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Grammar Level 3 Lesson 5

The document discusses the past perfect tense, which is used to describe an action that occurred before another past action. It provides examples of sentences using the past perfect tense and notes that the past perfect tense uses "had" plus the past participle of the main verb. It also discusses using "already" and "yet" to intensify the past perfect tense and distinguishes between the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

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Fernanda Igarzábal
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20 views

Grammar Level 3 Lesson 5

The document discusses the past perfect tense, which is used to describe an action that occurred before another past action. It provides examples of sentences using the past perfect tense and notes that the past perfect tense uses "had" plus the past participle of the main verb. It also discusses using "already" and "yet" to intensify the past perfect tense and distinguishes between the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

Uploaded by

Fernanda Igarzábal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PAST PERFECT TENSE

We use the past perfect to describe an action or actions that occurred in the past before another action
happened.
Examples:
When you came home, Mario had already left.
She quit her job but she had saved enough money for her trip.
I was taking a shower when she had called.
When he got home he had found out that someone had broken into his home. I
was playing baseball when it had started to rain.
They didn't want to go with us because they had already seen the movie.
We didn't go to dinner because we had already eaten.

Notice that in the above examples that one action was in progress or finished before another action
occurred.
You came home but Mario had already left. (Mario left before you came home).
She quit her job but she had saved enough money for her trip.(She saved enough money for her trip
before she quit her job).
I was taking a shower when you had called. (I was in the process of taking a shower).
When he got home he found out that someone had broken into his home. (Someone broke into his home
before he knew about it).
I was playing baseball when it had started to rain. (I was in the process of playing baseball and after it
started to rain).
They didn't want to go with us because they had already seen the movie. (They saw the movie before we
asked them to go with us).
We didn't go to dinner because we had already eaten.(We ate before someone asked us to go to dinner
with them).
Note: To intensify the action we often use the word “already” in the affirmative and “yet” in the negative.
Examples:
I had already eaten when they asked me to dinner. (Affirmative)
I hadn't eaten yet when....(negative)
Hector had already finished his homework when his friend arrived. (Affirmative)
Hector hadn't finished his homework yet when....(negative)
She had already been shopping.(affirmative)
She hadn’t been shopping yet when.....(negative)
Note: We often use the word “never” when using the past perfect in the negative.
Examples:
I had never been to Spain before.
You had never met her.
She had never flown before.
He had never seen her at the party. It
had never rained this hard before.
They had never sent us a letter.
We had never eaten so much in our lives.
The structure for the past perfect tense is as follows:

SUBJECT + HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE + COMPLEMENTIZER


I had eaten before coming her.
You had been there before.
He had flown several times.
She had seen him many times before.
It had rained a lot in those days.
We had bought the gifts already.
They had met each other once.

Note: It’s sometimes easy to confuse the present perfect with the past perfect. Look at the examples
below and compare:

PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT


A: Who is that guy? A: Who was that guy?
B: I don’t know, I’ve never met him. B: I don’t know, I hadn’t met him.
We aren’t tired, we’ve slept a lot. We weren’t tired, we’d slept a lot.
She is angry at him, he’s cheated on her. She was angry at him, he had cheated on her.
They are tired now, they have traveled a lot. They were tired, they had traveled
 Get Smart! Quiz A

Select the correct form of the past perfect tense. Remember to read the carefully so that you can pick
the right answer.
Examples:
By the time she got to know about the news for college, her parents _________________ to let her
know.
A. have already called her B. had already called

1. By the time I got home, my mother _______________


A. has already left B. had already left.

2. He _______________ the mail by the time he was asked to do it.


A. has already sent B. had already sent

3. She _______________ some money before quitting her job.


A. had saved B. have saved

4. The meeting ________________ by the time we arrived.


A. had already ended B. has already ended

5. I was taking a bath when you _______________.


A. have called B. had called

6. Mario _______________ his report when his friend came over.


A. have already finished B. had already finishing

7. The show _______________ by the time we arrived.


A. has already started B. had already started

8. It ________________ to rain by the time the show was over.


A. had already started B. has already started

9. She ______________ to France before.


A. had never been B. had never being

10. We _________________ dinner when you invited us to go out.


A. have already eaten B. had already eaten

11. I ________________ so much food in my entire life.


A. had never eaten B. have never eaten
12. My dog ________________ something like this until now.
A. had never done B. has never done

13. We _______________ a few drinks by the time the party started.


A. had had B. have had

14. By the time the police officer realized, the suspect of the crime ________________.
A. have already escaped B. had already escaped

15. She _______________ so many drinks and wasn’t able to walk home by herself.
A. had had B. has had

16. By the time Peter was twenty years old, he _______________ five different jobs.
A. has had B. had had

17. His boss sacked him before he _______________ a chance to explain why he made that huge
mistake.
A. has had B. had have

18. She told me that she _______________ that movie when she lived in London.
A. has already seen B. had already seen

19. My father told me that he _______________ the president on a previous trip.


A. had met B. has met

20. Everybody _______________ to bed by the time I finished watching the movie.
A. has gone B. had gone

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