Joy English
Joy English

B2 Grammar

B2Tenses15 min

Past perfect simple and continuous

Show which past event happened first, and talk about activities in progress before a past moment.

When we tell a story in the past, we sometimes need to go further back in time. The past perfect shows that one action happened before another past action or before a particular time in the past.

FormStructureFocus and example
Past perfect simplehad + past participleA completed action or result: When we arrived, the film had already started.
Past perfect continuoushad been + -ingAn activity in progress, or how long it lasted: Ines had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.
Negativehadn't + past participle / hadn't been + -ingI hadn't met him before the wedding.
Questionhad + subject + past participle / been + -ingHad you been working there long?

Compare the two forms. She had painted the room tells us the job was finished. She had been painting the room focuses on the activity, often to explain something we noticed: there was paint on her clothes. We often use the continuous form with for and since to show duration.

Is it always necessary?

If the order of events is already clear, for example with before or after, the past simple is often enough: After she locked the door, she went to bed. But with when, the choice of tense changes the meaning.

  • When I got to the platform, the train left. (I saw it leave.)
  • When I got to the platform, the train had left. (It was already gone.)
  • Yusuf was exhausted because he had been studying all night.
  • By the time the guests arrived, we had prepared everything.
  • The streets were wet. It had been raining.

Exercise 1 of 2

Choose the correct form

Choose the best option to complete each sentence.

  1. When we reached the cinema, the film _____, so we missed the beginning.

  2. Her eyes were red because she _____ onions.

  3. I didn't recognise Omar at first. I _____ him for ten years.

  4. By the time Leila retired, she _____ at the same school for 35 years.

  5. They _____ each other for years before they started the business.

  6. The ground was wet. It _____ all night.

  7. How long _____ before you found a job?

  8. When I opened the fridge, I saw that someone _____ all the cheese.

0 of 8 answered

Exercise 2 of 2

Write the past perfect

Type the past perfect simple or past perfect continuous form of the verb in brackets.

  1. When Amara got home, she realised she (leave) her keys at the office.

  2. Leo (fix) the old radio all morning, but it still didn't work.

  3. I (never / see) snow before I moved to Canada.

  4. By the end of the day, Tariq (write) twelve emails.

  5. She (not / eat) anything since breakfast, so she was very hungry.

  6. Yuki (read) the novel for a week, but she was still only on page 50.

  7. Ines was out of breath because she (run) for the bus.

  8. They (know) each other for ten years when they got married.

0 of 8 answered

Source

Original lesson by Joy English.

Levels are suggestions. Found a mistake? Tell us through the Contact page.