THEME 3: PAST TENSES 2

PAST PERFECT – PAST PERFECT CONTINOUS

THEORY
Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous
FORM
(+) S + had + PII. (+) S + had + been + Ving.
(-) S + had+ not + PII. (-) S + had + not + been + Ving.
(?) Had + S + PII? (?) Had + S + been + Ving?
Wh + had + S + PII? Wh + had + S + been + Ving?
USAGE
 1 hành động xảy ra và kết thúc hoàn toàn  1 hành động đã xảy ra và vẫn đang tiếp
trước 1 thời điểm hoặc 1 hành động khác diễn khi hành động thứ 2 bắt đầu trong quá
trong quá khứ. khứ.
Eg: We had lived in Hanoi before 1945. Eg: They had been living in London for 10
When I came, they had already left. years when I met them.
 Dùng để nhấn mạnh vào thời gian, quá
trình xảy ra sự việc.
Eg: The men had been playing cards for 3
hours before we came.
I had been waiting there for 2 hours
before they came back.

TIME EXPRESSIONS
Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous
 After, as soon as, before, when  All + day/ night/ week …
 By the time + S + Ved, S + had + PII + O.  For + hours/ days/ weeks/ months…
 It was the first/ second/ third... time + S +
had + PII + O.
 By + TIME (in the past). Eg: By 2000, …

PRACTICE
Exercise 1: Put the verbs in brackets in the past simple or the past perfect tense.
1. They (go) _____went_____ home after they (finish) ____had finished______ their study.
2. Yesterday when I (arrive) _____arrived_____to the party, they (already go) ___had already
went_______home.
3. After the guests (leave) ____had left______, she (go) ____went______back into the living-room and
(switch) __________off the light.
4. On arrival at home I (find) _____found_____that she (just leave) ____had just left_____ a few minutes
before.
 THEME 3: PAST TENSES 2
5. Before he (go) ____went______ to bed, he (do) ____had done______his homework.
6. When they (get) ___got_______to the place, the man (die) __had died________.
7. He (do) ____had done_____ nothing before he (see) _____saw______ me.
8. He (thank) _____thanked_____ me for what I (do) ___had done_______ for him.
9. I (be) __________ sorry that I (hurt) __________ him.
10. After they (go) ______had gone____, I (sit) ____sat______ down and (rest) __________.
11. When I (arrive) ___________, the dinner (already, begin) ______________.
12. My friend (not see) _______ me for many years when I (meet) _____ last week.
13. He (learn) __________ English before he (leave) __________ for England.
14. In England, he soon (remember) __________ all he (learn) __________ before.
15. They (tell) __________ him they (not meet) __________ him before.
16. He (ask) __________ why we (come) __________ so early.
17. She (say) __________ that she (already, see) ___________ Dr. Rice.
18. By the time Bill (get) __________ there, the meeting (start) __________.
19. When we (arrive) __________ at our place, we (find) __________ that a burglar (break) ___________
in.
20. Almost everybody (leave) _______ for home by the time we (arrive) _______.
Exercise 2: Put the verbs in brackets in the past perfect or the past perfect continuous
1. I (try) …………………… to get tickets for that play for months before my friend finally got them.
2. When I arrived at the theater, my friend (pick, already) …………………… up the tickets.
3. She ................................. (call) the reception and ................................. (ask) about the way.
4. He was really angry because he (wait) ……………………for more than half an hour when I arrived.
5. When the play started, I (already, apologize) ……………………to my friend.
6. It was 11 o'clock. Carol Parker .................................at the Shaw Hotel five minutes before. (arrive)
7. Sue was happy because she.................................with Peter all night. (dance)
8. He felt better in the evening because he .................................all day. (relax)
9. She'd lost her way because she.................................to Dublin. (never be)
10. Carol had a detailed map in her handbag but she .................................her glasses at home and could not
read it. (leave)
11. They were hungry because they .................................all day. 
12. Finally, she.................................in front of the hotel. (stand) She.................................a couple of times
before, but she had never felt so miserable. (get lost)
Exercise 3: Put the verbs in brackets in the past tenses.
1. My friend (not see) __________ me for many years when I (meet) __________ last week.
2. He (learn) __________ English before he (leave) __________ for England.
3. In England, he soon (remember) __________ all he (learn) __________.
4. They (tell) __________ him they (not meet) __________ him before.
5. He (ask) __________ why we (come) __________ so early.
6. She (say) __________ that she (already, see) ___________ Dr. Rice.
7. By the time Bill (get) __________ there, the meeting (start) __________.
8. When we (arrive) __________ at our place, we (find) __________ that a burglar (break) __________
in.
9. Almost everybody (leave) _________ for home by the time we (arrive) ________.
10. Alexander Graham Bell ____________ (already/ invent) the telephone by the time I was born.
11. That's the first time I ____________ (see) Janny looked embarrassed.
 THEME 3: PAST TENSES 2
12. I didn't know who she was. I ____________ (never/ see) her before.
13. I ____________ (buy) a new alarm clock the other day in Taylor's the jewelers, when I actually
____________ (see) somebody shoplifting.
14. ____________ (you/ work) in the garden all day? You looked exhausted
15. Last February, I (1) ________ (go) on a ski strip to Switzerland. What a trip! The first morning, I (2)
________ (get) into a cable car. I (3) ________ (want) to go to the top of the mountain. The cable car (4)
________ (start) up the mountain. I (5) ________ (look) down, and it was so beautiful. Then there (6)
_______ (be) terrible noise. Suddenly the car (7) _______ (stop). It (8) ________ (not move), and there
was quiet everywhere.
Exercise 4: Find a mistake in the four underlined parts of each sentence and correct it.
1. Before I (A) went to bed (B) last night I (C) have already finished (D) my homework.
2. Jane (A) had sent a letter (B) to her university after she (C) had received her (D) scholarship check.
3. Mrs. Hoa (A )had worked at the primary school(B) for twenty years (C) after she (D) retired.
4. Minh (A) told me (B) yesterday that he (C) had studied English (D) from 2004.
5. Joan’s party (A) had already started (B) in the time I (C) got (D) there.
Exercise 5: Choose the best answer (all tenses)
1. After Jessica ____ her degree, she intends to work in her father's company.
A. will finish B. finishes C. finished D. is finishing
2. As you ________ your car at the moment, can I borrow it?
A. don't use B. didn't use C. aren't using D. haven't used
3. When she saw a snake at her feet, she ________.
A. screamed B. was screaming C. had screamed D. screams
4. When he realised that I ________ at him, he ________ away.
A. looked - was turning B. was looking – turned C. was looking - was turning D. looked - turned
5. I ___ the new Harry Potter book now, so you can borrow my copy if you like.
A. finish B. am finishing C. have finished D. had finished
6. I was sure that I ________ him before.
A. met B. had met C. have met D. was meeting
7. Before I started the car, all of the passengers ________ their seat belts.
A. will buckle B. had buckled C. was buckling D. have buckled
8. The minute I got the news about Sue I ________ my parents.
A. phoned B. was phoning C. phones D. have phoned
9. A lot ________ since I last ________ you.
A. happened - saw B. happened - have seen
C. has happened - saw D. has happened - have seen
10. A small stone struck the windshield while we _______ down the gravel road.
A. drive B. were driving C. had driven D. had been driving
11. The film _______ by the time we ________ to the cinema.
A. already began - got B. have already begun - got
C. had already begun - got D. already began - had got
12. Before he turned 14, Mozart ________ a few lesser piece for the piano.
A. has composed B. had composed C. was composed D. would composed
13. He was busy________ his homework.
A. to do B. doing C. for doing D. that he was doing
14. Rarely________ succeed in ballet if they start after the age of 12.
 THEME 3: PAST TENSES 2
A. do children B. children have C. children D. are children
15. Have something to eat before you________.
A. leave B. left C. will leave D. had left
16. ________ hard all year, so I felt that I deserved a holiday.
A. I work B. I worked C. I'd been working D. I've worked
17. The traffic lights ________ green and I pulled away.
A. turned B. were turning C. has turned D. had turned
18. How fast________ when the accident happened?
A. are you driving B. were you driving C. did you drive D. had you driven
19. Where________? Which hairdresser did you go to?
A. did you cut your hair B. have you cut your hair
C. did you have cut your hair D. did you have your hair cut
20. The hospital's new air-conditioning system________ when the first heat wave of the summer arrived.
A. had installed B. installed C. had been installed D. had been installing
Exercise 6: Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each blank.
A famous explorer
Captain James Cook is remembered today for being one of Britain’s most famous explorers of the 18 th
century. Cook was (1)_____ most other explorers of the same period as the did not come from a rich family
and had to work hard to (2)_____ his position in life. He was lucky to be (3)_____ by his father’s employer,
who saw that he was a bright boy and paid for him to attend the village school. At sixteen, he started
(4)_____ in a shop in a fishing village (5)_____ on the coast and this was a turning (6)_____ in his life. He
developed an interest in the sea and eventually joined the Royal Navy (7)_____ to see more of the world.
Cook was (8)_____ by sailing, astronomy and the production of maps, and quickly became an expert
(9)_____ these subjects. He was also one of the first people to (10)_____ that scurvy, an illness often
suffered by sailors, could be prevented by careful (11)_____ to diet. It was during his (12)_____ to the
Pacific Ocean that Cook made his historic landing in Australia and the (13)_____ discovery that New
Zealand was two (14)_____ islands. He became a national hero and still (15)_____ one today.
1. A. different B. contrary C. distinct D. unlike
2. A. manage B. succeed C. achieve D. fulfill
3. A. remarked B. viewed C. glanced D. noticed
4. A. trade B. work C. career D. job
5. A. held B. placed C. positioned D. situated
6. A. moment B. instant C. point D. mark
7. A. in view B. in order C. as D. due
8. A. keen B. eager C. fascinated D. enthusiastic
9. A. from B. over C. in D. for
10. A. regard B. estimate C. catch D. realize
11. A. attention B. organization C. observation hD. treatment
12. A. travel B. voyage C. excursion D. tour
13. A. serious B. superior C. major D. leading
14. A. shared B. particular C. common D. separate
15. A. keeps B. stands C. maintains D. remains