Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous are two tenses that frequently appear in the exam, especially the Past Perfect. You can easily distinguish these 2 tenses, but they still cause many difficulties for you. So how to distinguish these two confusing tenses?
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Today English tivi summarizes the most basic knowledge so that you can easily distinguish and use these 2 tenses correctly and effectively in the test!
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Structure of Past Perfect vs Past Perfect Continuous
| Form of Past Perfect Tense | Form of Past Perfect Continuous Tense |
| 1. To be: (+) S + had been + Adj/ Noun + O She had been a good dancer when she met a car accident. (-) S + hadn't been + Adj/ Noun + O (?) Had + Subject + been+ O? 2. Verbs (+) S + had + Past Participle + O (-) S + hadn't + Past Participle + O had not = hadn’t (?) Had + S + Past Participle + O ? | (+) S + had + beeb + V_ing + O (-) S + hadn't + beeb + V_ing + O (?) Had + S + been + V_ing + O? |
See More: Past Perfect Continuous Tense – English Grammar Tenses
How to use Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous
| Past Perfect | Past Perfect Continuous |
| 1. Express an action that happened before another action in the past. (Action that happened before using QKHT – happened after using QKD) – When I got up this morning, my father had already left. 2. Used to describe an action before a specified time in the past. – We had lived in Hue before 1975. 3. Used in conditional sentences type 3 – If I had known that you were there, I would have written you a letter. 4. Used in wish sentences contrary to the Past – I wish I had had time to study. | 1. Express an action that happened before another action in the past (emphasis on continuity) – I had been thinking about that before you mentioned it. 2. Express an action that has already happened, continuing until the second action happens. (Action 2 uses QKD). Usually, the length of time is clearly stated in the sentence. – The men had been playing cards for 3 hours when I came. |
Signal words for the Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous
| Past Perfect | Past Perfect Continuous |
| When, by the time, until, before, after | since, for, how long… |
Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Exercises
Exercises
1: He………………..(marry) her two years before we met.
2: James told me you………………..(buy) the old vicarage two years before your son’s birth.
3: I wish we………………..(buy) had bought it before.
4: When I arrived at the station, the train………………..(leave).
5: He………………..(play) tennis for 4 hours when he broke his leg.
6: The dog came into the house once she………………..(finish) the housework.
7: He………………..(drive) his car for 10 minutes when he realized it had a flat tire.
8: She………………..(throw) the letter away when she noticed it was not important.
9: He………………..(swim) for 15 minutes when he understood he had lost his swimsuit.
10: It………………..(rain) for one hour when the wind started to blow.
11: He rushed to the baker’s when he saw his wife………………..(forget) buy some bread.
12: Sarah was exhausted. She………………..(wash) the dishes for more than three hours.
13: When he saw her, he knew he………………..(meet) her before.
14: When he phoned her, she………………..(go) out.
15: When Ron arrived, the party………………..(already/begin).
16: The children………………..(already/go) to bed when their mother came from work.
17: If I………………..(not/be) absent yesterday, I would have met him.
18: I was very tired when I arrived home. I………………..(work) hard all day.
19: When I arrived at the party, Tom wasn’t there. He………………..(go) home.
20: When we got home last night, we found that somebody………………..(break) into the flat.
Answers
1: He had married (marry) her two years before we met.
2: James told me you had bought (buy) the old vicarage two years before your son’s birth.
3: I wish we had bought (buy) had bought it before.
4: When I arrived at the station, the train had left (leave).
5: He had been playing (play) tennis for 4 hours when he broke his leg.
6: The dog came into the house once she had finished (finish) the housework.
7: He had been driving (drive) his car for 10 minutes when he realized it had a flat tire.
8: She had thrown (throw) the letter away when she noticed it was not important.
9: He had been swimming (swim) for 15 minutes when he understood he had lost his swimsuit.
10: It had been raining (rain) for one hour when the wind started to blow.
11: He rushed to the baker’s when he saw his wife had forgotten (forget) buy some bread.
12: Sarah was exhausted. She had been washing (wash) the dishes for more than three hours.
13: When he saw her, he knew he had met(meet) her before.
14: When he phoned her, she had gone (go) out.
15: When Ron arrived, the party had already begun (already/begin).
16: The children had already gone (already/go) to bed when their mother came from work.
17: If I hadn’t been (not/be) absent yesterday, I would have met him.
18: I was very tired when I arrived home. I had been working (work) hard all day.
19: When I arrived at the party, Tom wasn’t there. He had gone (go) home.
20: When we got home last night, we found that somebody had broken (break) into the flat.
Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Exercises PDF
Conclusion
Above are details of the structure, usage, recognition, and distinction of past perfect and past perfect continuous. Hope you get more useful knowledge after reading this article.
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