Past Perfect Tense

1. Past Perfect Simple
   • Forming Past Perfect Simple
   • Use of Past Perfect Simple
   • Vocabulary related to Past Perfect Simple
2. Past Perfect Continuous
   • Forming Past Perfect Continuous
   • Use of Past Perfect Continuous
3. Past Perfect compared to other tenses
4. Practicing Past Perfect tense
   • Instructions
   • Solution
5. A story using Past Perfect Tense
   • Follow-up questions
   • Answers

Introduction

The Past Perfect tense is often feared by students. It is one of the complicated tenses. However, it is not that tricky. This chapter examines the Past Perfect Simple and the Past Perfect Continuous. Let’s first look at the way they are formed and then the situations in which we use them.

2 Past Perfect Continuous

If you have studied the rules about the Past Perfect Simple, the Past Perfect Continuous won’t be so complicated for you. While we can tell by the Past Perfect Simple what had happened at a particular moment in the past, the Past Perfect Continuous serves to tell us what had been happening before a certain moment in the past.

• He was dirty because he had been playing in the sandbox the whole afternoon.
  • We emphasize the course of this event- so we also add that it took the whole afternoon.

Before we take a closer look at the situations in which we use this tense, let’s explain how it is formed.

2.1 Forming Past Perfect Continuous

What do we need to form Past Perfect Continuous?
subject + HAD + BEEN + action verb with ending -ING + rest of sentence

• We create the negative form by putting NOT after HAD (the auxiliary verb)
• The short form is HADN‘T (You hadn’t been waiting (nečekal jsi)).

• We form a question by switching the subject with the auxiliary verb HAD
• The verb BEEN follows the subject:

2.2 Use of Past Perfect Continuous

Now we know how to form Past Perfect Continuous, we can now look at the situations where we use it:

We are talking about something that has been going on for some time before a specific point in the past

• She was exhausted because she had been exercising for two hours.
  • The exercise has lasted for two hours and it made the person exhausted.

We want to emphasize the duration of a certain event
We don’t just use only Past Perfect Continuous with a specific expression of time. We also use it when we want to say that the event took a longer time:

• Our football match was canceled after an hour due to the bad weather. We had been playing so well though!
  
  • They had been playing really well (all the time) before the football match was cancelled.

We are talking about a state that was caused by a certain event

• He came home completely wet. It had been raining the whole afternoon.
  
  
  
  • He was wet (state) because it had been raining the whole afternoon (event).

3 Past tense compared to other tenses

Now let’s look at the same sentence in different tenses. Notice how its meaning changes.

• When I entered the room, my dad sat down and ate his dinner.
  When I entered the room, my dad sat down and ate his dinner.
  • The actions happened one after the other, we use simple past tense.

• When I entered the room, my dad was eating his dinner.
  When I entered the room, my dad was eating his dinner.
  • His activity was in progress at the moment I entered the room, so we use past continuous tense.

• When I entered the room, my dad had eaten his dinner.
  When I entered the room, my dad had already finished his dinner.
  • Father had completed the activity before I entered the room. To express this sequence, we use past perfect tense.

4 Practicing past perfect tense

Try the following exercises and test your newly acquired knowledge.

4.1 Instructions

Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in past and past perfect tense:

1) By the time I __________ (arrive) at the party, everyone __________ (leave).
2) She __________ (study) for two hours before she __________ (take) a break.
3) They __________ (already eat) by the time we __________ (get) to the restaurant.
4) The movie __________ (start) before we __________ (arrive) at the cinema.
5) He __________ (never see) a bear before he __________ (go) to Alaska.

Exercise 2: Sentence transformation

Change the following sentences to the past perfect tense:

1) I woke up early this morning.
2) They started the project last week.
3) She bought a new car yesterday.
4) He had a sandwich for lunch.
5) We went to bed late last night.

Exercise 3: Answers the questions
Answer the following questions in the past perfect tense:

1) Had you ever been to New York before your trip last year? – Yes,…
2) Had she finished the book before she saw the movie? – Yes,…
3) Had they seen the movie before they read the book? – No,…
4) Had he eaten breakfast before he left for work? – Yes,…
5) Had we met before the party last week? – No,…

4.2 Solution

Exercise 1: Filling in the blanks with the correct verb form

1) By the time arrived at the party, everyone had left.
2) She had studied / had been studying for two hours before she took a break.
3) They had already eaten by the time we got to the restaurant.
4) The movie had started before we arrived at the cinema.
5) He had never seen a bear before he went to Alaska.

Exercise 2: Sentence transformation

1) I had woken up early this morning.
2) They had started the project last week.
3) She had bought a new car yesterday.
4) He had had a sandwich for lunch.
5) We had gone to bed late last night.

Exercise 3: Answering questions

1) Had you ever been to New York before your trip last year?
Yes, I had been to New York before my trip last year.
2) Had she finished the book before she saw the movie?
Yes, she had finished the book before she saw the movie.
3) Had they seen the movie before they read the book?
No, they had not seen the movie before they read the book.
4) Had he eaten breakfast before he left for work?
Yes, he had eaten breakfast before he left for work.
5) Had we met before the party last week?
No, we had not met before the party last week.

5 A story using Past Perfect Tense

And what does the past perfect tense look like in the context of a story? Read and listen to the story. Do you dare to try the comprehension questions too?

Alice had always dreamed of becoming a successful author, but it wasn’t until she had graduated from college that she started to pursue her passion for writing. After completing a few short stories, she had decided to write her first novel. For months, Alice had been working tirelessly, pouring her heart and soul into her writing. She had spent countless hours researching and developing her characters, creating the perfect plot, and editing and revising her work.By the time Alice had submitted her manuscript to various publishing houses, she had been writing for over a year. During this time, she had faced many rejections and setbacks, but she had never given up. She had continued to work hard, honing her craft, and perfecting her novel.

Finally, after what had felt like an eternity, Alice had received an email from a publishing house expressing their interest in publishing her book. She had been overjoyed, and the hours, days, and months she had spent writing had all been worth it. Alice had been ecstatic to see her dream come to fruition.

From that day on, Alice had been known as a successful author, and her book had become a bestseller. Looking back, she had realized that all the hard work, dedication, and perseverance had been worth it.

5.1 Follow-up questions

1) What had Alice been dreaming of becoming?

2) When had Alice started pursuing her passion for writing?

3) Had Alice completed any short stories before deciding to write her first novel?

4) How long had Alice been working tirelessly on her writing?

5) What had Alice spent countless hours doing while writing her first novel?

6) How long had Alice been writing by the time she submitted her manuscript to publishing houses?

7) Had Alice faced any rejections or setbacks during her writing process?

8) What had Alice continued to do despite the rejections and setbacks she faced?

9) How long had Alice been writing before receiving an email from a publishing house expressing their interest in publishing her book?

10) What had Alice realized when looking back on all the hard work and perseverance she had put into her writing?

5.2 Answers

1) What had Alice been dreaming of becoming?

Alice had been dreaming of becoming a successful author.

2) When had Alice started pursuing her passion for writing?

Alice had started pursuing her passion for writing after graduating from college.

3) Had Alice completed any short stories before deciding to write her first novel?

Yes, Alice had completed a few short stories before deciding to write her first novel.

4) How long had Alice been working tirelessly on her writing?

Alice had been working tirelessly on her writing for months.

5) What had Alice spent countless hours doing while writing her first novel?

Alice had spent countless hours researching and developing her characters, creating the perfect plot, and editing and revising her work.

6) How long had Alice been writing by the time she submitted her manuscript to publishing houses?

By the time Alice submitted her manuscript to publishing houses, she had been writing for over a year.

7) Had Alice faced any rejections or setbacks during her writing process?

Yes, Alice had faced many rejections and setbacks during her writing process.

8) What had Alice continued to do despite the rejections and setbacks she faced?

Alice had continued to work hard, honing her craft and perfecting her novel.

9) How long had Alice been writing before receiving an email from a publishing house expressing their interest in publishing her book?

Alice had been writing for over a year before receiving an email from a publishing house expressing their interest in publishing her book.

10) What had Alice realized when looking back on all the hard work and perseverance she had put into her writing?

Alice had realized that all the hard work, dedication, and perseverance had been worth it when looking back on her journey to becoming a successful author.