Past Simple Vs Past Perfect

Past Perfect and Past Simple

Multiple Choice

Fraser _______ sushi before he _______ to Japan.

• never ate, had come

• came, had never eaten

• had come, never ate

• had never eaten, came

Multiple Choice

As soon as Yuka _______ washing the dishes, she _______ the TV on.

• finished, had turned

• turned, had finished

• had finished, turned

• had turned, finished

Multiple Choice

We went to Osaka, my friend _______ a lot about the city because she _______ there many times.

• was, had known

• had known, was

• knew, had been

• had been, knew

Multiple Choice

Before we _____ the station we saw that we had lost our way.

• reached

• had reached

Multiple Choice

Before the police _____ the thief, he had stolen two more watches.

• caught

• had caught

Multiple Choice

Dad drove me home after I _____ into the water.

• had fallen

• fell

Multiple Choice

We _____ two Big Macs before we went home.

• had eaten

• ate

Multiple Choice

The show ................... (start) when there ..................... (be) a problem with the lights.

• had started, was

• started, had been

• started, was

Multiple Choice

By the time we __________ (arrive) at the cinema, the movie __________ (start).

• had arrived, started

• arrived, has started

• arrived, had started

• have arrived, started

Multiple Choice

He __________ (go) out after he __________ (finish) his homework.

• went, had finished

• had gone, finished

• went, finished

• had gone, had finished

Multiple Choice

By the time his friend _____ the conclusions, Luke ______ all the assignment. 

• finished   /   had already sent

• sent  /  had already finished

• had send   /   finished

Fill in the Blanks

They ......... (live) in Paris for 10 years before they ............... (move) home.

Fill in the Blanks

As soon as I ________ (download) the document, I knew I _____(make) a mistake.

Fill in the Blanks

By the time the firemen _______ (arrive), the fire _____ (destroy) three houses.

Fill in the Blanks

Our economy __________ (not stand) a chance of developing before the government _______ (adopt) the open-door policy.

Fill in the Blanks

When I last ______ (speak) to her, she still ______ (not finish) her assignment.

Fill in the Blanks

She _____ (go) to Disneyland three times before her family ______ (move) to another state.

Fill in the Blanks

After I ______ (complete) the form yesterday, I ______ (give) it to the secretary.

Fill in the Blanks

Sarah ______ (drive) three hundred miles by the time she ________ (arrive) in Tacoma.

We use the past simple for:

an action that started and finished in the past

Example:

Sue had the flu for two veeks.

(She hasn't got the flu anymore )

Time expressions used with the past simple:

ago,

yesterday,

last week/month, etc.

Past perfect for the earlier of two past actions

We can use the past perfect to show the order of two past events. The past perfect shows the earlier action and the past simple shows the later action.

•When the police arrived, the thief had escaped.

•The Romans spoke Latin. (NOT The Romans had spoken Latin.)

Note: that if there's only a single event, we don't use the past perfect, even if it happened a long time ago.

Past perfect after before

We can also use before + past perfect to show that an action was not done or was incomplete when the past simple action happened.

Examples:

●They left before I'd spoken to them.

●Sadly, the author died before he'd finished the series.

Multiple Choice

Which action happened first in the sentence below:

1. We had been shopping for hours before we found a tablet that we liked.

• had been shopping

• found a tablet

Multiple Choice

Which action happened first?

2. Elena realised later that she had left her sales receipt at the bookshop.

• realised

• had left her sales receipt

Multiple Choice

Which action happened first?

3. When we had made our purchases, we took the bags out to the car.

• had made our purchases

• took the bags out

Multiple Choice

Which action happened first?

4. They had just bought an expensive Blackberry when they saw the same one on special offer.

• had just bought

• saw

Multiple Choice

Which action happened first?

5. Dora went back home because she had forgotten her handbag.

• went back home

• had forgotten

Multiple Choice

Choose the right answer.

6. My sister __________ for weeks when the shoes finally went on special offer.

• had been waiting

• waited

Multiple Choice

Choose the right answer.

8. He __________ the jacket before he __________ to the checkout to pay for it.

• had tried on, went

• tried on, had gone

Multiple Choice

Choose the right answer.

9. Karen _________ the next day that the footwear she _________ was no longer in fashion.

• had realised, bought

• realised, had bought