3.7.1.1.1: Past Perfect Tense Form

Past Perfect Tense Form

I
You                    played
We                     eaten
They       had      started        
He                     come
She                     
It

 

First one action began and finished.  I got dressed.

Next, another action began and finished.  I drank two cups of coffee.

Thus:  I had gotten dressed by the time I drank two cups of coffee.

 

First one action began and finished.  I graduated from college.

Next, another action began and finished.  I went into the U. S. Army.

Thus:  I had graduated from college when I went into the U. S. Army.

 

First one action began and finished.  I worked all day.

Next, another action began and finished.  I ate dinner with my family.

Thus:  I had worked all day when I ate dinner with my family.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense:  Like the non-continuous past perfect, the past perfect continuous tense is used for two actions in the past at different times.  However, when using the past perfect continuous tense, the first action occurs just before the second action begins.  The first action takes the past perfect continuous tense and the second action takes the simple past tense.

Examples:

We had been cleaning the house for two hours when the children came home.

I had been driving for three hours when I stopped to fill up the tank with gas.

 I had been searching for 20 minutes when suddenly I saw the book I had been looking for.

It had been raining steadily for two days when all of a sudden the sun came out.

The boys had been talking in their room when they fell asleep.

First, one action was in progress in the past.

My wife was washing the kitchen floor.

Next, immediately another action happened in the past.

My son walked on the wet floor with his dirty shoes.

Thus:

My wife had been washing the floor when my son walked on it with his dirty shoes.

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First, I was driving home from school.

Next, all of a sudden I remembered I forgot something important at school.

Thus, I had been driving home from school when I remembered I had forgotten something important at school.

 

       It is important to remember that native speakers rarely use the past perfect tense or the past perfect continuous tense because it is much easier to use time words such as before, after, next, then, etc.  These words eliminate the need for the past perfect tense.

       Please note that there are other uses for the past perfect tense when it is absolutely necessary to use the past perfect.  For untrue or unreal past conditional/hypothetical sentences and for reported speech in the past time, the past perfect is necessary.  (You will study these later on in advanced grammar.  They are difficult.)

Exercise 21:  Combine the following sentences into one past perfect sentence, please.

Example:

John studied very hard for the test.  He got 100 % on the test.

John had studied very hard, and he got 100 % on the exam.

1.  Pedro played soccer all afternoon long.  He felt very tired that night.

2.  My sons and I walked in the forest for four hours.  We decided to take a rest.

3.  My son practiced the piece of music for many days.  He won the piano contest.

4.  I worked for two years in Iran.  I took a two-year vacation.

5.  My friend was in a hurry to get downtown.  He waited for the bus for over an hour, but it never came.  Finally, he took a taxi.

6.  My son saved his money for two years.  He bought a plane ticket to Japan.

7.  I slept for 10 hours on Saturday night.  I felt very good on Sunday.

8.  My wife packed our suitcases.  We left on vacation two days later.

9.  I wrote a letter.  I mailed the letter that afternoon at the post office.

10.  My wife cooked dinner on Saturday.  We ate the dinner on Sunday evening.

11.  I studied in college for four years.  I got my BA degree.

 

Exercise 22:  Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb, please.

1.  My sister --------------------- (take care of) my brother for many years.  He’s dead now.

2.  I --------------------- (brush) my teeth before my son --------------------- (wake up) today.

3.  While my son --------------------- (play) the piano, my wife --------------------- (tell) him to clean up his room.

4.  My wife --------------------- (need) to sharpen one of her knives last night.

5.  Although I --------------------- (eat) breakfast yesterday, I --------------------- (feel) hungry later.

6.  I --------------------- (not smoke) cigarettes as a young boy.

7.  My car-------------------- (break down) on my way to school today, so I ------------------- (need) to call Triple A to get it --------------------- (start) again.

8.  While a girl -------------------- (look) at an apple, it ------------------- (fall) to the ground.

9.  The boys -------------------- (finish) their homework, by the time their father -------------------- (get) home from work.

10.  My wife -------------------- (make) dinner for our family many times.

11.  My grandfather, who died many years ago, -------------------- (plant) a garden every year in his back yard.

12.  I ------------------------- (never smoke) in my life.

13.  While he ------------------------ (lie) on the grass, my dog ----------------------- (jump) on him.

14.  Your teacher ------------------------- (write) this exercise for 10 minutes.

15.  My car ------------------------- (run out of) gas on the way to school, and it ----------------------- (stop) on the highway.

16.  My friend ------------------------ (drink) a lot of alcohol, and he ---------------------- (fall) asleep on the living room floor.

17.  My wife ------------------------ (take) out the garbage last Wednesday morning.

18.  My wife ------------------------ (have) two babies, but my mother ------------------------ (have) three babies.

19.  The weather ----------------------- (be) nice lately.