the

Past Perfect
tense
What is this tense . . .
. . . and when do we use it in English?
 Meaning of Past Perfect:
~Use 1: Completed Action Before Something in the Past

•The Past Perfect expresses the idea that

something occurred before another action in
the past.
•It can also show that something happened
before a specific time in the past
 Examples:
~Use 1: Completed Action Before
Something in the Past

1. 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.
 Meaning of Past Perfect:
~Use 2: Duration Before Something in the Past

•We can also use the Past Perfect to show

that something started in the past and
continued up until another action in the past.
 Examples:
~Use 2:
Duration Before Something in the Past

1. We had owned our car

for 10 years before it
finally died.

2. They had been married

for 5 years when they
had their first child.
Use

We use Past Perfect Tense to describe

ONE ACTION

happening before

ANOTHER ACTION
Use

Example 1:

The train had gone when I arrived at the station.

a. Both and are past actions.

b. happened before .
 Meaning of Past Perfect:
~Important Note:
Specific Times with the Past Perfect

•Unlike with the Present Perfect Tense, it is

possible to use specific time words or phrases
with the Past Perfect.
•Although this is possible, it is usually not
necessary.
 Example:
~Specific Times:
Often, you can use the
simple past OR the past
perfect.
1.She had visited the U.S.
once in 2000 before she
moved here in 2005.

2. She visited the U.S. once

in 2000 before she moved
here in 2005.
Past Perfect tense
How do we make the
past perfect tense in
English?

Can you think of the

grammar rule?
 Form:
This grammar has 2 parts:

Examples:
The train had gone.
I had had lunch.
He had been a waiter.
 Negative Form:
had not + verb (past participle)
OR
hadn’t + verb (past participle)

Example:
The teacher hadn’t finished
correcting papers when the
students started to arrive.
 More Practice:
Complete each sentence with the
past perfect form of the verb given.
Karen ____________ (finish)
making dinner by the time
her husband came home.

When I arrived at the store,

it ___________ (close)
already.
Exercise A

Situation Susan and Terry returned home

: from holiday yesterday to find a
broken window and several
valuable items missing. Later,
they tell the police what
happened.
Exercise A

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

(Write down the answers on a piece of paper)

P: When did you first realize someone (1) [break] into your
house?
T: Well, when we opened the front door we noticed that
someone (2) [walk] through the hall in muddy shoes and (3)
[break] the lock on the living-room door. and then, when we
went into the kitchen, we saw that the thief, or thieves, (4)
[come] in through the kitchen window; they (5) [smash] the
glass and (6) [open] the window from the inside.
P: Anything missing from the kitchen?
S: As far as we can tell, there’s nothing missing from the
kitchen. But it was an awful mess.
Exercise A

P: And what about the living room?

T: We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first went in. they (7)
[throw] all the books on the floor; they (8) [search] through
every drawer in the desk; they (9) [tear] open all the
cushions; they (10) [pull] the carpet up; and they even (11)
[smash] all the pictures.
P: And what was missing?
S: Well, that’s strange. They (12) [take] some cash and smaller
pieces of silver, but they (13) [leave] a lot of valuable items.
They even (14) [leave] the cheque books. I don’t understand
it.
P: Something or someone probably (15) [disturb] them. It often
happens. Well, we’ll do our best, but there’s not much
chance of recovering your possessions, I’m afraid.
Exercise A (Key)

1. had broken 9. had torn

2. had walked 10. had pulled
3. had broken 11. had even smashed
4. had come 12. had taken
5. had smashed 13. had left
6. had opened 14. had even left
7. had thrown 15. had probably disturbed
8. had searched
Exercise B

Situation: Phil had his first flying lesson yesterday.

He’s now telling Richard what it was like.
Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.
(Write down the answers on a piece of paper)

R: You ever (16) [be] in a small plane before?

P: No, and I not (17) [expect] it to be so noisy. I (18) [fly] in
several different jets before, but I never even (19) [see] a
small plane before yesterday.
R: The instructor (20) [realise] you were a complete beginner?
P: Oh yes. He (21) [spend] 30 minutes asking me questions
before we went out of the plane. I told him I always (22)
[want] to learn how to fly, but I never (23) [have] the
opportunity and I not (24) [be] able to afford it before.
Exercise B

R: Was the lesson as exciting as you (25) [expect]?

P: Oh yes. I (26) [imagine] all sorts of things before I actually
flew the plane. I (27) [think] I would get airsick; I (28)
[dream] I would crash; I (29) [be] worried I would be too
nervous to control the plane; I (30) [imagine] the plane
would catch fire. But after the lesson, I suddenly realized
that I not (31) [be] sick, that we not (32) [crash], that I (33)
[control] the plane well, that the plane not (34) [catch] fire
and that I actually (35) [fly] a plane for the first time in my
life. It was fantastic!
Exercise B (Key)

16. had you ever been 26. I’d imagined

17. hadn’t expected 27. I’d thought
18. I’d flown 28. I’d dreamt
19. I’d never even seen 29. I’d been
20. had the instructor realised 30. I’d imagined
21. he’d spent 31. hadn’t been
22. I’d always wanted 32. hadn’t crashed
23. I’d never had 33. I’d controlled
24. hadn’t been 34. hadn’t caught
25. you’d expected 35. I’d actually flown
The End