Past Perfect


past time

Listen to the following audio track and then write down what you heard in the text box.




What did you learn? Take the quiz below to see what you know about the Past Perfect Tense.


1. The past perfect tense is the past form of the present perfect tense.





2. The past perfect tense always uses the past form of the auxiliary verb have.





3. The past perfect tense requires a past participle after the auxiliary verb had.





4. The event that happened first in the past time is indicated by the past tense.





5. The phrase has eaten is an example of the past perfect tense.





6. The sentence "Jennifer have danced with Brad before Angelina did" is correct.





7. The sentence "Matt had graduated from UCLA before his sister, Emily, graduated from high school" is correct.






8. "I had studied the past perfect tense in Len's class before then" is a correct sentence.








Results

Question 1: The correct answer is b.

Question 2: The correct answer is a.

Question 3: The correct answer is a.

Question 4: The correct answer is b.

Question 5: The correct answer is b.

Question 6: The correct answer is b.

Question 7: The correct answer is a.

Question 8: The correct answer is a.

You answered them all right!

If you answered all the questions correctly, you have a good idea of how to use the past perfect tense. Nevertheless, let's take a look at some additional information to make sure.

Look at the time line below to see how the simple past and past perfect tenses are used together in the past time.




timeline
Note Note: The Present Perfect uses the auxiliaries has or have with the past participle. The Past Perfect uses the past form of the auxiliary, that is, had.
Although different in usage, these perfective tenses have something in common.

I have never seen her. That is, from the PAST up to NOW. The past time is somehow thought to be connected to the present time.

I had never seen her before yesterday. That is, from the PAST up to THEN. The past time is connected somehow to another time in the past. The past perfect indicates the older time.

Let's see how well you have mastered the past perfect tense.

Complete each of the sentences below.

1. Romeo had been very angry with Sofia because of her affair with Mario the Boatman until...

2. Nina had opened a Russian bakery and restaurant before ...

3. Anna had already used her gift card well before ...

4. Arnold had left the gym by the time ...

5. Ali had turned off the lights and gotten into bed before ...




Here are some possible answers. Had you thought of something similar?

1. Romeo had been very angry with Sofia because of her affair with Mario the Boatman until he met Katerina.

2. Nina had opened a Russian bakery and restaurant before her chocolate chip cookies became famous.

3. Anna had already used her gift card well before we asked her to treat us to dinner at Lawry's The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills.

4. Arnold had left the gym by the time Kassandra arrived to get his autograph.

5. Ali had turned off the lights and gotten into bed before the room got dark.




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