The past perfect
You learn the past perfect: had plus the past participle.
How to do the test
- Find had before the gap.
- Use the past participle of the verb in brackets.
- It shows an action that was already finished.
A worked example
Type the past participle of the verb in brackets. By the time we arrived, the film had ___ (start).
- The past perfect is had plus the past participle.
- It shows something that was already finished before another past event.
- The past participle of start is started.
More examples
Type the past participle of the verb in brackets. The bell rang after we had ___ (finish) our work.
- The past perfect is had plus the past participle.
- It shows something that was already finished before another past event.
- The past participle of finish is finished.
Type the past participle of the verb in brackets. He cried because he had ___ (break) his toy.
- The past perfect is had plus the past participle.
- It shows something that was already finished before another past event.
- The past participle of break is broken.
Try it yourself
Type the past participle of the verb in brackets.
He cried because he had ___ (break) his toy.
Type the past participle of the verb in brackets.
By the time we arrived, the had ___ (start).
Watch out
You use the simple past, as in the film had started up.
After had you need the past participle. For irregular verbs that is often a different word: had eaten, not had ate.
Tips
- Look for a second past event in the sentence. The past perfect describes what happened before it.
Why it works
The past perfect shows something that was already finished before another event in the past. It uses had with the past participle.