Past perfect

I can form and use the past perfect tense with appropriate time expressions.

i wotee uy Late. B-y the time

i 0¿>t to sc-hool, the exam.
had already started.
When we talk about the past using the past simple, we
EXAM
normally put events in the order they happened.
IN We ate a big lunch. Then we slept for two hours!
PROGRESS
We often use the past perfect with the past simple to
show that events are not in the order they happened.
Why did you
miss the exam.? We slept for two hours. Wefd eaten a big lunch!
We often use the past perfect in sentences with
conjunctions like when, by the time, before, after.
By the time she arrived at the station, the train had
already left.
I hadn't packed my bags when the taxi arrived.
Had you read the book before you saw the film?
We can use already, just, never with the past perfect.
We put these words before the past participle.
I'd just started my homework when my friend phoned.
She,d never been to London, so she was looking forward
to the trip.
When we are already talking about the past, we use the
We can also use the past perfect with the phrase
past perfect to talk about events that happened at an
It was the first time ...
earlier time.
We went to India last year. It was the first time I'd ever
We went to the cinema last night, but Michael stayed at
travelled on a plane.
home. He had seen the ilm before. (= We saw the film last
f

night. Michael saw the film before that.) See page 175 for the form table.

Circle the correct option. O

ÿ She went back to school because she'd left /
%2 Complete the sentences with the past perfect
form of the verbs in brackets. O
leaved her bag in the classroom. ÿ Ben Wad eaten two burgers but he was still
1 Sam wanted to pay but he'd forgot / forgotten hungry, (eat)
his wallet. 1 Sally_the book but she couldn't
2 When he woke up, everyone had finished / remember the story, (read)
finished breakfast. 2 Although he_ a ticket, he decided
3 I've / I'd just repaired the bike, when Harry not to go to the concert, (buy)
crashed it again. 3 His mum was angry because he_
4 They had / did spent all their money, so they his room, (not tidy)
couldn t take the bus home. 4 William decided to celebrate because he
'

5 It was only eight o'clock but she'd already fallen / _

his exam, (pass)
she already fell asleep. 5 By the time they arrived at the shop, it
6 Jill and Lucy weren"t there. Where they had / had _ (close)
they gone? 6 Lucy_the news when Helen
7 By the time Dickens died, how many books he phoned her. (not hear)
had / had he written? 7 It was the first time we her. (meet)
8 Peter didn't understand the homework because 8 After Jim- enough money, he
he didn't / hadn't listened to the teacher. bought himself a new phone, (save)
Unit 11 57
S3 O 11.1 Complete the sentences with just, already
or never and the past perfect form of the verb in
brackets. Listen and check.

ÿ She'd already been there for two hours when Mary_Paris twice but she wanted
her friends arrived, (be) to go again, (visit)
1 They were really tired. They_ This was Vicky's first race. She_in
playing football, (finish) a competition before, (run)
2 Tom was nervous. He-before, (fly) 8 Robert_the trousers, so he
couldn t
take them back to the shop, (wear)
'

3 She felt sick. She_two pieces of

chocolate cake, (eat) 9 We were lucky. We_at the cinema
4 Her grandmother didn't know what to do. She when the film started, (arrive)
_ a computer before, (use) 10 I tried to open the door, but the key didn't work.
5 I_asleep when the sound of the I couldn't understand it.This_

phone woke me up again, (fall) before, (happen)

Peter went away for a week on a school Look at the example. What had you done
trip. He came back a week later and his by the time you were eight? Ask and
bedroom looked very different. What answer questions using the verbs below
had his parents done? Look at the or your own ideas.
pictures and write sentences with the
buy a mobile phone travel on a plane
past perfect.
learn to swim sleep in a tent
ihew'd evwbtitd the blÿv. start English lessons walk to school alone
-C7-ÿ-

Had wou leam-t to swlkvt?

°
yes, i had.

58 Past perfect
te oii.2 Listen. Which event happened first? ÿ bb * 8 Rewrite the two sentences as one sentence, using
Write 1 and 2. the past simple and past perfect.
ÿ Bill arrived at the station. ÿ Mary ate dinner Then she met her friends.
.

Mary had eaten dinner when sMe Mt her -riends.

f
His friends bought tickets. \±] ÿ Robert got up early. But he didn't feel tired.
1 Bill arrived at the station. _
J Although Robert had not u-p eartM, he didn,t feel
tired.
His friends bought tickets. \Z\
1 She lived in Spain for six years.Then she went to
2 Katy went to a café. O university.
She met Sue. ÿ She_when

3 Katy went to a café. ÿ

2 Jack didn't read my email. Then I phoned him.
She met Sue. ÿ He_when
~

4 It started to rain. [
3 I had a shower.Then I got dressed.
They stopped playing. ]
After_, I
5 It started to rain. Q
They stopped playing. O 4 I bought a ticket for the cinema. Then Alex
invited me to a party.
6 John's family had breakfast.
I _
when
He woke up. |
7 John's family had breakfast. Q 5 Jane learnt some Chinese at school. But she
didn't understand people in Beijing.
He woke up. j
Although_, she
8 He crossed the road. ]
He saw Fred. [ ] 6 She made 25 films.Then she won her first award.
By the time_, she
9 He crossed the road.

He saw Fred. | 7 Someone stole my wallet. I couldn't pay for the

bus.
=:. 7
* / Circle the correct options. I _
because
ÿ Paul didn't finish / hadn't finished the exam
when the teacher said / had said, Stop!'
'
8 They ate a lot of chocolate. Then they had lunch.
1 When I looked / had looked at my watch, it They_before
stopped / had stopped.
2 This was her first visit to Paris. In fact, she never 9 I cleaned my room.Then my parents gave me my
went / had never been abroad before. pocket money.
3 They didn't play / hadn't played tennis because My parents_after
Anna forgot / had forgotten her racket.
4 By the time we reached / had reached the ski
resort, it started / had started snowing. Work in pairs. Student A says a sentence
5 When the show ended / had ended, all the starting By the timeusing a verb from
restaurants closed / had closed. box A. Student B completes the sentence
6 Harry already cleaned / had already cleaned his using a verb from box B.
teeth before he had / had had breakfast. A arrive at school film start find my money
7 Daisy screamed / had screamed because she get home lesson finish leave school
just saw / had just seen a spider.
8 Lucy knew / had known Tom for two years when B fall asleep go home have dinner
they got / had got married. miss the bus lesson start shops close
9 Where did everyone go / had everyone gone
when she needed / had needed help with the By the thue the film started ...
washing-up?
10 He didn't win / hadn't won the race because he he'd fallen asleep.
didn't practise / hadn't practised enough.

Unit 11 59
; í10 011.3 Complete the story with the correct form ni Rewrite the two sentences as one
of the verbs in brackets. Then listen and check. r sentence, using the linking words in
brackets. Change the order of the
sentences and use the past perfect where
necessary. Add extra details to make the
story more interesting.

ÿ We decided to go to the beach. We got up early

on Saturday, (because)
we pot up early ons-aturdaij becnust we'd
decided to go to the beach, ft was LoveLy weather
s0 we "pacteed our things.
1 It started raining. We arrived at the beach, (by the
In i860, Robert Burke and William Wills time)
started (start) an expedition to travel
2 I didn't eat breakfast. I was hungry, (so)
_

across Australia from south to north. No white

man *_(ever do) this before, and
3 Mum forgot to pack the food. We decided to eat
one year earlier the government
our picnic, (but)
2
_
(offer) a prize to the first
people to do it.
4 We bought and ate some sandwiches. It stopped
Burke and Wills3_(organize) a raining, (after)
group of nineteen men and set off in August.
Three months later, they4_ 5 I brought a ball with me in the car. We played
(arrive) at Cooper Creek. Then Burke, Wills games on the beach, (so)
and ive other menS_(continue)
f

their journey to the north coast. The rest of 6 All the other people went. We left the beach.
(when)
the men established a camp at Cooper Creek
andf_(wait) for them to return.
7 I fell asleep in the car. We arrived home, (by
By the time they reached the north the time)
coast in February 1861, Burke and Wills
7
- (travel) 2,000 miles across
two deserts. But the journey"
(took) 60 days instead of 45 days and, as a
result, theyi._(already eat) most
of their food.

The return journey was terrible. They

,"
- (be) hungry and tired and the
desert was incredibly hot. When they finally
"
- (arrive) back at Cooper Creek
Self-evaluation Rate your progress.
on the 2ii, of April, the other men u u u
12
- (leave). Burke and Wills had
asked them to wait for thirteen weeks and in
fact, they,3-(wait) for eighteen
weeks. In the end, they"4_
(abandon) the camp only nine hours before
Burke and Wills "S_(return).
Burke and Wills didn,t have the strength
to travel any further and both men
,&
- (die) in June 1861.

60 Past perfect