Past perfect
Study this picture
Now: 
• When did Sarah Arrive? 
• When did Paul leave? 
• Did Sarah find him when she arrived? 
• What happened first and what came the 
second?
Timeline : 
When she arrived at the party, Paul had already left, 
Paul Sarah 
Past perfect past present Future 
Therefore ! The past 
perfect is the past of 
the past !!
Now,Try to give the rule : 
• We use past perfect to talk about an event 
that happened….. 
in the past before another 
action happened in the past
Forms : 
• Affirmative : 
• I you/she/he/it/we/they had + past participle. 
• Example: 
• I had washed my clothes before she came. 
• Negative: 
• I you/she/he/it/we/they had + not+ past participle. 
• Example: 
• I hadn’t pepared lunch yet when she came in. 
• Interrogative: 
• Had you/she/he/it/we/they + past participle ? 
• Example: 
• Had she pepared lunch when her neighbour came in?
Adverbs with The past Perfect : 
For example up to now would be used with the present perfect, but 
with the past perfect we would use up to then. 
• Inspecified time: already, before, ever, never, once, twice, yet: 
Ex: I saw that he had filled the bag already. 
• Something Has just happen : just, recently and lately: 
I was worried about Grandpa - he had just gone outside in the 
rain. 
• Unlike the present perfect, in he past perfect we use : Up to then . 
Ricky had been a very good student up to then. 
• Habits or recurrent events: “ for” and “since”. “For” is used to refer to a 
period of time in the past and “since” to a point of time in the past: 
She said Grandpa had smoked two cigarettes every evening 
for the past fifty years. 
[here we focus on the period = 50 years] 
She said Grandpa had smoked two cigarettes every evening 
since he was a boy. 
[here we focus on the point when he started to smoke]
Exercise 1 
Make positive Past Perfect sentences 
• When I arrived to the cinema the film ………………………. (start) 
• When I arrived to the cinema the film had started. 
• She ………………………. (live) in China before she went to Thailand. 
• she had lived in China before she went to Thailand. 
• If you ……………………… (listen) to me, you would have got the job. 
• If you had listend to me, you would have got the job. 
• We were late for the plane because we ……………. (forget) our passports. 
• We were late for the plane because we had forgotten our passports. 
• She told me she ………………….. (study) a lot before the exam. 
• She told me she had studied a lot before the exam.
Exercise 2 
Make Negative Past Perfect sentences 
• The children ……….. (not/do) their homework, so they were in trouble. 
• The children hadn’t done their homework, so they were in trouble. 
• We couldn’t go into the concert because we ……. (not/bring) our tickets. 
• We couldn’t go into the concert because we hadn’t brought our tickets. 
• She said that she ………….. (not/visit) the UK before. 
• She said that she hadn’t visited the UK before. 
• He …………. (not/use) email before, so I showed him how to use it. 
• He hadn’t used email before, so I showed him how to use it. 
• You ……………..(not/study) for the test, so you were very nervous. 
• You hadn’t studied for the test, so you were very nervous.
Exercise 1 
Make Interrogative Past Perfect sentences 
• ………….(she/see) the film already? 
• Had she seen the film already? 
• ………………….(it/be) cold all week? 
• Had it been cold all week? 
• ……….(John/meet) Lucy before they worked together? 
• Had John met Lucy before they worked together? 
• What ………………. (you/cook) for dinner that night? 
• What had you cooked for dinner that night? 
• How many coffees………….. (she/drink) before the interview? 
• How many coffees had she drunk before the interview?
Make sentences from the chart
Past perfect continuous
Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the 
window. The sun was shining but the ground was very 
wet. 
It was not raining when I looked out of the window; 
the sun was shining. But it had been raining before. 
That's why the ground was wet.
You should say then : 
It had been raining 
It is an action 
that took some 
time in the past. 
1- Subject 
2- Had /not 
3- Been 
4- Verb + ing
Some more examples: 
• The boy came into the house with his clothes 
dirty. He'd been playing. 
• I was very tired when I arrived home. 
I'd been working hard all day.
Time line : 
Past P Past Now 
continuous 
A continuing action in 
the past that ends at 
a certain point in the 
past 
Note that present 
perfect is an action 
that started in the 
past but it ends in 
the present
Exercises : 
Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets. 
1 I was very tired when I arrived home. 
(I / work / hard all day) ..... I had been working hard all day. 
2 The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very 
tired. 
(they/play/football)............................................................................................................. 
........................... 
3 There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes. 
(somebody / smoke / in the room) 
................................................................................................................ 
4 Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where 
she was. (she/ dream) 
....................................................................................................................................... 
................. 
5 When I got home, Mike was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off. 
(he/watch/TV) 
....................................................................................................................................... 
........
2. Read the situations and complete the sentences. 
1 We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain. 
=> We had been playing for half an hour when it started to rain 
2 I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 
minutes I suddenly realized that I was in the wrong restaurant. 
I............................................................................ for 20 minutes when 
I....................................................... 
3 Sarah got a job in a factory. Five years later the factory closed down. 
At the time the factory ............................................................................. Sarah 
..................................................................... there for five years. 
4 I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a 
man in the audience suddenly began shouting. 
The orchestra .................................................................................................................. 
when ..................................................for more than 24 hours. 
5 This time make your own sentence: 
I began walking along the road when........................................................................ 
...........................................................................
• past continuous (I was doing), past perfect (I had done) or past perfect continuous (I had been 
doing). 
Exapmle : It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours were having ( have) a party. 
We were good friends. We ....had known... (know) each other for a long time. 
1. John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because he 
................................................... (walk) so fast. 
2. Mary was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. 
She ...................................................(run). 
4. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. 
They ..................................................(eat). 
4. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty 
but their stomachs were full. 
They ................................................... (eat). 
6. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. 
He ................................................... (look) for his glasses. 
7. When I arrived, Kate ................................................... (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed 
with me because I was late and she ................................................... (wait) for a very long time. 
8. I was sad when I sold my car. 
I................................................... (have) it for a very long time. 
9. We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. 
We ........................................... (travel)
Thanks for watching 
I hope you like ! 
Any question ?!

The Past perfect and Past Perfect continuous

  • 1.
  • 2.
  • 3.
    Now: • Whendid Sarah Arrive? • When did Paul leave? • Did Sarah find him when she arrived? • What happened first and what came the second?
  • 4.
    Timeline : Whenshe arrived at the party, Paul had already left, Paul Sarah Past perfect past present Future Therefore ! The past perfect is the past of the past !!
  • 5.
    Now,Try to givethe rule : • We use past perfect to talk about an event that happened….. in the past before another action happened in the past
  • 6.
    Forms : •Affirmative : • I you/she/he/it/we/they had + past participle. • Example: • I had washed my clothes before she came. • Negative: • I you/she/he/it/we/they had + not+ past participle. • Example: • I hadn’t pepared lunch yet when she came in. • Interrogative: • Had you/she/he/it/we/they + past participle ? • Example: • Had she pepared lunch when her neighbour came in?
  • 7.
    Adverbs with Thepast Perfect : For example up to now would be used with the present perfect, but with the past perfect we would use up to then. • Inspecified time: already, before, ever, never, once, twice, yet: Ex: I saw that he had filled the bag already. • Something Has just happen : just, recently and lately: I was worried about Grandpa - he had just gone outside in the rain. • Unlike the present perfect, in he past perfect we use : Up to then . Ricky had been a very good student up to then. • Habits or recurrent events: “ for” and “since”. “For” is used to refer to a period of time in the past and “since” to a point of time in the past: She said Grandpa had smoked two cigarettes every evening for the past fifty years. [here we focus on the period = 50 years] She said Grandpa had smoked two cigarettes every evening since he was a boy. [here we focus on the point when he started to smoke]
  • 8.
    Exercise 1 Makepositive Past Perfect sentences • When I arrived to the cinema the film ………………………. (start) • When I arrived to the cinema the film had started. • She ………………………. (live) in China before she went to Thailand. • she had lived in China before she went to Thailand. • If you ……………………… (listen) to me, you would have got the job. • If you had listend to me, you would have got the job. • We were late for the plane because we ……………. (forget) our passports. • We were late for the plane because we had forgotten our passports. • She told me she ………………….. (study) a lot before the exam. • She told me she had studied a lot before the exam.
  • 9.
    Exercise 2 MakeNegative Past Perfect sentences • The children ……….. (not/do) their homework, so they were in trouble. • The children hadn’t done their homework, so they were in trouble. • We couldn’t go into the concert because we ……. (not/bring) our tickets. • We couldn’t go into the concert because we hadn’t brought our tickets. • She said that she ………….. (not/visit) the UK before. • She said that she hadn’t visited the UK before. • He …………. (not/use) email before, so I showed him how to use it. • He hadn’t used email before, so I showed him how to use it. • You ……………..(not/study) for the test, so you were very nervous. • You hadn’t studied for the test, so you were very nervous.
  • 10.
    Exercise 1 MakeInterrogative Past Perfect sentences • ………….(she/see) the film already? • Had she seen the film already? • ………………….(it/be) cold all week? • Had it been cold all week? • ……….(John/meet) Lucy before they worked together? • Had John met Lucy before they worked together? • What ………………. (you/cook) for dinner that night? • What had you cooked for dinner that night? • How many coffees………….. (she/drink) before the interview? • How many coffees had she drunk before the interview?
  • 11.
  • 12.
  • 13.
    Yesterday morning Igot up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining but the ground was very wet. It was not raining when I looked out of the window; the sun was shining. But it had been raining before. That's why the ground was wet.
  • 14.
    You should saythen : It had been raining It is an action that took some time in the past. 1- Subject 2- Had /not 3- Been 4- Verb + ing
  • 15.
    Some more examples: • The boy came into the house with his clothes dirty. He'd been playing. • I was very tired when I arrived home. I'd been working hard all day.
  • 16.
    Time line : Past P Past Now continuous A continuing action in the past that ends at a certain point in the past Note that present perfect is an action that started in the past but it ends in the present
  • 17.
    Exercises : Readthe situations and make sentences from the words in brackets. 1 I was very tired when I arrived home. (I / work / hard all day) ..... I had been working hard all day. 2 The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired. (they/play/football)............................................................................................................. ........................... 3 There was nobody in the room but there was a smell of cigarettes. (somebody / smoke / in the room) ................................................................................................................ 4 Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where she was. (she/ dream) ....................................................................................................................................... ................. 5 When I got home, Mike was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off. (he/watch/TV) ....................................................................................................................................... ........
  • 18.
    2. Read thesituations and complete the sentences. 1 We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain. => We had been playing for half an hour when it started to rain 2 I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes I suddenly realized that I was in the wrong restaurant. I............................................................................ for 20 minutes when I....................................................... 3 Sarah got a job in a factory. Five years later the factory closed down. At the time the factory ............................................................................. Sarah ..................................................................... there for five years. 4 I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly began shouting. The orchestra .................................................................................................................. when ..................................................for more than 24 hours. 5 This time make your own sentence: I began walking along the road when........................................................................ ...........................................................................
  • 19.
    • past continuous(I was doing), past perfect (I had done) or past perfect continuous (I had been doing). Exapmle : It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours were having ( have) a party. We were good friends. We ....had known... (know) each other for a long time. 1. John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because he ................................................... (walk) so fast. 2. Mary was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. She ...................................................(run). 4. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. They ..................................................(eat). 4. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty but their stomachs were full. They ................................................... (eat). 6. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He ................................................... (look) for his glasses. 7. When I arrived, Kate ................................................... (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me because I was late and she ................................................... (wait) for a very long time. 8. I was sad when I sold my car. I................................................... (have) it for a very long time. 9. We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. We ........................................... (travel)
  • 20.
    Thanks for watching I hope you like ! Any question ?!