Introduction
Compare these two sentences:
(Charles left when Mary arrived.
Charles had left when Mary arrived.)
What is the difference?
Grammar 1
Here is the first sentence:
(At 7:00 > Charles left when Mary arrived.)
When did Charles leave?
When did Mary arrive?
Here is the second sentence:
(At 7:00 > Charles had left when Mary arrived.)
When did Charles leave? (Before 7:00.)
When did Mary arrive? (At 7:00.)
This sentence tells us that Charles left some time before Mary arrived.
This sentence is in the past perfect.
We use the past perfect...
(Past perfect: To talk about a time or event in the past...
...before another time or other events in the past.)
This is how the past perfect is formed:
(Past perfect: subject + had + past participle)
Past participle: eat > ate > eaten — go > went > gone
For example:
(Henry had lived in London for 20 years before he moved to Paris.)
Can you give another example?
For negative sentences, we often use:
(negative: ...had never...before / until...)
For example:
(He had never left London before / until he went to Paris.)
Can you give other examples?
Controlled Practice 1
Write down the following verbs:
(do — start — drink — finish — lock — meet — read — taste — be — live)
Use these words to complete the sentences in the past perfect.
When we got to the theater, the movie had started already.
Amy thought she _____ well on the test, but she didn't pass.
By the time we served dinner, the guests _____ all the wine.
Peter wondered if he _____ the door before leaving.
Tim _____ in Spain and France before he moved to Italy.
I told her that I _____ the project, but I was lying.
Terry _____ never _____ Pizza before he came to Napoli.
Laura _____ never _____ anyone from Mongolia before.
Peter _____ never _____ on a plane before.
Justin _____ never _____ anything by Shakespeare before.
Language in Use 1
Use your own ideas to complete the following sentences using the past perfect.
When I got home, I realized that I had... (...forgotten to pick up the dry cleaning.)
Jane saw the door open and wondered who had... (...left it open.)
I was confused because I thought that I had... (...put my keys in my pocket.)
I felt really disappointed because my friend had... (...forgotten my birthday.)
When the police arrived, the robbers had... (...fled / escaped.)
Satoshi felt nervous, because he had never...(before). (...made a speech in English.)
I was excited, because I had never...(before). (...met a famous person.)
Grammar 2
What is the difference between these sentences?
(Bill had waited for me for over an hour.
Bill had been waiting for me for over an hour.)
(Past perfect progressive: ...had been waiting...)
We use the past perfect progressive...
(Past perfect progressive: To talk about an ongoing action that had...
...up to a point in the past.)
This is how the past perfect progressive is formed:
Past perfect progressive:
subject + had + been + '-ing'
The ground was wet. It had been raining all night.)
Controlled Practice 2
Complete the sentences using the past perfect progressive.
(come — wait — work — practice — do — look — cook — sit — sleep — study)
Track 5.2-5.11
He arrived late. I had been waiting for him for a long time.
I finally found my pen! I __________ for it everywhere!
He passed the exam. He _________ for it for a long time.
The dinner was delicious. Her mother __________ all day.
She was tired. She __________ all day.
The play was a success! They __________ for weeks.
Susan was fired. She __________ in late for a long time.
She got sunburnt. She __________ in the garden all day.
Ed caught a cold. He __________ with the windows open.
They felt bored. They __________ nothing all day.
Language in Use 2
Use the past perfect progressive to talk about the following situations:
For example:
(The children's clothes were very wet. > They had been playing soccer in the rain.)
The field was covered in snow.
The baby had food all over his shirt.
The workers were very tired.
The police stopped the car.
Sharon finally won some money in the casino! >
Karen had a headache.
Tom came home after midnight.
Tony was hospitalized.
Linda finally wrote a bestseller!