Past Perfect

Past PerfectSimpleProgressive / ContinuousPast Perfect SimpleI couldnt believe my eyes!!!Yesterday when I arrived home:

Someone had broken into my house. They had broken the door and the window. They had stolen all my money. They had broken my TV and my computer. They had emptied my drawers. They had even eaten the food in the fridge.The following actions happened in the past.. How can we join them?I had dinner . 7:00 PM 1st actionShe invited me to a restaurant . 9:00 PM 2nd action

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past or that something happened before a specific time in the past.Examples. An action that occurred before another action in the past.I had never seen such a beautiful beach She only understood the movie Had you studied English Notice that the oldest action goes in Past Perfect while the recent action uses PAST SIMPLE. before I went to Cancun. because she had just read the book.by the time you moved to New York?Examples. An action that occurred before a specific point of timeGeorge had been married since 2005.Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.Had you ever visited the U.S. by 2006?Notice that the placement of adverbs is similar to the present perfect: always, only, never, ever, still, just, already, yet.My teacher asked me for my project, but I had not finished it yet. -6Complete the following sentences She was late for work because she.. (miss the bus) They talked about the film they.. (see) . She read the letter her husband .. (send) . The teacher was satisfied with the essay he.. (write) . They ate the chicken their mother (cook)Past Perfect ProgressiveThe past perfect progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action taking place before another action in the past.I had been waiting for 2 hours before the taxi arrived.

Examples. Emphasis on the duration of actions happening before another. We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.It had been raining hard for several hours so the streets were very wet.Her friends had been thinking of calling the police since the next day when she walked in.The common expressions to give emphasis to the time are: FOR X time, ONLY, ALL DAY, SINCE You had only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived.10Also, use it if the duration of an activity impacted or caused visible results on another action in the past.Jason was tired because he had been jogging.Sam gained weight because he had been eating in excess.Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.Short clip.

Past Perfect Simple or Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Which to use?Emphasis on Duration vs Result

She had already gone home when I arrived at the party.He had been drinking all night when I found him.

By midnight, Paul had translated the article. (He finished his work.)By midnight, Paul had been translating the article. (He did not finish it. He was still translating at that moment.

By the time we arrived, he had cleaned the house. (he finished)By the time we arrived, he had been cleaning the house for 2 hours. (He did not finish)

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed VerbsThe motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina bought it. Not CorrectThe motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought it. Correct