Unit 2 Past Perfect Simple and Continuous

Past Perfect Simple

FORM: We make the past perfect simple by using had and the past participle:
[Subject + had + past participle]
• I had seen the film six times already and I didn't want to see it again.
• She had been to the dentist earlier in the day so she felt ill that night.
We often use the tense in conjunction with the past simple.
We use the past perfect simple tense:
To provide the background to an event; it tells us what happened before the main action:
She was tired because she had been at work all day.
To provide information about the order of events:
• The detective ran into the room but the evil gangsters had already gone.
When we want to provide a simple sequence of events, we can use the past simple or the past perfect with the past
simple:
• The King died. The Queen died three days later.
• The Queen died three days after the King had died.

Past Perfect Continuous

FORM [had been + V+ing]
Examples:
• You had been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
• Had you been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived?
• You had not been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
Duration before Something in the Past

We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in
the past. However, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples:

• They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
• She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
• How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
• Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
• James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.
• A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.

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 Unit 2 Past Perfect Simple and Continuous

A. Mix and match

By the time I got to her house The program had already started
When I turned on the TV I’d never met her before
It was nice to see Richard again She had already left
I wasn’t hungry in the evening. I hadn’t seen him for years
I went to see if the painters had I’d had a huge lunch
finished
I met Oliver’s wife at the party I had left the door open
When I got home, I realized But they hadn’t even started.
I bought him a camera But he had already got one
B. Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or past perfect simple).
1. When he (wake up) ………………. , his mother (already / prepare) …………………………. breakfast.
2. We (go) ………………………….. to London because the Queen (invite) …………………………. us for tea.
3. He (hear) …………………….. the news, (go) ………………………….. to the telephone and (call) ……………………………. a
friend.
4. When she (start) ……………….. to learn English, she (already / learn) …………………………..French.
5. Jane (already / type) ……………………………… ten pages when her computer (crash) …………………………
6. By the time he (arrive) ……………………. at the snack, they (run) …………………………… out of sandwiches .
7. Before that day we (never / think) …………………………….. of going to Japan.
8. I (know) ……………………… him for a long time before I (meet) ……………………….. his family.
9. They (not / know) ……………………. where to meet because nobody (tell) ……………….. them.
10. It (be) …………………………. cloudy for days before it finally (begin) ……………………………… to rain.
C. 2 Complete these sentences using the correct form (past perfect simple or past perfect continuous) of the
verb in brackets.
1 She woke up late because she ________________________ (go) to a party the night before.
2 He asked for directions because he ________________________ (lost) his way.
3 Although the film ________________________ (not finish), we left the cinema.
4 She ________________________ (play) tennis when she broke her arm.
5 She ________________________ (never go) to Italy although her husband was an Italian.
6 I ________________________ (drive) for six hours when the accident happened.
7 I was really hungry because I ________________________ (not eat) all day.
8 He ________________________ (practice) the trick when I saw him.
9 By the time the police arrived, the flying saucer ________________________ (disappear).
10 We ________________________ (perform) for years before we became famous.

D. Put the verbs in the past simple, past perfect, or past perfect continuous.
1 I _________________ (swim) for an hour when I _________________ (see) the island.
2 He _________________ (try) to explain why he __________________ (miss) the train but she didn’t want to listen.
3 I didn’t see him. He ....__________________(leave) already when I ________________(arrive).
4 We __________________ (wait) for half an hour when they finally _________________(come).
5 She _______________ (play) football and was out of breath when I __________________ (see) her.

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