GRAMMAR

The past
perfect

LEVEL NUMBER LANGUAGE

Upper-Intermediate EN_B2_1032G English
(B2)

www.lingoda.com
 Learning outcomes

● I can form the past perfect and

use it in a sentence.

● I can explain the differences

between the past simple and
the past perfect.

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 The past perfect
_______________

We use the past perfect tense to talk about an event that happened before another
event in the past.

I found it so hard to concentrate in today’s English lesson

because I hadn’t eaten anything this morning!

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 Forming the past perfect

● We form the past perfect with had + past participle of the main verb.

Subject had Past participle

I slept poorly.

You spoken to my mother.

He had brought flowers.

We asked for help.

They taken the train.

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 Forming the past perfect

● The negative form is had + not (hadn’t) + past participle of the main verb.

Subject had not Past participle

I slept poorly.

You spoken to my mother.

He had not brought flowers.

We asked for help.

They taken the train.

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 Put the verb in parentheses into the past perfect

1 When I arrived at the theatre, the show _______________ (start).

2 After they _______________ (eat) the raw seafood, they started to feel ill.

3 Jane didn’t arrive until I _______________ (leave) the party.

4 All our plants died because we _______________ (not, give) them enough water.

5 I _______________ (never, be) abroad until my husband took me to Paris last year.

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 Talking about past events

● We use the past simple for an event that happened at a specific time in the past.
● Usually, we use a time phrase like yesterday or last week to show it is a finished time.

Yesterday, I forgot to set my alarm.

Last year, Tom found a better job.

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 Talking about past events

● When we talk about past events, we usually go in chronological order.

● This means we say what we did first and then what happened after it.

Yesterday, I forgot to set my alarm and missed my train.

Last year, Tom found a better job, so he bought a new car.

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 Talking about past events

● To use the past perfect, we need two past events, but we don’t speak chronologically.
● Instead, we speak about the last event and what had happened before it.

I missed my train because I had forgotten to set my alarm.

Tom bought a new car once he had found a better job.

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 Talking about past events

● Identify the last event. Which example describes the events in chronological order?
● Which example describes the events in non-chronological order?

I ate my lunch, then I went to the meeting.

I went to the meeting after I had eaten my lunch.

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 Order the events
Identify the past tenses in each sentence. Then, explain the order of events.

1 I washed the floor as soon as the guests had gone.

2 We had sold all our furniture by the time we moved out.

3 After Tom had completed his work, he went to lunch.

4 I didn’t say anything until she had finished talking.

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 Past simple or past perfect?
Put the verb in parentheses into the correct past tense. If an event happens before
another, use the past perfect
for the earliest event.

1 I left my office and then _____________ (take) the bus home.

2 Sam failed his exam because he _____________ (not, study) hard enough.

3 The plane departed at 8 p.m. and _____________ (arrive) in Paris three hours later.

4 The only thing in my fridge was a slice of pizza that I _____________ (not, eat) the night before.

5 I didn’t buy anything at the shop because I _____________ (leave) my wallet at home.

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 Connect the past events
Complete the activity on your own. Then, compare answers in breakout rooms.

The film started. Then, I arrived at the When I arrived at the cinema, the film
1
cinema. had already started.

2 He brushed his teeth. Then, he went to bed.

3 We left the map at home. We got lost.

I learnt some Thai phrases. Then, I went to

4
Thailand on holiday.

5 I watched a really scary film. I couldn’t sleep.

I gave my friend the phone number. Then, I

6
realised it was incorrect.

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 Paying attention to meaning

The bomb went off when the police arrived.

The bomb had gone off when the police arrived.

● The past tense you

use changes the
meaning of the
sentence.

● Discuss the
difference in
meaning above.

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 Look at the photo
Discuss what you think had happened before it was taken.

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 Common structures

● We often use the past perfect with the following structures.

● Note the use of the different past tenses to order the events.
Real-life language

By the time Until

By the time you called me, I had already Until I travelled to France last year, I had
gone to bed. never heard French before.

Sarah had worked for several different He had worked at the company for 50 years
companies by the time she turned 30. until he retired last year.

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 Match the sentences

1 By the time I moved to Japan last year, a until they finally decided to sell it.

2 He had been our CEO since 2012 b I had completed a basic Japanese course.

the children had already made a mess in

3 By the time she met her husband, c
the living room.

They had lived in their house for twenty until he decided to leave the company
4 d
years last year.

By the time he finished cleaning the

5 e Tina had been on hundreds of dates.
house,

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 Complete each sentence for you

By the time I got my

current job, I…

Until I started learning

English at Lingoda…

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 Writing
1. Write a short paragraph about a good day you had recently.
2. Share your story with the class.

Write the events in chronological order.

Then, change the order of your events

to include a past perfect.

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 Let’s reflect

● Can you form the past perfect and

use it in a sentence?

● Can you explain the differences

between the past simple and the
past perfect?

Your teacher will now make one suggestion

for improvement for each student.

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End of the lesson

Idiom

in the nick of time

Meaning: at the very last moment; just before something bad happens

Example: We’d got out of the car just in the nick of time; minutes later it exploded!
Additional practice

Additional practice

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 Fill in the gaps
Use the correct form of the past simple or past perfect.
Additional practice

1. By the time we got to Glasgow, we _______________ (be)

on the bus for for 10 hours.

2. We were tired because we _______________ (catch) the

bus at 6:00 a.m.

3. We were glad to be at our destination, although we

_______________ (see) beautiful sights on the drive.

4. It was 8:00 p.m., and we _______________ (not eat) since

12:00, so we _______________ (go) to find a meal.

5. My friend Fiona _______________ (tell) me to phone her

after our arrival, so I called her.

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 Complete the sentence
Use the past simple or past perfect of the verb in parentheses.
Additional practice

I got home and realised that someone (try) to I got home and realised that someone
1
break into the house. had tried to break into the house.

I celebrated on Saturday night because I

2
(pass) my exam the day before.

I arrived at the theatre and a few minutes

3
later the show (start).

When I married my husband last year, I (be)

4
married twice before.

My flight arrived late because the aircraft

5
(break down) earlier that day.

As soon as he (see) his mother, he began to

6
cry.

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 Choose two questions
Ask a classmate.
Additional practice

What had you done by What’s one food you

the time you went to hadn’t tried until
bed yesterday? recently?

What’s a place you

How many concerts
had never heard of
had you been to by the
until someone told
time you turned 18?
you?

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 Answer key

P. 6: 1. had started
2. had eaten
3. had left
4. hadn’t given
5. had never been
P. 10: Chronological order: I ate my lunch, then I went to the meeting.
Non-chronological order: I went to the meeting after I had eaten my lunch.
P. 11: 1. washed = past simple; had gone = past perfect.
First event = the guests left; second event = I washed the floor.
2. had sold = past perfect; moved out = past simple
First event = we sold our furniture; second event = we moved out.
3. had completed = past perfect; went = past simple.
First event = he completed his work; second event: he went to lunch.
4. had finished = past perfect; didn’t say = past simple
First event = she finished talking; second event = I said something.

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 Answer key

P. 12: 1. I took
2. hadn’t studied
3. arrived
4. hadn’t eaten
5. had left
P. 13: Suggested answers:
2. He went to bed after he had brushed his teeth.
3. We got lost because we had left the map at home.
4. When I went to Thailand on holiday, I had already learnt some phrases in Thai.
5. I couldn’t sleep because I’d watched a really scary film.
6. I realised the phone number was incorrect after I had given it to my
friend.
P. 17: 1. b, 2. d, 3. e, 4. a, 5. c

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 Answer key

P. 23: 1. had been

2. had caught
3. had seen
4. hadn’t eaten; went
5. had told
P. 24: Suggested answers:
2. I celebrated on Saturday night because I had passed my exam the day before.
3. I arrived at the theatre and a few minutes later the show started.
4. When I married my husband, I had been married twice before.
5. My flight arrived late because the aircraft had broken down earlier that day.
6. As soon as he saw his mother he began to cry.

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 Notes

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