Past Perfect verbs
to watch
had watched
The woman eats breakfast.
The woman had eaten breakfast.
Before I fell asleep, I had read a book.
I had read a book.
When I (arrive) ___________ at the cinema, the film (start) ______________.
When I arrived at the cinema, the film had started.
The Past Perfect is used to indicate that an action happened after another action in the past.
False
The Past Perfect is used to indicate that an action happened before another action in the past.
to learn
had learned
Our friends went to a party.
Our friends had gone to a party.
When I arrived home, my parents had already eaten dinner.
My parents had already eaten dinner.
She (live) ________ in China before she (go) _______ to Thailand.
She had lived in China before she went to Thailand.
The Past Perfect is usually used together with the Simple Present.
False
The Past Perfect is usually used together with the Simple Past.
to go
had gone
Do you see that man?
Had you seen that man?
Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet after she had made herself some porridge.
She had made herself some porridge.
After they (eat) __________ the shellfish, they (begin) _____________ to feel sick.
After they had eaten the shellfish, they began to feel sick.
The Past Perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb had and the past participle of the main verb.
Correct
to arise
had arisen
The teacher starts the lesson and explains the task.
The teacher had started the lesson and had explained the task.
She had not eaten much of her porridge when a spider frightened her away.
She had not eaten much.
He (not/use) ______________ email before, so I (show) __________ him how to use it.
He had not used email before, so I showed him how to use it.
Some of the signal words for the past perfect are the same as those for the present perfect. The difference is that the signal words for the past perfect refer to the past and not to the present.
Correct
to forsee
had forseen
He always forbids me to stay up late.
He had always forbidden me to stay up late.
We couldn't go to the concert because we hadn't brought our tickets.
We hadn't brought our tickets.
You (not/study) ___________ for the test, so you (be) __________ very nervous.
You had not studied for the test, so you were very nervous.
The Past Perfect can also be used in the second conditional.
False
The Past Perfect is used in the third conditional.