Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Tense

We use the past perfect tense to signify an action that was completed before another took place in the past. The form of the past perfect tense is had+ past participle of the verb.

Uses

• When two actions happened in the past, the action that happened first is expressed in the past perfect tense.
  Examples:
  I just now posted the letter that I had written in the morning.
  (The writing of the letter happened first.)
  When we reached the school, the bell had already rung.
  (The ringing of the bell happened first.)
• The past perfect tense is used to report actions that happened in the past. Therefore, it is used in indirect or reported speech.
  Examples:
  My mother told me that she had baked some cookies for my friends.
  Mary said that she had done the homework already.

Worksheet 1

Put the verbs in brackets into the past perfect tense.

• The neighbours …………. already …………. the fire when the fire brigade came. (put out)
• I did not go for the party since I ………….not ……………… an invitation. (receive)
• The car …………….. round the corner before I could see who the driver was. (disappear)
• My friend said that she …………….. the pen. (lose)
• When I went home I discovered that the cats ……………. up my lunch. (eat)
• The teacher wanted to know who …………………… the window pane. (break)
• When I met him last week, I suddenly realized that I …………….not …………….. him for many years. (see)
• The motorist …………….. by the time the ambulance arrived. (die)
• He said that he ……………..just …………….. the news. (read)
• The girl told us that she ……………… her way. (lose)

Answers

• The neighbours had already put out the fire when the fire brigade came.
• I did not go for the party since I had not received an invitation.
• The car had disappeared round the corner before I could see who the driver was.
• My friend said that she had lost the pen.
• When I went home I discovered that the cats had eaten up my lunch.
• The teacher wanted to know who had broken the window pane.
• When I met him last week, I suddenly realized that I had not seen him for many years.
• The motorist had died by the time the ambulance arrived.
• He said that he had just read the news.
• The girl told us that she had lost her way.

Worksheet 2

Use the appropriate form of the verbs in brackets to fill in the blanks in the following sentences.

• I …………………. (meet) John on my way home yesterday. He ……………… (cycle) along the road and ……………. (whistle) to himself.
• I ………… (be) very hungry now. I ……….. not ………….. (eat) anything the whole day.
• I ………… just ……………… (send) Marta a birthday card. She …………….. (turn) 11 today.
• We often …………… (walk) along the beach in the evening. Sometimes we just …………… (sit) on the beach and …………… (watch) the waves rush in and out.
• Paul ………………. already ……………….. (buy) the cake before we …………….. (can) tell him what flavor we preferred.
• Last Friday …………. (be) a holiday. Therefore, we …………….. (go) for a picnic by the sea that day.
• Mary …………….. (write) to me three months ago. After that, I …………. not …………… (hear) from her.
• I ………………… (wear) sunglasses now since I …………….(have) sore eyes.
• My brother …………… (like) to collect stamps. In fact, it …………. (be) his hobby. He ………………. (collect) stamps of over 50 countries.
• My brother ……………… (write) to me that his daughter …………………….. (receive) a prize at an International Short Story Contest.

Answers

• I met John on my way home yesterday. He was cycling along the road and whistling to himself.
• I am very hungry now. I have not eaten anything the whole day.
• I have just sent Marta a birthday card. She is turning 11 today.
• We often walk along the beach in the evening. Sometimes we just sit on the beach and watch the waves rush in and out.
• Paul had already bought the cake before we could tell him what flavor we preferred.
• Last Friday was a holiday. Therefore, we went for a picnic by the sea that day.
• Mary wrote to me three months ago. After that, I have not heard from her.
• I am wearing sunglasses now since I have sore eyes.
• My brother likes to collect stamps. In fact, it is his hobby. He has collected stamps of over 50 countries.
• My brother wrote to me that his daughter had received a prize at an International Short Story Contest.

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