Intermediate grammar exercise: past perfect vs. past simple
English grammar practice exercise, for pre-intermediate and intermediate level.
In this exercise you will practise the difference between the past simple and past perfect tenses.
Exercise instructions
Put the verb in brackets into either the past simple or past perfect simple.
| Structure of past simple | ||
| positive | negative | question |
| I / you / he / she / it / we / they arrived. |
I / you / he / she / it / we / they didn’t arrive. |
Did I / you / he / she / it / we / they arrive? |
| Past simple – common mistakes | ||
| Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
| I was work in London. | I worked in London. | In positive sentences, a helping verb such as was or did is not used. |
| He worked in London? | Did he work in London? | The helping verb did is used in past simple questions. |
| Worked he in London? | Did he work in London? | The helping verb did is used in past simple questions. |
| Did he wrote a letter? | Did he write a letter? | The main verb is used in the infinitive form in questions and negatives. |
| He didn't wrote a letter. | He didn't write a letter. | The main verb is used in the infinitive form in questions and negatives. |
| He writed a letter. | He wrote a letter. | Some verbs are irregular. Not all verbs end in -ed in the past simple form. |
| Structure of past perfect simple | ||
| positive | negative | question |
| I / you / he / she / it / we / they had gone. |
I / you / he / she / it / we / they hadn’t gone. |
Had I / you / he / she / it / we / they gone? |
| Past perfect simple – common mistakes | ||
| Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
| I didn't been to London. | I hadn't been to London. | We use the helping verb had (negative = hadn't) in the past perfect. |
| When I saw him, I noticed that he had a haircut. | When I saw him I noticed that he had had a haircut. | The action (a haircut) happened before the other past action (I noticed). We use the past perfect for the action which happened first to make the time order clear to the listener. |
| He told me has been to London. | 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). |
Win Sandar Htay - September 30, 2015, 9:02 am
I would like to take this exam and i want to know that the difference between past simple and past perfect, must and have to, don’t have to and mustn’t. not only these but also i would like to know all about of English grammar structure and how to write the witting essay. Thanks a lot.
Bombo - June 30, 2016, 2:48 pm
There is a mistake in the fifth example, the correct version is supposed to be: I had gone to Ireland in 2008 and then to Sweden 2009, so he was first in Ireland, right? While the suggested version on the website is: I went to Ireland. . .
Stuart Cook - June 30, 2016, 8:20 pm
The word ‘then’ explains the order of events very clearly in this example, so it’s fine to use past simple + ‘then’ + past simple. The past perfect isn’t necessary.