PAST PERFECT

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¡HELLO GUYS! 😆

Today we will talk about the past perfect but specifically about the grammatical structure, its uses and some examples and exercises to practice.

Structure and forms 

- Affirmative structure: Subject + auxiliary had + past participle verb + complement 

  • I had paid for my Netflix subscription
  • I had spent a lot of money

- Negative structure: Subject + auxiliary had + not + past participle verb + complement

  • I hadn’t been to Mexico once before
  • She hadn’t lived in Bogota before moving to Barranquilla

- Interrogative structure: Auxiliary had + subject + past participle verb + complement ?

  • Had you visited Colombia before this trip?
  • Had they met each other before the party?

When do we use the past perfect?

1. The past perfect is used to refer to an action that happened in the past before another. In this case, the first action is conjugated in the past perfect, while the second, the most recent, in the past simple. For example:  

       - I had saved my document before the computer died. 

       - I had not been shopping when you called me

       - I had watched the movie before I read the book 

2. It is used to talk about an action that happened before a specific time in the past. For example:

       - I had already eaten when my mom made dinner.

       - I had already fallen asleep when my aunt arrived from Spain

3. It is used to talk about actions that started in the past and continued until a certain time in the past. For example:

       - I had been happy every Saturday until I studied English on Saturdays 😁😁😂

4. It is useful for indirect reporting in order to reuse what a person said when they spoke in the present perfect. For example:

       - I have started a new degree → She said she had started a new degree

5. In some situations, it can be used in conditional sentences. For example:

       - If you had told me before, I would have helped you

Next, I will leave you a video so that you understand the subject better: 👇👀👌



Now, we are going to practice doing the following exercises:
  1. Alex ____ (not/travel) alone before his trip to London.
  2. I ____ (be) at home all day. I had to get out and go for a walk.
  3. _____ you _____ (eat) breakfast when you left the house?
  4. I ____ (not/do) all my homework when I went to class.
  5. Steve  __________ (write) a poem.
  6. Sarah  __________ (think) your idea was great.



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