English grammar practice exercise, for pre-intermediate and intermediate level.
In this exercise you will practise forming the past perfect simple tense.
Instructions: Use the words in brackets to put each of the following into the past perfect simple:
| Structure of past perfect simple | ||
| positive | negative | question |
|
I'd (I had) seen him. You'd done it. We'd been there. They'd eaten it. |
I hadn't (had not) seen him. You hadn't done it. We hadn't been there. They hadn't eaten it. |
Had I seen him? Had you seen her? Had we finished it? Had they been there? |
|
He'd (he had) gone. She'd (she had) gone. It'd (it had) gone. |
He hadn't (had not) gone. She hadn't gone. It hadn't gone. |
Had he been here? Had she finished? Had it gone? |
| Past perfect simple - common mistakes | ||
| Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
|
|
I hadn't been to London. | The helping verb had (negative - hadn't) is used in the past perfect. |
|
|
When I saw him I noticed that he had had a haircut. | The action (haircut) which happened before another past action must be put into the past perfect to make the time order clear to the listener. |
|
|
He told me he had been to London. | His original words were: ''I have been to London.'' However, in reported speech we move the tense back - the present perfect (have been) becomes past perfect (had been). |
