Talk a Lot Intermediate Book Notes on Intermediate Verb Forms Past Perfect = two past actions Time of action: Past When we need to use it? When there are two different times in the past To describe an action in the past that happened before another past action To set the scene To give background information - I’d just put the phone down when there was a knock at the door [We use “just” when the times are close together.] - Pete went to the same university that his father had studied at [The times are far apart.] How is it formed? 1st clause: had (aux.) + past participle; 2nd clause: (often) past simple Contractions in spoken English: I had Ö I’d L~fÇL= She had Ö She’d LpáWÇL Examples: Positive Form The duty manager had asked Philip to wipe down the other bar, because it was filthy – but he completely forgot Negative Form The duty manager hadn’t asked Philip to wipe down the other bar… Question Form Had the duty manager asked Philip to wipe down the other bar…? Answers: Yes, he had / No, he hadn’t Passive form: Philip had been asked to wipe down the other bar [by…] Used with state verbs? Yes, e.g I’d liked spending time with them very much Tips: • • If it is obvious that the first action was before the second (a logical sequence), or you don’t need to draw attention to this fact, past perfect is unnecessary and both actions could be past simple, e.g “I got up and had a shower.” In the sentence “The duty manager…” it is crucial to the meaning that the duty manager had asked Philip, before he forgot This form is used in second conditional (see below) For more fun worksheets, games, and quizzes log onto www.englishbanana.com now!