Perfect Sentences
Which verb do we always use when writing a Past Perfect sentence, no matter the subject?
Had
What is the past participle of “be”?
been
In the sentence “I had eaten dinner before I watched TV,” which event happened first?
I had eaten dinner.
Combine: “He ate lunch.” + “He went to the park.” (Use before)
He had eaten lunch before he went to the park.
Who acted first? “I had called before you texted.”
I called first.
Complete the sentence correctly: “By the time we arrived at the theater, the movie ___ already ___.”
had already started
What is the past participle of “fly”?
flown
Why do we use the Past Perfect instead of the Simple Past when describing a sequence of past events?
To show clearly which event happened first.
State 2 examples: “She finished her project.” + “She took a nap.” (use before and after)
She had finished her project before she took a nap.
She took a nap after she had finished her project.
Who did the first action? Lucie had finished before Cory started the test even though Cory had arrived to class earlier.
Cory had arrived to class
Rewrite the sentence “She left before he arrived” so that it clearly shows which action happened first using the Past Perfect tense.
She had left before he arrived.
Identify and correct the mistake: “She had went to the park.”
Correct form: “She had gone to the park.”
Rearrange and state the proper tense for the following into a Past Perfect sentence: “She (wake up) late.” / “She (miss) the bus”
She had woken up late, so she missed the bus.
Identify both tenses and explain the order of events: “She had cleaned the kitchen when her guests arrived.”
“Had cleaned” = Past Perfect (earlier action); “arrived” = Simple Past (later action).
What does this tell you about when people sat down:
By the time the concert began, everyone had found their seats
They found their seats before the concert started.
Explain the difference in meaning between: “Greta locked the door when the thief got there” and “She had locked the door before the thief got there.”
In the first, both actions happen around the same time. In the second, Greta locking the door happened before the thief got there.
Choose the correct form and explain your choice: “The ball had (shook / shaken / shaked) before it stopped.”
shaken — because “shake” has the irregular participle “shaken.”
Write a sentence that tells two events in the past using Past Perfect for the earlier one. You must include a cause or reason.
Example: Kevin had forgotten his umbrella, so he got completely soaked when it started raining.
Mix the following into a single complex sentence using the Past Perfect: “The students completed their essays. The teacher collected them. The essays were due at noon.”
The students had completed their essays before the teacher collected them, which were due before noon.
List the order of events from the following short paragraph:
The pirates had followed the map but they ended up lost in the middle of sea. Previously a strange man had gifted them a map pointing to precious treasures. The men had become pirates because their families' were starving. Now, lost at sea, they needed to make a decision, sail back home or keep searching for the treasure. They had lost hope but decided to keep on sailing in search of it.
1. Their families' were starving so they became pirates
2. A strange man gifted them a map
3. The pirates follow the map but end up last at sea
4. They need to make a decision.
5. They lost hope but decided to keep on sailing looking for the treasure.
Create a Past Perfect sentence that includes a time expression (e.g., “by the time,” “after,” or “before”) and explains a cause-and-effect relationship between two past actions.
Example: By the time the teacher entered the room, the students had already finished the test.
Use three irregular past participles from the list (e.g., “forbid,” “draw,” “catch”) in one Past Perfect story sentence.
Example: The teacher had forbidden phones, but Laura had drawn on hers and caught everyone’s attention.
Organize the following events into two or three sentences in order using the Past Perfect and Simple Past:
a) Someone had left the woman's car unlocked.
b) Everything went quiet and the car drove off in the night.
c) The woman entered her car and started the engine.
d) She tried to fight and yell.
e) The woman had noticed the man in the backseat.
Example of sentences: Someone had left the woman's car unlocked but she entered her car and started the engine. The woman had noticed the man in the backseat so she tried to fight and yell. But everything went quiet and the car drove off in the night.
Create a 2–3 sentence story about a famous inventor/scientist (e.g., Marie Curie, Tesla, Einstein) using at least one Past Perfect and one Simple Past verb to show sequence
Tesla had studied electricity for years before he created his first alternating current motor.
Create sentences describing in the order you like the following events:
1. An announcement rang in the airport
2. 5 different children were lost
3. The police searched for the criminals
4. A suspicious group of masked women walked around.
5. The children were found hidden in the baggage area.
5 different children had gotten lost so an announcement rang in the airport about it. A suspicious group of masked women had walked around as the police searched for the criminals. Luckily, the children were found hidden in the baggage area.