Past Perfect Tense

Revision 1: Study the sentences in the past perfect tense.

	Simple Tense (простий час)	Continuous (тривалий)	Perfect (здійснений)	Perfect-Continuous
Present (теперішній)	+ I often watch TV. ? Do you like it? - No, I don’t.	+He is reading now. ? Is she reading? - She is not reading.	+ I have just done it. ? Has he done it? - He hasn’t done it yet.	+ I have been waiting for you since morning. ? Has he been waiting? - He hasn’t been waiting.
Past(минулий)	+I saw a film yesterday. ? Did you like it? - No, I didn’t.	+ She was walking in the park this time yesterday. ? Were you walking? - I wasn’t walking.	+ He had prepared the task by 8 pm. ? Had you prepared it? - I hadn’t prepared it by that time.	+ He had been studying for a year before he found a job. ? Had you been studying? - No, I hadn’t.

Revision 2: Study the situations when the past perfect tense is used.

a) One past action happened before another past action or by a stated time in the past: one past action preceded another past action.

I had done my work by 5 o’clock.

I had cleaned my flat before I watched TV.

When I arrived, they had finished lunch.

We felt much safer after Denis had locked all the doors.

He had never flown before.

b) The action happened in the past. The result was also visible in the past.

He had repaired his car. He could drive again.

The flat was empty – everyone had gone out.

He had fixed an old armchair. It looked brand new.

Compare the situations presented above with those of the present perfect tense:

He has repaired his car. Now he can drive again.

The flat is empty – everyone has gone away.

He has fixed an old armchair. Now it looks brand new.

Practice – Grammar in use

Task 1: Read and translate more examples with the past perfect and other past tenses. Try to feel the situations.

a). She had watered all the flowers by five o’clock in the afternoon.

After she had cleaned the house, she called her friend.

When Henry arrived at the theatre, the play had already started.

Had they bought tickets before they left?

What had you studied before you entered the University?

When he arrived at the party, Ann wasn’t there. She had gone home.

The man sitting next to us on the plane was very nervous. He hadn’t flown before.

The house was dirty. They hadn’t cleaned it for weeks.

b). - I was at the cinema. I was watching a great film when a fire broke out. Someone had dropped a match into a waste-paper basket.

- By the time he arrived, I had (I’d) opened the mail; I’d sorted it; I’d answered the most important letters; I’d typed two reports and I’d made a cup of tea.

- A woman walked into the room. She was a complete stranger to me. I had never seen her before.

- We were driving along the road when we saw a car which had broken down, so we stopped to see if we could help.

Task 2: Underline the correct tense.

1. Lynnewas singing / had sung as she was cleaning the windows.

2. Jo was happy. He was winning / had won the first prize in the competition.

3. It was raining / had rained while they were playing the football match.

4. We bought / had bought the tickets before we went to the theatre.

5. She broke the glass while she was washing / had washed it.

6. People used to work / had worked very long hours in those days.

Task 3: Choose the correct answer.

1. The play had started _________ we got to the theatre.

A while B until C by the time

2. Tom has __________ had some good news.

A still B just C yet

3. __________ did you move to Poltava?

A How long ago B How long C While

4. George was washing the car __________ Sue was cutting the grass.

A while B as soon as C before

5. She __________ eats beans because they make her ill.

A ever B never C always

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