Present perfect and past perfect
Past perfect continuous
contrast: past perfect continuous vs past perfect simpleb2
Past perfect simple and past perfect continuous I hadn’t seen the film before, but Ben had already seen it three times.They had always wanted to visit Australia, and finally they made it.Sara hadn’t been working there long when she was promoted.They’d been painting the room for nearly an hour when they realized they’d been using the wrong colour.We use the past perfect to show that something happened before something else in the past.For more information on forms of the past perfect (simple), see Past perfect simple.For more information on forms of the past perfect continuous, see Past perfect continuous.Past perfect simpleWe use the past perfect simple to talk about actions that were completed before another action or situation in the past. We use it to focus on the result of the action.Anna had left when we arrived.Had the meeting started by the time you got there?We usually use the past perfect simple and not the past perfect continuous when we are talking about states rather than actions, with verbs like be, have, know.We’d known each other for about five years before we became friends.Note that we usually use the past simple to refer to the more recent action.By the time we arrived at the station, the train had already left.Past perfect continuousWe use the past perfect continuous to talk about actions that continued for a period of time before another action or situation in the past. We use it to focus on the duration of the action. The action may or may not have continued up to the moment we are talking about it.I’d been living in Italy for three years when we first met.When I woke up, I saw that it had been raining. We often use already with the past perfect to emphasize that the action happened earlier. We also often use just to show that the action happened a very short time before.She had already been working for two hours by the time we got there.Sam had just left when we arrived.
Adam is on holiday with his parents. He's on the phone to his sister. Complete the conversation using the verbs in brackets in the past perfect simple or continuous. Use full forms (I have), not short forms (I've).
Question: 1 /
You scored 0 out of
Becky You said Dad
(go) to hospital.
Adam Yes. I couldn't believe it when I saw him yesterday. He was all red!
Becky What
(happen) to him?
Adam He
(feel) ill all day, and he
(fall) asleep in the sun. He
(lie) there all afternoon when I woke him up. And he was covered in red spots. A mosquito
(fly) into his bedroom. It
(fly) around his room all night, he said, and it
(bite) him at least fifty times!
Becky
he
(forget) to close the window before he went to bed?
Adam No. There was a hole in the mosquito net.
Becky I thought he
(mend) that.
Adam He
(mend) it when mum called him for dinner last night, so he never finished the job.
Becky So how did he feel when you saw him?
Adam He said his head
(ache) all morning, and that's why he
(decide) to lie down in the sun.
Adam Yes. I couldn't believe it when I saw him yesterday. He was all red!
Becky What
Adam He
Becky
Adam No. There was a hole in the mosquito net.
Becky I thought he
Adam He
Becky So how did he feel when you saw him?
Adam He said his head
Grammar contentsView all
Present perfect and past perfect
Quantifiers, possessives and demonstratives