Past perfect and past perfect continous
Introduction
5. 1. Past Perfect Tense
5. 1. 1. Form
This tense is formed with “had” and the past participle of the main verb:
§ Affirmative: I had worked etc.
§ Negative: I had not worked etc.
§ Interrogative: had I worked? Etc.
§ Negative interrogative: had not I worked? Etc.
5. 1. 2. Uses of Past Perfect Tense
§ The basic meaning of the past perfect tense is “earlier past”. Common use is to ‘go back’ for a moment when we are already talking about the past, to make it clear that something had happened at the time we are talking about in the past. It is used to describe an action completed before a certain moment in the past, usually a long time ago. If two actions happened in the past, past perfect is used to show the action that took place earlier. We can use time conjunctions “after, as soon as, when , once” to talk about two actions or events that happened one after the other “two consecutive past actions, the first one is in the past perfect and the second one is in the simple past tense.” The time conjunctions emphasize that the first action is separate, independent from the second and completed before the second action started. This kind of actions can be represented diagrammatically as follows:
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See the examples below:
· When I arrived at the party, Lucy had already gone home. “We are already talking about the past, and want to talk about an earlier past”.
· As soon as he had finished his exams, he went to Paris for a month. “one action caused the other”
· When I had written my letters, I did some gardening. “Not when I wrote my letter, I did some gardening.”
· All ministers had arrived at the Presidential House before Mr. President came.
· Before Mr. President came, all ministers had arrived at the Presidential house.
· He visited the Park Mall at Setif city after he had finished his classes.
· Hundreds of students had waited for the exam when the teacher arrived to the classroom.
· Ann had got his Master Degree from Harvard University before she became a famous lecturer at Harvard 2 University.
· I had never seen such a beautiful place before I went to Zurich.
· I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
· Had John ever studied German before he moved to Germany?
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Important Reminder: When we have two consecutive past actions, the second one is always in the simple past and the first action is either in the past perfect tense for a complete action or past continuous for a continuing action. So the question of past perfect or past continuous actions can be answered by the following two parameters: § The use of reason and logic “concession of past actions” § The case of chronological order of actions “first action then the second” § The absence of interruption for the case of past perfect and simple past tenses. § The presence of interruption for the case of present continuous tense and simple past tense. § The absence of interruption corresponds to the quality of sequential actions. § The presence of interruption corresponds to the quality of simultaneous actions. |
1. The past perfect is common after past verbs of saying and thinking, to talk about things that had happened before the saying or thinking took place.
· I told her that I had finished my work. “It joined one past action with another one in earlier past time.”
· I wondered who had left the door open.
· I thought I had sent the money a week before.
2. It is also used to describe unreal events, hopes, and wishes in the past. After “if, wish, and would rather” we use past perfect to talk about events that did not happen or unrealized. Here, it is the case of conditional type 3.
· If I had gone to university I would have studied medicine. “But he did not go to university.”
· I wish if you had told me the truth. “But you did not do it.’
· I’d rather she had asked me before borrowing the car.
Summary
The past perfect tense is used when one past event was completed before another past event or stated past time. It is formed by using “had” plus the past participle of the base verb (I, you, s/he/it, we, they had forgotten). The common way of using the simple present tense is when:
§ Expresses a past event/situation occurring before a particular time/event in the past - used not to express an action in distant past but only in comparison with another past action. (She had lost her job, so she was working as a waitress.) So presence of two past actions is a must for the use of past perfect tense.
5. 2. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
5. 2. 1. Form
Ø This tense is formed with “had been” + the present participle of the main verb. It is therefore the same for all persons. See the examples below:
§ I had been working. “Affirmative”
§ They had not been working. “Negative”
§ Had you been working? “Interrogative”
§ Had not you been working? Or had you not been working? “Negative Interrogative”
5. 2. 2. Main Uses of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense
§ The past perfect continuous bears the same relation to the past perfect as the present perfect continuous bears to the present perfect. This relationship implies that when the action began before the time of speaking, and continued up to that time, or stopped just before it, we can often use either form. So we use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past. This kind of actions can be represented diagrammatically as follows:
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See the examples below:
· They had been talking for over an hour before John arrived.
· She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
· How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
· It was now six and he was tired because he had worked since dawn = it was now six and he was tired because he had been working since dawn.
· The boy was delighted with his new knife. He had been wanting one for a long time.
§ Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect. So Past Perfect Progressive is used to report an action or event that happened before a point in the past and whose effects are still visible at that point (in the past), See the examples below:
· John had been studying at the Harvard University for full 5 years before he became a lecturer.
· I had been living in this famous city for 20 years before I moved to Algiers.
· John was tired because he had been jogging.
· Ann gained weight because he had been overeating.
1. 3. Differences between Past Perfect continuous and Past Perfect
§ The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:
· Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.
§ But there is a difference between a single action in the simple past perfect and an action in the past perfect continuous.
· By six o’clock he had repaired the machine. “This job had been completed”.
· He had been repairing the machine. “It tells us how he had spent the previous hour but it does not tell us whether or not the job was completed.”
§ Progressive forms generally emphasize the continuation of an activity: we use simple tenses to emphasize the idea of completion. Compare:
· I had been reading science fiction, and my mind was full of strange images.
· I had read all my magazines, and was beginning to get bored.
§ Some verbs are not normally used in progressive forms, even if the meaning is one for which a progressive form would be more suitable.
· I had not known her for very long when we got married.
§ The past perfect continuous does not have the passive form. The nearest passive equivalent of a sentence such as “they had been picking apples” would be “apples had been picked”. So the nearest passive equivalent tense is past perfect passive tense.
Important: Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
If you do not include duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since Friday," many English speakers choose to use the Past Continuous rather than the Past Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Past Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes duration of time before something in the past. Examples:
· He was tired because he was exercising very hard. (This sentence emphasizes the fact that he was tired because he was exercising at that exact moment)
· He was tired because he had been exercising very hard. (This sentence emphasizes the fact that he was tired because he had been exercising over a period of time. It is possible that he was still exercising at that moment or that he had already finished exercising)
Summary
The past perfect progressive tense is used to indicate actions that ended or will end at a specified time or before another action. It is formed by using “had” plus “been” plus the present participle of the base verb (I, you, s/he/it, we, they had been looking). The common way of using the simple present tense is when:
§ It is used to emphasize the duration of a continuous activity that took place before or up to and including a particular time/event in the past.
· He returned to Vienna where he had been negotiating the oil prices.
· I thought he needed some fresh air.
· He had been sitting there all day.)
Macro Summary to the Past Tenses
When you write a narrative about an event that occurred in the past, you will use the different forms of the past tense. The different forms will allow you to show the difference between actions which may be completely finished, continue into the present, or actions which may have taken place over a period, or duration, of time in the past. Additionally, you may want to show that events or conditions occurred in a sequence (first, next, and last) in the past. For example:
§ I graduated from college in 2005. Your graduation was a single event. It is completely over; although you continue to be a graduate, the day you wore your cap and gown and received your degree is over. Use the simple past tense.
§ I was preparing dinner when the phone rang. Each of the events is over. You prepared the dinner yesterday, and the phone rang yesterday. Show that a continuing action was interrupted by using the past continuous tense.
§ I was living in India at the time. I shopped at the outdoor markets every day. Again, each of these events is over. You no longer live in India, and you no longer shop in the markets. Use the past continuous tense to show that your life in India was a duration, or period, of time. During that time you shopped at the markets.
§ I had viewed the film before I read the book. Both of these actions happened in the past. Use the past perfect tense to indicate that one event occurred before the other.
§ I had been looking for my shoes when I found his lost wallet. Again, both of these actions are past. Use the past continuous tense to show that one action was in progress when another event occurred.
Exercise 1
Supply a suitable Simple Past or Past Perfect Tense with justification:
1. They …………………. (go) home after they …………….. (finish) their work.
2. She ………………………….. (just / go) out when I called her.
3. My brother …………………………. (eat) all the pie before we got back.
4. He wondered why I ………………………………. (not / visit) him before.
5. She said that she ………………………………. (already / see) the Pyramids.
6. The fire ………………………………………….. (spread) to the next building before the firemen ………………………….. (arrive).
7. They drank small cups of coffee, after they …………………. (finish) dinner.
8. He told me he …………………………………….. (catch) a young lion.
9. His mother …. (worry) a lot about him before she …… (hear) that he was safe.
10. He …………….. (already / learn) English before he ………………. (leave) for England, but before he arrived in England, he ………… (forget) some.
11. Mary …………………….. (go) swimming after she ………………… (come) home. After she ………… (swim), she ………. (call) her friend John.
12. After they ………… (finish) their breakfast, they ………… (leave) for school.
13. Linda ……………. (play) tennis after she ……………… (do) her homework.
14. My father ………………. (water) the flowers after he ………………. (clean) the car. After he ……..…….. (water) the flowers, he …….…….. (have) dinner.
Exercise 2
Fill in the following sentences by using Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
1. I was tired because I ……………………..……. (type) for a long time.
2. Her boss was very angry with her because she ……. (come) to work very late.
3. I didn’t know about the earthquake because I ………… (not / watch) television.
4. She was too fat because she ……………….. (not / keep) her doctor’s advice.
5. I took my car to the garage because the brakes ………..…………. (not / work).
6. She had to go to the dentist because she ………….…. (not / clean) her teeth.
7. He got bad marks because he …………………...…………… (not / study) hard.
8. She wasn’t at home. She ……….…………………. (go) out with her boyfriend.
9. I thought I ………………………..………………… (behave) like a stupid man.
10. He ………………...………….. (study) English) very hard for the last few days.
Exercise 3
Complete the sentences using the past perfect or the past perfect continuous.
1. By the time I got home they …………(eat) all the cake.
2. The room was very smoky. I could tell that my brother …… (smoke) in there all afternoon.
3. She retired at fifty-five, but she ……. (work) hard all her life.
4. James was very irritable. He ………. (look) for his contact lens for an hour and he still ……….(not / find) it!
5. I was furious with Tom when he arrived. I ………….. (wait) for him for hours.
6. Harry was sad to sell his car. He………. (have) it for a long time.
7. Mary was covered in white paint. She …….(decorate) the kitchen a1l afternoon.
8. Lucy went into the sitting room. The TV was on. Her brother ……. (watch) it and…………… (forget) to switch it off.
9. Hattie felt terribly sick. She ………(eat) too many cream cakes.
10. The journey was incredibly long. We …… (travel) for ten hours and we weren't even half way yet.