Past Perfect

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Área: English Asignatura: English Curso: 11th
Fecha: 11 al 15-06 Periodo: II Nº Hor: 12hr Semana: 9
Tema: Past Perfect Simple and Continuous
Indicador
de Logro
Students will be able to identify and use the past perfect simple
and continuous
EMOCIÓN
Exploración Use the past perfect simple and continuous
Contextualización
Imagine everything in the picture takes place in the past. Two
things happened; the man did something and the train did
something. Who did their thing first, the man or the train?
Conceptualización
PAST PERFECT TENSE
FUNCTIONS OF THE PAST PERFECT
The past perfect refers to a time earlier than another time in the past. It is used to make it clear
that one event happened before another in the past. It does not matter which event is mentioned
first - the tense makes it clear which one happened first.
In these examples, Event A is the event that happened first and Event B is the second or more
recent event:

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Event A Event B
John had gone out when I arrived in the office.
Event A Event B
I had savedmy document before the computer crashed.
Event B Event A
When they arrived we had already started cooking.
Event B Event A
He was very tired because he hadn't slept well.
FORMING THE PAST PERFECT
The Past Perfect tense in English is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb to have
(had) + the past participle of the main verb.
Subject had past participle
Affirmative
She had given
Negative
She hadn't asked.
Interrogative

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Had they arrived?
Interrogative Negative
Hadn't you finished?
PAST PERFECT + JUST
'Just' is used with the past perfect to refer to an event that was only a short time earlier than before
now, e.g.
 The train had just left when I arrived at the station.
 She had just left the room when the police arrived.
 I had just put the washing out when it started to rain.
PAST PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
FUNCTIONS OF THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
The past perfect continuous corresponds to the present perfect continuous, but with reference to a
time earlier than 'before now'. As with the present perfect continuous, we are more interested in
the process.
EXAMPLES
 Had you been waiting long before the taxi arrived?
 We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.
 It had been raining hard for several hours and the streets were very wet.
 Her friends had been thinking of calling the police when she walked in.
This form is also used in reported speech. It is the equivalent of the past continuous and the
present perfect continuous in direct speech:

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 Jane said, "I have been gardening all afternoon." = Jane said she had been gardening all
afternoon.
 When the police questioned him, John said, "I was working late in the office that night." =
When the police questioned him, John told them he had been working late in the office that
night.
FORMING THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
The past perfect continuous is composed of two elements - the past perfect of the verb to be (=had
been) + the present participle (base+ing).
Subject had been verb + ing
I had been walking
Affirmative
She had been trying
Negative
She hadn't been sleeping
Interrogative
Had you been eating?
Interrogative negative
Hadn't they been living?
ACCIÓ
N
Producción
Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect simple).

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1. The storm destroyed the sandcastle that we (build)
had built
.
2. He (not / be) to Cape Town before 1997.
3. When she went out to play, she (do / already) her homework.
4. My brother ate all of the cake that our mum (make) .
5. The doctor took off the plaster that he (put on) six weeks before.
6. The waiter brought a drink that I (not / order) .
7. I could not remember the poem we (learn) the week before.
8. The children collected the chestnuts that (fall) from the tree.
9. (he / phone) Angie before he went to see her in London?
10. She (not / ride) a horse before that day.
Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect continuous).
1. We (sleep)
had been sle
for 12 hours when he woke us up.
2. They (wait) at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally arrived.
3. We (look for) her ring for two hours and then we found it in the bathroom.
4. I (not / walk) for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain.
5. How long (learn / she) English before she went to London?
6. Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing) in the rain too long.
7. He (drive) less than an hour when he ran out of petrol.
8. They were very tired in the evening because they (help) on the farm all day.
9. I (not / work) all day; so I wasn't tired and went to the disco at night.
10. They (cycle) all day so their legs were sore in the evening.

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Modelación
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in
brackets.
Use contractions where possible.
1. Peter was Sally's best friend. She (know) him all her life.
2. The children were wet because they (play) football in
the rain.
3. We were very hungry because we (not / eat).
4. I was delighted when I found my keys. I (look) for
them for hours.
5. She was exhausted because she (work) since eight
o'clock that morning.
6. Everything was white because it (snow).
7. The passengers were cross because the airline (lose)
everyone's bags.
8. I (not / see) Jacob for several years, but I recognised
him immediately.
1.
EVALUACION
Taller
I had never……
Think about an important experience in your past. It could be a vacation, your
first job, your first girlfriend/boyfriend etc… Then write about it using at least
3 examples of the past perfect.
For example, if you write about a vacation, you might say something like….
¨Before I visited Canada, I had never seen snow.”

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Bibliografía
I. Understanding and using grammar (1999). Third edition. Betty Schrampfer Azar.
II. The big picture (2011). Santillana Education. S.L Richmond Publishing.
III. Top Notch (2011). Second Edition, Student book. Pearson Education, Inc.