Unit 10

QUALITY TIME

Focus on

Use of English

Grammar

the Past Perfect Tense

the Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect vs. Past Perfect Continuous

Reported Speech

say/tell/ask

Reading Speaking	Television and Video
	Cinema and Films
	Theatre

Social English

Saying Goodbye

USE OF ENGLISH

Grammar

The Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect Tense is used:

to refer to something that happened before another action or state in the past

I had spoken to Mr. Taylor before the conference began.

to describe earlier events when telling a story in the past

Tom was 23. His father had died five years before and since then Tom had lived alone.

In reported speech and thoughts

We realized we had forgotten the address.

We use the following time expressions with the Past Perfect Tense:

after	After he had fixed his car, he decided to have a rest.
already	When I arrived at the office, Kate had already left.
as soon as	As soon as I pushed the red button, I realized that I had set off the alarm.
before	Jack had eaten Japanese food before, so he knew what to order.
by the time	By the time Olga got back, Tom had gone.
just	She had just left when he phoned.
till/until	He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures.
when	When she had known me for a year, she invited me to tea.
yet	When I got to the shop, it hadn't closed yet.

NOTE:

1. If before or after is used, the Past Perfect Tense is optional.

Before the train arrived, Sally managed to push her way to the front of the crowd.

2. We don't normally use verbs of knowing, understanding, etc. in the Past Perfect Tense unless there's an expression denoting a period of time:

When she had known me for a year, she invited me to tea.

When I knew the work of one department thoroughly, I was moved to the next department.

Positive form

h ad + Participle II

I You He/She/It We You They

had(‘d) already gone out when Jim rang the office this morning.

Exercise 1. Here are infinitives of some regular and irregular verbs. Write the past participles.

advise	__	go	__	rise	__
be	__	have	__	see	__
begin	__	hear	__	sell	__
catch	__	know	__	take	__
dry	__	tell	__	pass	__
eat	__	lose	__	visit	__

Exercise 2. Complete the sentences putting the verbs in brackets in the Past Perfect Tense.

Example: When we arrived at the station, our train had already left. (already/leave)

1. When he arrived at the theatre, the play ___. (already/start)

2. As soon as they ___ (go), I went straight to bed.

3. I suddenly remembered that I ___ (forget) my keys.

4. When I came to the post office, it ___. (already/ close)

5. When Polly went back to the shop, they___ (sell) the book she wanted.

Negative form

h ad not (hadn't) + Participle II

I You He/She/It	had not (hadn’t) eaten anything when Kevin got there.
We You They	had not (hadn’t) eaten anything when Kevin got there.

Exercise 3. Make the following positive sentences negative.

Example: They'd eaten everything by the time I arrived. - They hadn't eaten anything by the time I arrived.

1. Before last week, they'd known each other.

2. She was angry because she'd caught the bus.

3. The class had started when I arrived.

4. The guests had left before she got home.

5. It was a film that we'd heard of.

General question

Had

I You He/She/It We You They

made a mistake? - Yes/No,

I You He/She/It We You They

had(n’t)

Exercise 4. Make these sentences into general questions. Give short answers.

Example: Before we had finished our meal, he ordered us back to work.

Had we finished our meal before he ordered us back to work? - No, we hadn't.

1. The sun hadn't risen before they decided to set off.

2. Before we went home, we had finished our work.

3. She hadn't done all the shopping when she suddenly felt sick.

4. He had spoken to the boss before he decided to leave.

5. Before we had supper, the children had gone to bed.

Exercise 5. Rewrite the following sentences as positive, negative or a general question, according to the instructions.

Example: By the time the lecture was over, the rain had already stopped. (negative)

By the time the lecture was over, they rain hadn't stopped yet.

1. Hank hadn't tried on several T-shirts before he chose the one he liked most. (positive)

2. I had finished the letter when I realized it was too late to post it. (negative)

3. Ted's father had advised him not to get married till he was 35. (question)

4. After our car had broken down a third time we decided to sell it. (question)

5. The thieves had already gone away by the time the police arrived. (negative)

A lternative question

Had

I You He/She/It We You They

arrived before midnight or earlier? - Earlier.

Exercise 6. Ask alternative questions with the following words. Give answers.

Example: Ann/live/in a cottage/for/sixty/fifty years? Had Ann lived in a cottage for sixty or fifty years? - (She'd lived in a cottage) for sixty years.

1. Liz/do/her housework/some shopping/before she watched television for an hour?

2. You/go to bed/take a short walk round the park/ till you felt a little better?

3. They/see/many/only a few/of Rembrandt's paintings before they visited the art museum?

4. He/lost/his case/at the airport/somewhere else?

Special questions

When had their marriage broken up?					- After their second child was born.
Where had the criminal gone when the police arrived?					- Nobody could say.
Where had they left the tickets?					- At home.
What had she done before she directed her first film?					- She was a movie star.
Why hadn't she told me the truth before I found it out myself?					- I think she was afraid.
How many times had he been abroad before he emigrated to Canada last year?					- Never!
How much money had he lost before he hit the jackpot?					- A fortune.
How long had you lived from hand to mouth before you became rich?					- Oh, quite a long time.
Whose estate had she inherited by he time she was 20?					- Her aunt's.
What kind of films had he done before he became famous?					- Mostly comedies.
Which programmes had she presented before she set up her own company?					- Beauty contests.
Object questions
Who had	he		made friends with before we met him there? - (With) the Browns.
What had	she		wanted to be before she entered that university? - An architect.
Subject questions
Who had	-------	already told her the news when I returned? - Her mother (had).
What had	-------	happened before I arrived? - Someone had broken into Kate's flat.

Exercise 7. Ask questions about the information in italics.

Example: When Scott arrived at the South Pole he realized that Amundsen had already been there.

Who had already been to the South Pole when Scott arrived there?

1. Leo had worked as a clerk before he started his own business.

2. Diana had never been to a jazz concert before, because she wasn't keen on jazz music.

3. Bob had known his girlfriend for a year, before he asked her to marry him.

4. We had always enjoyed entertainment programmes.

5. In London we had stayed with our relatives till we found a suitable hotel.

6. I had never seen Spielberg's films before.

T ag question

I You He/She/It We You They	had(‘d) just left when Ann arrived, hadn’t	I? You? He/She/It? We? You? They?	- Yes (No,)	I You He/She/It We You They	had(n’t)
I You He/She We You They	hadn‘t heard the story before, had	I? You? He/She/It? We? You? They?	- No (Yes,)	I You He/She/It We You They	hadn’t (had)

Exercise 8. Give the right tag to these sentences.

1. We hadn't slept for two days, ___?

2. Everybody had already left the office when she arrived, ___?

3. I hadn't seen Jane for many years when she called to see me last week, ___?

4. You hadn't finished work when the head manager returned, ___?

5. The rain had already started when we left the beach, ___?

Exercise 9. Complete the sentences using the Past Perfect or the Past Simple of the verbs in brackets.

Example: When Daniel came (come) in, we all knew (know) where he had been (be).

1. Hardly anyone___(come) to the party because Sue ___(forget) to send the invitations.

2. Marco ____ (feel) very nervous when he first drove in Britain because he___(not/drive) on the left before.

3. They waited until everyone___(be) ready and then they___(start) the meeting.

4. - ___you___(arrive) at the cinema in time for the film last night? - No, we ___ (be) late. By the time we ___ (get) there, it___(already/begin).

5. I___(go) to Helen's room and___(knock) on the door. There___(be) no answer. Either she___(go) out or she___(not/want) to see anyone.