Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on the past perfect simple and continuous Write the past participle of the following irregular verbs... begin Complete the sent[r]
(1)Past Perfect continous We use the verb had and the past participle for the past perfect: I had finished the work She had gone The past perfect continuous is formed with had been and the -ing form of the verb: I had been finishing the work She had been going The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past, not the present We use the past perfect tense: for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past: When George died he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years She didn’t want to move She had lived in Liverpool all her life We normally use the past perfect continuous for this: She didn’t want to move She had been living in Liverpool all her life Everything was wet It had been raining for hours for something we had done several times up to a point in the past and continued to after that point: He was a wonderful guitarist He had been playing ever since he was a teenager He had written three books and he was working on another one I had been watching the programme every week, but I missed the last episode We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past: They had been staying with us since the previous week I was sorry when the factory closed I had worked there since I left school I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last episode when we are reporting our experience and including up to the (then) present: My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had I was pleased to meet George I hadn’t met him before, even though I had met his wife several times (2) for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of reporting: I couldn’t get into the house I had lost my keys Teresa wasn’t at home She had gone shopping We use the past perfect to talk about the past in conditions, hypotheses and wishes: I would have helped him if he had asked It was very dangerous What if you had got lost? I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month Hãy xem xét ví dụ sau: Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window The sun was shinning but the ground was very wet Sáng tôi thức dậy và nhìn ngoài cửa sổ Mặt trời chiếu sáng mặt đất thì ẩm ướt It has been raining Trước đó trời đã mưa Lúc tôi nhìn ngoài cửa sổ thì trời không mưa; mặt trời lúc đó chiếu sáng Nhưng trời đã mưa trước đó Đó là lý mặt đất lại ẩm ướt Had been-ing là thì past perfect continuous Hãy xem thêm số ví dụ sau: When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was untidy and one of them had black eye They’d been fight (3) Khi bọn trẻ tới nhà, quần áo chúng dơ bẩn, tóc tai rối bù và mắt đứa bị tím bầm Chúng đã đánh I was very tired when I arrived home I’d been working hard all day Khi trở nhà tôi đã mệt Tôi đã làm việc vất vả ngày B Bạn có thể dùng thì past perfect continuous để diễn tả việc nào đó đã diễn (had been happening) khoảng thời gian trước việc khác xảy ra: Our game of tennis was interrupted We’d been playing for about half an hour when it started to rain very heavily Trận đấu quần vợt chúng tôi đã bị ngưng lại Chúng tôi đã chơi nửa trước trời bắt đầu đổ mưa lớn Ken gave up smoking two years ago He’d been smoking for 30 years Ken đã bỏ thuốc lá hai năm Trước đó anh đã hút thuốc suốt 30 năm C Thì past perfect continuous (Had been -ing) là dạng quá khứ thì present continuous I hope the bus comes soon I’ve been waiting for 20 minutes (before now) Tôi hy vọng là xe buýt tới sớm Tôi đã chờ 20 phút (trước lúc này) At last the bus came I’d been waiting for minutes (4) Cuối cùng xe buýt đã tới Tôi đã chờ trước đó 20 phút He’s out of breath He has been running Anh thở gấp Anh đã chạy nãy He was out of breath He had been running Anh đã thở gấp Anh đã chạy trước đó D have been -ing Hãy so sánh had been doing (past perfect continuous) và was doing (past continuous) It wasn’t raining when we went out The sun was shining But it had been raining, so the ground was wet Lúc chúng tôi ngoài trời không mưa Trời lúc đó nắng Nhưng trước đó trời có mưa nên mặt đất ẩm ướt Ann was sitting in an armchair watching television She was tired because she’d been working very hard Ann ngồi trên ghế và xem truyền hình Cô mệt vì cô đã làm việc nhiều E Một số động từ know và want không dùng với thì continuous: We were good friends We had known each other for years (không nói "had been knowing") (5) Chúng tôi là người bạn tốt Chúng tôi đã biết từ nhiều năm Use The Past Perfect Continuous is used to talk about actions or situations that were in progress before some other actions or situations There are also other uses Duration of a past action up to a certain point in the past Showing cause of an action or situation Third conditional sentences Reported speech Use 1: Duration of a Past Action The main use of the Past Perfect Continuous is to express actions or situations that were in progress before some other actions or situations The boys had been quarreling for half an hour when we arrived home I had been dating Angelina for years before we got married Use 2: Showing Cause Use this tense to show cause of an action or situation in the past John was in a detention because he had been misbehaving The road was wet because it had been raining I had to go on a diet because I had been eating too much sugar Jessica got sunburnt because she had been lying in the sun too long Use 3: Third Conditional Remember that this tense is also used in third conditional sentences If it hadn't been raining, we would have gone to the park Use 4: Reported Speech This tense also appears in Reported speech She said she knew Charlie had been lying to her (6) EXERCISE 1: Exercise on Past Perfect Progressive Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect progressive) had been slee We (sleep) They (wait) for 12 hours when he woke us up at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally arrived We (look for) her ring for two hours and then we found it in the bathroom I (not / walk) for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain How long (learn / she) English before she went to London? Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he (sing) He (drive) in the rain too long less than an hour when he ran out of petrol They were very tired in the evening because they (help) on the farm all day 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 Exercise on Past Perfect Progressive Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect progressive) We had been sleeping for 12 hours when he woke us up They had been waiting at the station for 90 minutes when the train finally arrived We had been looking for her ring for two hours and then we found it in the bathroom I had not been walking for a long time, when it suddenly began to rain How long had she been learning English before she went to London? Frank Sinatra caught the flu because he had been singing in the rain too long He had been driving less than an hour when he ran out of petrol They were very tired in the evening because they had been helping on the farm all day (7) I had not been working all day; so I wasn't tired and went to the disco at night 10 They had been cycling all day so their legs were sore in the evening Do the exercises below on the past perfect simple and continuous and click on the button to check your answers (Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on the past perfect simple and continuous) Write the past participle of the following irregular verbs speak catch eat understand begin Complete the sentences in past perfect simple (affirmative form.) I lost the key that he (give) to me He told me that he (see) the film I went outside as I (hear) a noise When they came home, Liza (cook) dinner We could not send you a postcard because we (lose) your address Complete the sentences in past perfect simple (negative) The waiter served something that we (not / order) (8) He went to the country which he (not / visit) before She picked out the red dress, which she (not / wear) He (not / swim) for ages in the beach before that day His mother was angry because he (not / do) the shopping for her Complete the questions in past perfect simple (you / finish) your homework before you went to the cinema? Why (you / not /clean) (you / have) (she / manage) Where (she / stay) the bathroom before you took a bath? breakfast before you left the house? to find a place to stay when she went to London? before she moved to live with her friend? Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect or the simple past) The storm (destroy) the house that they had built The children (clean) the blackboard they had used to the mathematics exercise When she went out to play, she (do / already) She (eat) all of the food that we had made He took off the jacket he (put on) before her homework (9) Put the verbs between brackets in the correct tense (past perfect simple or continuous.) I (try) to get tickets for that play for months before my friend finally got them When I arrived at the theater, my friend (pick, already) He was really angry because he (wait) for more than half an hour when I arrived When the play started, I (already, apologize) We (watch) up the tickets to my friend the play when the lights went off Do the exercises below on the past perfect simple and continuous and click on the button to check your answers (Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on the past perfect simple and continuous) Write the past participle of the following irregular verbs speak - spoken catch - caught eat - eaten understand - understood begin - begun Complete the sentences in past perfect simple (affirmative form.) I lost the key that he (give) had given / 'd given He told me that he (see) had seen / 'd seen I went outside as I (hear) had heard / 'd heard to me the film a noise When they came home, Liza (cook) had cooked / 'd cooked dinner We could not send you a postcard because we (lose) had lost / 'd lost our address book Complete the sentences in past perfect simple (negative) The waiter served something that we (not / order) had not ordered / hadn't ordered He went to the country which he (not / visit) had not visited / hadn't visited She picked out the red dress, which she (not / wear) had not worn / hadn't worn before for ages (10) He (not / swim) had not swum / hadn't swum in the beach before that day His mother was angry because he (not / do) had not done / hadn't done her the shopping for Complete the questions in past perfect simple (you / finish) Had you finished your homework before you went to the cinema? Why (you / not /clean) had not you cleaned / hadn't you cleaned took a bath? (you / have) Had you had the bathroom before you breakfast before you left the house? (she / manage) Had she managed to find a place to stay when she went to London? Where (she / stay) had she stayed before she moved to live with her friend? Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect or the simple past) The storm (destroy) destroyed The children cleaned cleaned the house that they had built the blackboard they had used to the mathematics exercise When she went out to play, she (do / already) had already done / 'd already done homework She (eat) ate her all of the food that we had made He took off the jacket he (put on) had put on / 'd put on before Put the verbs between brackets in the correct tense (past perfect simple or continuous.) I (try) had been trying them to get tickets for that play for months before my friend finally got When I arrived at the theater, he (pick, already) had already picked / 'd already picked the tickets He was really angry because he (wait) had been waiting arrived for more than half an hour when I When the play started, I (already, apologize) had already apologized / 'd already apologized to my friend We (watch) had been watching / 'd been watching the play when the lights went off Complete the sentences in the Past Perfect Progressive Laura needed a break because she (study) When Lorraine moved to England, she (learn) up all morning English for 12 years (11) I did not go out last night because I (work) all day Orla felt fit for the marathon because she (exercise) a lot When I went to see Ms Winter, her secretary told me that she (speak) phone for two hours You got sick because you (eat) all the time When the musician became director of the opera house, he (live) town for ten years We (go) on the in this out together for two years before I met his family The passengers (wait) for four hours before the ground staff could finally give them information on the delay of their flight 10 When I noticed my mistake, I (drive) for an hour in the wrong direction Complete the sentences in the Past Perfect Progressive Laura needed a break because she had been studying all morning When Lorraine moved to England, she had been learning English for 12 years I did not go out last night because I had been working all day Orla felt fit for the marathon because she had been exercising a lot When I went to see Ms Winter, her secretary told me that she had been speaking on the phone for two hours You got sick because you had been eating all the time When the musician became director of the opera house, he had been living in this town for ten years We had been going out together for two years before I met his family The passengers had been waiting for four hours before the ground staff could finally give them information on the delay of their flight 10 When I noticed my mistake, I had been driving for an hour in the wrong direction EXERCISE 2: Now complete these sentences using the Past Perfect Continuous: (12) - We apologised because he (wait) for a long time - Tom (watch) - She (play) - He was confident because he (rehearse) - How long (she/ learn) - They took their baby to the doctor because she (cry) TV for two hours when I arrived trumpet for years before she joined a band hard for the show English with EC before she went abroad? all night Exercises – Past Perfect Progressive Fill in the correct form of the Past Perfect Progressive or Past Simple as in the examples I‘d been trying to sell my car for six months before I found a buyer (try/find) Sheila had not been dieting for long when she began to lose weight (not diet) How long had the fire been burning before the firefighters arrived? (burn/arrive) 10 Dylan chess for several years before he _ his first tournament (study/enter) Before I _ to work here, who the client’s account? (start/ manage) Although they _ the house for two years, it still _ ready (build/not be) Mario _ well before the exam (not feel) At last we the movie that everyone _ about (see/talk) The students _ math problems when one of them fainted (solve) How long _ he _ before the accident ? (drive/occur) Paula and Terry tennis when it _ to rain (play/begin) you _ a long time when you ? (jog / faint) Our forces _ in that area until two weeks before then (not fight) Answers: had been studying/entered started/managed had been building/wasn’t hadn’t been feeling saw/had been talking had been solving had/been driving/occurred had been playing/began (13) Had/been jogging/fainted 10 hadn’t been fighting Past Perfect Continuous examples had + been + verb + -ing We had been running Past Perfect Continuous: Fill in the correct form of the verb The pupils Emily The Johnsons She at the computers all morning (to sit) for an hour already (to run) in Cardiff (to live) German at school (to learn) At six o´clock he the dog for a walk (to take) The Past Perfect Continuous Practice 1: Complete these sentences with the word(s) in brackets using the past perfect continuous Remember to use contractions ("I'd" not "I had") where possible He was sad because I thought that I knew that all day (it, rain) English for years (she, study) my shampoo (he, use) (14) We didn't know where to go because Before the accident, (we, not, listen) ? (he, drink?) Practice 2: Past Perfect Simple or Continuous? Choose the best tense to complete the following sentences Again, remember to use contractions And remember that simple tenses are used for states or short, finished actions when we say how many Continuous is used for long, unfinished or repeated actions He was hungry because anything all day (he, not, eat) Her hand started hurting because The milk smelt bad because computer games all day (she, play) to put it in the fridge (I, forget) TV for hours before he fell asleep (he, watch) She didn't know that her (I, always, love) She was delighted because her wish true (come) for 40 years before he decided to stop (he, smoke) down with a book when the phone rang (I, just, sit) A Fill the gaps with the verb in brackets using the past perfect continuous or the past perfect simple When the student revolution came, I _ there for months ( work ) Before Jim finally decided to go to Thailand, he _ about it for months ( think ) They _ all the chocolate cake by the time Michael got to (15) the party ( eat ) I _ Scarlett Johansson on three previous occasions Lucky me! ( met ) The forensic evidence shows that he _ his nose just before he was murdered ( pick ) When the doctor told him his liver was seriously bad, he _ hamburgers for a month ( eat ) Prior to the explosion, the fat man _ seven large chocolate cakes ( eat ) When they cancelled the flight to Alicante, the storm _ all afternoon with no sign of abating ( rage ) 10 B Fill the gaps with the verb in brackets using the past continuous or the past perfect continuous When I asked Carlos if he wanted to go out, he said he couldn't because he _ an assignment ( finish ) Scarlett came into the room panting She _ round the park ( jog ) Scarlett wasn't in She _ around the park ( jog ) I _ a bath when I suddenly had a great idea ( have ) He told me he _ seriously _ about finding another job soon ( think ) He _ about finding a new job for about a year before he finally got round to it He´s happy now ( think ) It was obvious from her outrageous behaviour that _ ( drink ) I _ a latte in the Café New York, when I saw a famous actor walk past the window ( drink ) A When the student revolution came, I had been working there for months Before Jim finally decided to go to Thailand, he had been thinking about it for months They had eaten all the chocolate cake by the time Michael got to the party I had met Scarlett Johansson on three previous occasions Lucky me! The forensic evidence shows that he had been picking his nose just before he was murdered When the doctor told him his liver was seriously bad, he had been eating hamburgers for a month Prior to the explosion, the fat man had eaten seven large chocolate cakes When they cancelled the flight to Alicante, the storm had been raging all afternoon with no sign of (16) abating B When I asked Carlos if he wanted to go out, he said he couldn't because he was finishing an assignment Scarlett came into the room panting She had been jogging round the park Scarlett wasn't in She was jogging around the park I was having a bath when I suddenly had a great idea He told me he was seriously thinking about finding another job soon He had thinking about finding a new job for about a year before he finally got round to it He´s happy now It was obvious from her outrageous behaviour that she had been drinking I was drinking a latte in the Café New York, when I saw a famous actor walk past the window Now complete the sentences below using the correct form 1) Oh no! I can't pay for the taxi; I have _ my money at home left been leaving leaving 2) I have never _ the Great Wall of China before see saw seen 3) I have lived in Cape Town _ two months (17) already since for 4) Kelly is in her bed, she has _ for three hours been sleep sleeping been sleeping 5) My teacher is going to be so angry; I haven't finished my homework _ yet already since 6) I am an English student; I have been studying English _ 2007 since just for 7) The builders are very efficient; they have _ finished the foundations for our house (18) yet already since 8) I have _ three ice-creams today eaten eating been eating 9) Katie must be around here somewhere, I have _ seen her just yet since (19)