The Past Perfect

When I arrived,John left.

When I arrived,John left.

When I arrived,John left.

past simple

past simple+ past simple

=2 consecutive actions

I arr

ived

I arr

ived

John

left

I arr

ived

John

left

Did I see John?

I arr

ived

John

left

Did I see John?

Yes

When I arrived,John was leaving.

When I arrived,John was leaving.

When I arrived,John was leaving.

past continuous

past simple+ past continuous

=a short action that interrupts

a long action

I arr

ived

I arr

ived

John was leaving

I arr

ived

John was leaving

Did John leave?

I arr

ived

John was leaving

Did John leave?

We don’t know

I arr

ived

John was leaving

Did John leave?

We don’t know

maybe he left…

I arr

ived

John was leaving

Did John leave?

We don’t know

maybe he left…

…or maybe he stayed because I

arrived

I arr

ived

John was leaving

this combination of tenses is called

‘interrupted action’

When I arrived,John had left.

When I arrived,John had left.

When I arrived,John had left.

past perfect

past simple+ past perfect

=an action

preceded by another action

I arr

ived

John

had

left

.

I arr

ived

John

had

left

.

I arr

ived

Did I see John?

John

had

left

.

I arr

ived

Did I see John?

No

John

had

left

.

I arr

ived

Did I see John?

No

He left then I arrived

construction of the past perfect

I had done…

I had done…

auxiliary verb: ‘to have’

I had done…

auxiliary verb: ‘to have’conjugated in the past: ‘had’

I had done…

auxiliary verb: ‘to have’conjugated in the past: ‘had’

main verb aspast participle

Ihe

sheit

weyouthey

had

donetakenbeenarrivedmetstudiedetc.

She had taken…

+ive

She hadn’t taken…

-ive

Had she taken… ?

?ive

Yes, she had.No, she hadn’t.

s.a.

tense gymnastics

!

convertpast simple to past perfect

andpast perfect to past simple

past simple past perfect

He made a cake.

I hadn’t finished.

We didn’t win the match.

Had you taken the bus?

Did you see the film?

She had worn the dress.

I drank all the beer.

The alarm hadn’t rung.

You didn’t choose a film.

We had met before.

Did they speak to her?

past simple past perfect

He made a cake. He’d made a cake.

I didn’t finish. I hadn’t finished.

We didn’t win the match. We hadn’t won the match.

Did you take the bus? Had you taken the bus?

Did you see the film? Had you seen the film?

She wore the dress. She had worn the dress.

I drank all the beer. I had drunk all the beer.

The alarm didn’t ring. The alarm hadn’t rung.

You didn’t choose a film. You hadn’t chosen a film.

We met before. We had met before.

Did they speak to her? Had they spoken to her?

same exercise

but be careful translating ‘essere’

past simple past perfect

He was at the bar.

They hadn’t been at work.

I didn’t get dressed.

Had you arrived early?

What time did you get up?

It had rained all night.

Everyone went away.

They hadn’t called each other.

The fire didn’t die.

The baby had been born.

Did they relax after dinner?

past simple past perfect

He was at the bar. He had been at the bar.

They weren’t at work. They hadn’t been at work.

I didn’t get dressed. I hadn’t got dressed.

Did you arrive early? Had you arrived early?

What time did you get up? What time had you got up?

It rained all night. It had rained all night.

Everyone went away. Everyone had gone away.

They didn’t call each other. They hadn’t called each other.

The fire didn’t die. The fire hadn’t died.

The baby was born. The baby had been born.

Did they relax after dinner? Had they relaxed after dinner?

homework

module 6, part 17, 1-7

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