the time)
_________________________________________________________

2. The teacher checked the homework. Then she started to teach a new topic. (before)
__________________________________________________________
3. George swallowed his medicine, then he began to feel much better. (after)
___________________________________________________________
4. Harry owned that car for 5 years. Then, he sold it. (before)
_____________________________________________________________

Exercise 4: Read the beginning of the story below and work in pairs to complete it
by using both Simple Past and Past Perfect.
An elderly couple from Dudley, near Birmingham in Central England, had a shock last
night after they had gone to bed. Seventy-five-year-old Howard Hamilton and his wife
were just falling asleep when they heard a big bang in their front garden. They both
jumped straight out of bed to look out of the window and see what had happened. What
they saw was a badly damaged car lying in their front
garden……………………………….

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ANSWER KEY
2.
1. It had been a long flight, but the food was good.
2. When they finally got there, her three kids and her husband had been exhausted.
3. She thought her husband had gone with them.
4. She realized that her kids and my husband had disappeared.
5. By the time she got there, they had already gone for lunch.
3. 1.B 2.A
4. 1. I realized that my kids and my husband had disappeared.
(action 2) (action 1)
2. When we finally got there, my three kids and my husband had been
(action 2) (action 1)
exhausted.
3.I thought my husband had gone with them.
( action 2) (action 1)
5.
1. You did not see the train leave.
2. You saw the train as it was leaving.
6.

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7.
1. When / by the time
2. after
3. before
4. just
5. already
6.by the time

8. a) Before __SIMPLE PAST___, ___PAST PERFECT____.

b) By the time/ when _____SIMPLE PAST__, __PAST PERFECT_____.
c)After ____PAST PERFECT _____, ___SIMPLE PAST_____.
d) We use just/already with_____PAST PERFECT_______.

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PRACTICE
Exercise1:
1. When Anne opened/had opened the door, she realized that somebody broke/had
broken into.
2. Elisa was very upset because her computer disappeared/had disappeared
yesterday.
3. My cousin promised/had promised me to bring me a souvenir from France last
month.
5. By the time Julia left/had left the shop, she spent/had spent all her money on
clothes.
6. I didn’t want to see that film because I saw/had seen it twice.
7. Philip tidied/had tidied his bedroom before he left/had left for work.
8. My husband did/had done the shopping after I called/had called him.
9. Alfred had worked /worked in a bank for five years before he was sent to Rome.
10. The judge said that she was guilty because she took/had taken the money for
herself.

Exercise 2:
1. stole
2. had hidden/ hid
3. had cut/ cut
4. saw
5. had already taken
6. heard
7. called
8. arrived
9. had escaped

Exercise 3:
1. The lesson had started by the time I got to the class. (by the time)
2. The teacher had checked the homework before she started to teach a new topic.

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3. After George had swallowed his medicine, he began to feel much better.
4. Harry had owned that car for 5 years before he sold it.

Exercise 4:
Answers vary.

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