GRAMMAR I

PAST PERFECT ( had + Vpast participle = haba estado ...)

We use Past Perfect to know the sequence about two actions in the past.
- She spoke French well because she had lived in Paris as a child. (first: she h
ad lived in Paris / second: She spoke French well)
- I had left my umbrella at home so I got really wet. (first: I had left my umbr
ella at home / second: I got really wet.)
- My uncle didnt want to move because he had lived in the same house for forty ye
ars.
- There was no food in the house because I had forgotten to go to the supermarke
t.
- My grandparents had never flown before so they were nervous when they got on t
he plane.
- When I got home my father was angry because I hadnt phoned him.
- Theyd already sold all the tickets so we didnt get into the concert.
- We didnt have to queue in the restaurant because my uncle had reserved a table.
- I had done a lot of work on my assignment, so I was disappointed with the low
mark.
- As soon as our guests had left, we went to sleep.
- Glenn knew he had made a lot of mistakes in his English exam.
- I phoned about the car for sale but the owner had already sold it.
- I was certain I had left my keys on my desk, but they weren t there.
- Diana was sure she had met Tony before.
- The children hadn t travelled by plane before so they were very excited.
- Mrs Dunn was angry because most of the students hadn t done their homework.
- United s manager resigned because the team hadn t won any matches that season.
With the past perfect, we use many of the same time words that we use with the p
resent perfect.
- We had been in cairo for two months.
- He threatened to leave his job many times before he actually did it.
- I had known Mark by sight (de vista) for a long time before I actually spoke t
o him.
- Geoff hadn t seen his parents for fifteen years so he felt rather nervous at t
he airport.
- We had been in cairo since August.
- I d already passed my driving test.
- I d just passed my driving test.
- The woman said she was sorry, but she had only just started working there.
- I d recently passed my driving test.
- It was the first time I d met her.
- It was the first time I d ever spent the night away from home.
- It was the second time I d met her.
By/ by the time.
- By 5.30 everyone had left (= they left before this time)
- By the time we arrived, the film had finished. ( sequence)
- By seven o clock, the place was completely empty, everyone had gone home.
- The rain had stopped by the time we got to the beach.
Whith advers ( ever / never )
- Michael asked her whether(=if) she had ever noticed a tattoo on the back of Mr
Findlater s hand.
- The jazz singer sang an old blues song that I d never heard before.
Present perfect or past perfect
Examples:
Past perfect ( vpast + had vpparticiple)
- Greg felt terrified because he d never flown before.

- We were all very tired because we d just travelled back from Florida.
- The whole country was in shock because the President had died.
- It was the first time Juventus had lost a match.
Present perfect ( vpresent + have vpparticiple)
- How s Susan? I haven t seen her for ages.
- The group Just Girls are breaking up and they ve only been together for three
months.
- I love eating here. It s the best restaurant I ve ever been to.
- What s the matter? You ve been depressed all week.
Examples with reported speech:
- When Michael s secretary came back to work, he asked her who had given her his
brother s number.
- Thanks to this amazing coincidence, Michael had found his brother at last.
- Harry said it was luck that Michael s secretary had been off sick that day.
- Harry said it was luck that Michael s secretary was off sick that day. (it s c
orrect too.)

Examples and analysis in context: Use / to separate ideas. 1: firs action in the
past ; 2: second action in the past ; 11:at the same time in the past.
Before the party began (2), someone had put some poisoned ice cube into the punc
h(1)./ The man who left early (2) had been the first person to try the punch(1).
/ At this time, the ice hadnt melted(11) so the poison hadnt got into the punch (1
1)./ Everyone else drank the punch(2) when
the ice had already melted(1).
In this example is not easy to know when we use the past perfect, but when we se
e an action in the past, it could be past perfect. Lets check.
The man had been out fishing (activity action so ing) and had caught an unusuall
y large fish (consequence of the first activity)/. He was so excited(no action i
ts an state) that hed phoned his wife to tell her about it(action in the past:to p
hone)/. Unfortunately, as he was describing the fish(context with past continuou
s), he stretched out his arms to demonstrate how large the fish was(consequence
dropped from the context)/, and had smashed through the glass on either side of
the phone box(action with smashed),/ and had tragically bled to death as a resu
lt. (action with bled)/