Form (Sentences)

“ had ” + past participle

Examples:
The train had gone.
I had had lunch.
He had been a waiter.
Use

We use Past Perfect Tense to describe

ONE ACTION

happening before

ANOTHER ACTION
Use

Example 1:
The train had gone when I arrived at the station.

a. Both and are past actions.

b. happened before .
 Use
Time diagram of Example 1:
The train had gone when I arrived at the station.

The train had gone

Past Now Future

I arrived

We don’t know when exactly the train went (Action

1) but it went at any point of time before the
moment I arrived (Action 2).
meaning

In Cantonese,
the meaning of the English Past Perfect Tense is:
 Note

a. We use past perfect tense when necessary to indicate

the sequence of two past actions.

Example:
She had gone out when I got home.
 Note

b. If the sequence is clear, the past perfect is not always

necessary.

Example:
She went out before I got home.
 Note

c. However, it is often used for clarity.

Example:
She had gone out before I got home.
 Note

d. We often use it when the second action is understood

but not stated.

Example:
I hadn’t realised (until you told me).
 Note

e(i). Compare Sentence (a) and (b)

a. When I had had dinner, I watched TV.
b. I had dinner before I watched TV.

• In both sentences (a) and (b), which action happened

first?
• How is the sequence of actions indicated in each of
the two sentences?
 Note

e(ii). In Sentences (a) & (b), the action of having dinner

happened first.

In (a), the sequence of action is indicated by the use of

the past perfect.

In (b), the sequence of action is indicated by the use of

before.
Form (Negative sentences & questions)

Sentence: She had finished the homework by the

time Mum came back.

Negative: She hadn’t (had not) finished the homework

by the time Mum came back.

Question: Had she finished the homework by the

time Mum came back?
Exercise A

Situation: Susan and Terry returned home from

holiday yesterday to find a broken
window and several valuable items
missing. Later, they tell the police
what happened.
Exercise A (Cont’d)

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

(Write down the answers on a piece of paper)
Exercise A (Cont’d)

P: When did you first realize someone (1) [break] into your
house?
T: Well, when we opened the front door we noticed that
someone (2) [walk] through the hall in muddy shoes and (3)
[break] the lock on the living-room door. and then, when we
went into the kitchen, we saw that the thief, or thieves, (4)
[come] in through the kitchen window; they (5) [smash] the
glass and (6) [open] the window from the inside.
P: Anything missing from the kitchen?
S: As far as we can tell, there’s nothing missing from the
kitchen. But it was an awful mess.
Exercise A (Cont’d)
P: And what about the living room?
T: We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first went in. they (7)
[throw] all the books on the floor; they (8) [search] through
every drawer in the desk; they (9) [tear] open all the cushions;
they (10) [pull] the carpet up; and they even (11) [smash] all
the pictures.
P: And what was missing?
S: Well, that’s strange. They (12) [take] some cash and smaller
pieces of silver, but they (13) [leave] a lot of valuable items.
They even (14) [leave] the cheque books. I don’t understand
it.
P: Something or someone probably (15) [disturb] them. It often
happens. Well, we’ll do our best, but there’s not much chance
of recovering your possessions, I’m afraid.
Exercise A (Key)

1. had broken 9. had torn

2. had walked 10. had pulled
3. had broken 11. had even smashed
4. had come 12. had taken
5. had smashed 13. had left
6. had opened 14. had left
7. had thrown 15. had probably disturbed
8. had searched
Exercise B

Situation: Phil had his first flying lesson

yesterday. He’s now telling Richard
what it was like.
Exercise B (Cont’d)

Put the verb in brackets into the correct form.

(Write down the answers on a piece of paper)
Exercise B (Cont’d)

R: You ever (16) [be] in a small plane before?

P: No, and I not (17) [expect] it to be so noisy. I (18) [fly] in
several different jets before, but I never even (19) [see] a
small plane before yesterday.
R: The instructor (20) [realise] you were a complete beginner?
P: Oh yes. He (21) [spend] 30 minutes asking me questions
before we went out of the plane. I told him I always (22)
[want] to learn how to fly, but I never (23) [have] the
opportunity and I not (24) [be] able to afford it before.
Exercise B (Cont’d)

R: Was the lesson as exciting as you (25) [expect]?

P: Oh yes. I (26) [imagine] all sorts of things before I actually
flew the plane. I (27) [think] I would get airsick; I (28)
[dream] I would crash; I (29) [be] worried I would be too
nervous to control the plane; I (30) [imagine] the plane would
catch fire. But after the lesson, I suddenly realized that I not
(31) [be] sick, that we not (32) [crash], that I (33) [control]
the plane well, that the plane not (34) [catch] fire and that I
actually (35) [fly] a plane for the first time in my life. It was
fantastic!
Exercise B (Key)

16. had you ever been 26. I’d imagined

17. hadn’t expected 27. I’d thought
18. I’d flown 28. I’d dreamt
19. I’d never even seen 29. I’d been
20. had the instructor realised 30. I’d imagined
21. he’d spent 31. hadn’t been
22. I’d always wanted 32. hadn’t crashed
23. I’d never had 33. I’d controlled
24. hadn’t been 34. hadn’t caught
25. you’d expected 35. I’d actually flown
 Web-links

http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/past2.html

http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/Tenses11.cfm
The End