Lesson 37: Unit 94 - Past Perfect Tense
In this lesson you will learn how to form and use the Past Perfect Tense — the tense we use to show that one past action happened before another past action.
About this lesson
In this lesson you will learn to use the Past Perfect tense (had + past participle) to talk about an event that happened before another event in the past. You will understand the difference between the Simple Past and the Past Perfect and how to build correct sentences with this grammatical form. We will read a real text about unequal pay in an office and answer questions about it. Through practical examples you will gain confidence in using the Past Perfect in real conversations and writing.
40 minutes
What you'll learn
- Form the Past Perfect tense with had + past participle
- Understand when the Past Perfect is used (the earlier of two past actions)
- Distinguish the Past Perfect from the Past Simple
- Use the Past Perfect with verbs of thinking: think, know, realize, remember, suspect, understand
- Understand and link sentences with after, because and by the end of...
- Understand a text about working in an office and answer questions about it
Lesson vocabulary
- past participle Past Perfect is formed with HAD + the past participle.
- had left When we arrived at her house, she had left.
- had lost When I got home I realized I'd lost my bag.
- had locked Helen was sure she had locked the door.
- had retired She had retired a few years ago, but she had to go back to work.
- had been made redundant He had worked there for forty years but he had been made redundant.
- short term job It was a short term job — only for the summer.
- housewife She had been a housewife working at home for the last thirty years.
- qualifications He didn't have any more qualifications or more experience than us.
- workforce In this company 95% of the workforce were women.
- realize When I got home I realized I'd lost my bag.
- suspect Past Perfect is often used with verbs like think, know, suspect, understand.
- supporting a family It was really important because she was supporting a family.
- pretty unfair I thought it was pretty unfair.
- pays the bills He lives with his mother, and his mother pays the bills.
In other languages: Български