Past Perfect

In this Webquest , we are going to be taking a look at the past perfect tense in much more detail and the rules that surround its use. This will enable you to create much more detailed and complex sentences when talking about the past.

The past perfect tense describes a completed activity in the past. It is used to emphasize that an action was completed before another action took place. For clarity and a better understanding here is an infographic and explaining the past perfect tense:

https://youtu.be/bGvDiycGoOg

Exercises to practice Past Perfect – a great opportunity to fix the rules for using this difficult time!The exercises are divided into 2 levels: level A is a little easier, level B is a little more difficult.Now let's get started!

Level A

Exercise № 1. Complete the sentences using the Past Perfect tense of the verbs below. 

Example: to learn the poem — I went to bed after I had learnt the poem.

to have dinner, to do homework, to come , to read the book, to clean the room, to go shopping, to return from Australia, to finish work

1. I went to see my friend after...

2. I watched TV after...

3. They went home after...

4. He phoned me after...

5. She went to dance after...

6. We wrote a composition after...

7. They rebuilt the house after...

8.  We went for a walk after...

Exercise № 2. Insert the verbs in the Past Perfect tense.

1. I ... (to have) breakfast before I went to school.
2. He went to meet his friends after he ... (to do) his homework.
3. By 8 o’clock the rain ... (to stop).
4. Alice was late because she ... (to miss) the bus.
5. She went to the post-office after she ... (to write) the letter.
6. He ... (to work) at the factory before he entered the college.
7. He got a bad mark for his test because he ... (to make) a lot of mistakes in it.
8. I went to bed after I ... (to finish) reading the book.
9. The child ... (to fall) asleep before the parents came home.
10. They ... (to marry) before they bought this house.

Exercise № 3. Insert the verbs in the Past Perfect tense.

1. Jill was afraid she _____ (forget) her key at home, but she found it in her handbag.

2. Dad wasn’t at home when I came back. He _____  (go) out twenty minutes before.

3. I wasn’t hungry because I_____  (just/have) breakfast.

4. Peter saw an urgent message on his table. Somebody _____ (leave) it the day before.

5. I apologized I _____ (not/phone) her.

6. He told me that he _____ (come back) a fortnight before.

7. I knew him at once though I _____ (meet) him many years before.

8. We spent the night in Klin, a town we _____ (often/hear of) but_____  (never/see).

9. They couldn’t believe he _____ (give up) his job in the bank. He _____  (make) a good living there.

10. Mr. Jackson said that he _____  ( already/buy) everything for lunch.

11. Alice asked her brother where he _____ (arrange) to meet his friends.

12. We had no car at that time because we _____ (sell) our old one.

13. They _____ (finish) painting the ceiling by two o’clock.

Level B

Exercise № 4.Say what action was done before. Combine the two sentences into one. 

Example: I sent a telegram. Then I met my friend.— I had sent a telegram before I met my friend.

1. The rain stopped. I went for a walk.
2. I did my homework. My mother returned home.
3. We met in the street. We went to the park.
4. They packed their things. Then they started.
5. I had dinner. I switched on the TV set.
6. He returned home. The guests left.
7. We came to the cinema. The film began.
8. I read the book. I saw the play.                .
9. They lived here. They moved to another place.
10. We played а game of tennis. We went to my place

Exercise № 5. Connect each pair of sentences with the conjunctions before, as soon as, after.

Example: They had lived in the country. They moved to the city.— They had lived in the country before they moved to the city.

1. He had finished school. He went to a camp.
2. She had phoned her friend. She went to meet her.
3. I read the book. I had seen the film.
4. I had cleaned my room. I invited my friends home.
5. He entered the university. He had finished school.
6. Не told me about his impressions. He had returned from his journey.
7. He was unhappy. He had got bad news.
8. I had finished the text. I handed in my exercise-book.

The past perfect tense is for talking about something that happened before something else. Imagine waking up one morning and stepping outside to grab the newspaper. On your way back in, you notice a mysterious message scrawled across your front door: Tootles was here. When you’re telling this story to your friends later, how would you describe this moment? You might say something like:

Example: I turned back to the house and saw that some someone named Tootles had defaced my front door!

In addition to feeling indignant on your behalf, your friends will also be able to understand that Tootles graffitied the door at some point in the past before the moment this morning when you saw his handiwork, because you used the past perfect tense to describe the misdeed.

The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change. 

Forming the Past Participle (Regular Verbs)

If it's a regular verb, past participle is the same as the simple past tense. In other words, it is formed like this:

Add "ed" to most verbs:

• jump > jumped
• paint > painted

If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add "ed":

• chat > chatted
• stop > stopped

If the final consonant is "w," "x" or "y," don't double it:

• sew > sewed
• play > played
• fix > fixed

If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add "ed":

• incur > incurred
• prefer > preferred

If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], just add "ed":

• open > opened
• enter > entered
• swallow > swallowed

If the verb ends "e," just add "d":

• thrive > thrived
• guzzle > guzzled

If the verb ends [consonant + "y"], change the "y" to an "i" and add "ed":

• cry > cried
• fry > fried

Forming the Past Participle (Irregular Verbs)

If it's an irregular verb, the past participle is formed in all sorts of different ways. Here are some examples:

• arise > arisen

• catch > caught

• choose > chosen

• know > known

You just have to learn them.

The Negative Version

If you need the negative version, you can use the following construction: "had not" + " [past participle]"

• Silverfinger had not taken the pill before the team reached him.
• I had not called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
• The weather changed, and the team had not planned its next move.

Remember that "had not" is sometimes written as the construction "hadn't."

The Question Version

If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question: "had" + [subject] +  [past participle]

• Had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?

• Had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?

You can use the following word order for a question - word question: [question word] + "had" + [subject] + [past participle]

• Why had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?

• Where had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?

In summary,the past perfect tense demonstrates the past relative to timing or other past events and is often used for reporting on things that happened or were said. It is easy to form by adding had along with the past participle of any verb.

https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/past_perfect_tense.htm

http://grammar-tei.com/uprazhneniya-na-temu-the-past-perfect-tense/

https://youtu.be/bGvDiycGoOg

Teacher: Gaukhar Saparniyazova