PAST PERFECT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

english grammar

Empezar

NARRATIVE TENSES

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

• Used to talk about something which happened before another event in the past.
• Used along with PAST SIMPLE

Examples:

1. I had finished lunch when John phoned me (=I finished lunch BEFORE John phoned)
2. When we arrived to the airport, we realized that we had left one of the suitcases in the taxi. (=We left the suitcases in the taxi BEFORE we arrived to the airport)

PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

FORMATION

HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE (3rd COLUMN)

• AFFIRMATIVE: Subject + Had + Past Participle
• NEGATIVE: Subject + Had + Not + Past Participle
• INTERROGATIVE: Had + Subject + Past Participle

Examples:

1. Mary had already read the book when the film came out.
2. Mary had not read the book before the film came out.
3. Had Mary read the book before the film came out?

NARRATIVE TENSES

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

• Used to talk about an action that started before another action that took place in the past and continued up to that moment.
• Normally used with ACTION VERBS

Examples:

1. We had been flying for two hours when the captain told us that we were going through turbulences.
2. I had been walking around the supermarket for half an hour when I finally bumped into what I was looking for.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

FORMATION

HAD + BEEN + VERB -ING

• AFFIRMATIVE: Subject + Had + Been + Verb -ing
• NEGATIVE: Subject + Had + Not + Been + Verb -ing
• INTERROGATIVE: Had + Subject + Been + Verb -ing

Examples:

1. Mary had been cleaning the room for one hour when Tom stepped on the floor.
2. Sandy had not been running for too long before Paul phoned her.
3. Had you been swimming for a long time when the shark appeared?

NARRATIVE TENSES

Simple or continuous?

vs.

Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Continuous

• Non-action verbs (e.g. have, know, like, etc)
• Focus on the completion of an activity

• Action verbs (e.g. watch, play, run, etc)
• Focus on the duration of an activity