Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Simple

By Luis Quiroz

Introduction

The past perfect tense is used in everyday, informal communications as well as in academic texts or formal contexts. Knowing when and how to use it will improve your fluency and allow you to communicate appropriately in English.​

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Knowing the correct use of the past perfect (also called past perfect simple) tense will give you an incredible advantage in the way you express yourself. This verb tense is used to describe an event, situation or action that occurred before another in the past.

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Retrieved from "British Council"

https://www.britishcouncil.co/blog/aprende-ingles/past-perfect​

STRUCTURE

​All images used in this presentation are copyright free.

LIST OF GRAMMAR

​Past perfect affirmative structure:

Subject + auxiliary had + verb in participle + complement.

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Negative structure of the past perfect

Subject + auxiliary had not + verb in participle + complement

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Past Perfect Interrogative Structure 

Auxiliary had + subject + verb in participle + complement + ?

Retrieved from "British Council"

https://www.britishcouncil.co/blog/aprende-ingles/past-perfect​

​5 Uses of Past Perfect

1. When it points to an action or situation that occurred before another. The structure of these sentences is as follows: the first action is described in past perfect and the second or more recent action in past simple.

   For example:

   She had lost her voice before singing for the first time = Ella había perdido la voz antes de cantar por primera vez.

Retrieved from "British Council"

https://www.britishcouncil.co/blog/aprende-ingles/past-perfect​

2. To mention a situation or action that occurred before a specific time.

   For example: We had left the building when the fire alarm sounded = Habíamos salido del edificio cuando sonó la alarma de incendios.

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3. It can be used to mention situations that began and lasted until a specific time in the past.

   For example: I had been thirsty until you came with the fresh lemonade = Había estado sediento hasta que llegaste con la limonada fresca.

Retrieved from "British Council"

https://www.britishcouncil.co/blog/aprende-ingles/past-perfect​

4. It is used to mention what another person has said in present perfect.

For example:​

I have received the money of my uncle's testament → He said he had received the money of his uncle's testament = He recibido el dinero del testamento de mi tío → Él dijo que ha recibido el dinero del testamento de su tío.​

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5. ​In some cases, this tense can be used in the creation of conditional sentences.

For example:

If they had chosen another color, she would have helped paint smoothly = Si hubieran elegido otro color, ella habría ayudado a pintar sin problemas.​

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Retrieved from "British Council"

https://www.britishcouncil.co/blog/aprende-ingles/past-perfect​

Make the positive or negative past perfect simple

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Retrieved from "​Perfect English"

​https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-exercise-1.html

Exercises

Fill in the Blank

1) When I arrived at the cinema, the film ___ (start).

Fill in the Blank

2) She ___ (live) in China before she went to Thailand.

Fill in the Blank

3) After they ___ (eat) the shellfish, they began to feel sick.

Fill in the Blank

4) If you ___ (listen) to me, you would have got the job.

Fill in the Blank

5) Julie didn't arrive until after I ___ (leave).

Fill in the Blank

6) When we ___ (finish) dinner, we went out.

Fill in the Blank

7) We couldn't go into the concert because we ___ (not/bring) our tickets.

Fill in the Blank

8) Julie and Anne ___ (not/meet) before the party.

Fill in the Blank

9) I ___ (not/have) breakfast when he arrived.

Fill in the Blank

10) He ___ (not/use) email before, so I showed him how to use it.