Form (Sentences)

had + past participle

Examples: The train had gone.

I had had lunch.

He had been a waiter.

Use

We use Past Perfect Tense to describe

ONE ACTION

happening before ANOTHER ACTION

Use Example 1:

The train had gone when I arrived at the station.

a. Both
b.

and
happened before

are past actions.

.

Use
Time diagram of Example 1:

The train had gone when I arrived at the station.

The train had gone

Past

Now

Future

I arrived

We dont know when exactly the train went (Action 1) but it went at any point of time before the moment I arrived (Action 2).

meaning

In Cantonese,
the meaning of the English Past Perfect Tense is:

Note

a. We use past perfect tense when necessary to indicate the sequence of two past actions.

Example: She had gone out when I got home.

Note

b. If the sequence is clear, the past perfect is not always necessary.

Example: She went out before I got home.

Note

c. However, it is often used for clarity.

Example: She had gone out before I got home.

Note

d. We often use it when the second action is understood but not stated.

Example: I hadnt realised (until you told me).

Note

e(i).

Compare Sentence (a) and (b) a. When I had had dinner, I watched TV. b. I had dinner before I watched TV. In both sentences (a) and (b), which action happened first?

How is the sequence of actions indicated in each of

the two sentences?

Note

e(ii).

In Sentences (a) & (b), the action of having dinner happened first.

In (a), the sequence of action is indicated by the use of the past perfect.

In (b), the sequence of action is indicated by the use of before.

Form (Negative sentences & questions) Sentence: She had finished the homework by the time Mum came back.

Negative: She hadnt (had not) finished the homework by the time Mum came back.
Question: Had she finished the homework by the time Mum came back?

Exercise A Situation: Susan and Terry returned home from holiday yesterday to find a broken window and several valuable items missing. Later, they tell the police what happened.

Exercise A (Contd)

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

(Write down the answers on a piece of paper)

Exercise A (Contd)
P: When did you first realize someone (1) [break] into your house? T: Well, when we opened the front door we noticed that someone (2) [walk] through the hall in muddy shoes and (3) [break] the lock on the living-room door. and then, when we went into the kitchen, we saw that the thief, or thieves, (4) [come] in through the kitchen window; they (5) [smash] the glass and (6) [open] the window from the inside. P: Anything missing from the kitchen?

S: As far as we can tell, theres nothing missing from the kitchen. But it was an awful mess.

Exercise A (Contd)
P: And what about the living room? T: We couldnt believe our eyes when we first went in. they (7) [throw] all the books on the floor; they (8) [search] through every drawer in the desk; they (9) [tear] open all the cushions; they (10) [pull] the carpet up; and they even (11) [smash] all the pictures. P: And what was missing? S: Well, thats strange. They (12) [take] some cash and smaller pieces of silver, but they (13) [leave] a lot of valuable items. They even (14) [leave] the cheque books. I dont understand it. P: Something or someone probably (15) [disturb] them. It often happens. Well, well do our best, but theres not much chance of recovering your possessions, Im afraid.

Exercise A (Key)

1. had broken
2. had walked 3. had broken

9. had torn
10. had pulled 11. had even smashed

4. had come
5. had smashed 6. had opened

12. had taken

13. had left 14. had left 15. had probably disturbed

7. had thrown
8. had searched

Exercise B Situation: Phil had his first flying lesson yesterday. Hes now telling Richard what it was like.

Exercise B (Contd)

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

(Write down the answers on a piece of paper)

Exercise B (Contd)
R: You ever (16) [be] in a small plane before?

P: No, and I not (17) [expect] it to be so noisy. I (18) [fly] in several different jets before, but I never even (19) [see] a small plane before yesterday.
R: The instructor (20) [realise] you were a complete beginner?

P: Oh yes. He (21) [spend] 30 minutes asking me questions before we went out of the plane. I told him I always (22) [want] to learn how to fly, but I never (23) [have] the opportunity and I not (24) [be] able to afford it before.

Exercise B (Contd)
R: Was the lesson as exciting as you (25) [expect]? P: Oh yes. I (26) [imagine] all sorts of things before I actually flew the plane. I (27) [think] I would get airsick; I (28) [dream] I would crash; I (29) [be] worried I would be too nervous to control the plane; I (30) [imagine] the plane would catch fire. But after the lesson, I suddenly realized that I not (31) [be] sick, that we not (32) [crash], that I (33) [control] the plane well, that the plane not (34) [catch] fire and that I actually (35) [fly] a plane for the first time in my life. It was fantastic!

Exercise B (Key)
16. had you ever been 26. Id imagined 27. Id thought 28. Id dreamt

17. hadnt expected

18. Id flown 19. Id never even seen 20. had the instructor realised 21. hed spent 22. Id always wanted 23. Id never had 24. hadnt been 25. youd expected

29. Id been
30. Id imagined 31. hadnt been 32. hadnt crashed 33. Id controlled 34. hadnt caught 35. Id actually flown

Web-links

http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/past2.html

http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/Tenses11.cfm

The End