Past perfect and past perfect continuous

Exercise 1:
Can you circle the verbs in the past perfect simple and continuous?

Had been writing, was laughing, be born, had been joking, had believed, finished, invite, is living, had looked, had enjoyed, loves, does.

Exercise 2:
Put the verbs into the Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous.

1 – It was a relief to find the documents. I _________________________ (look) for them all morning.

2- He arrived late because he _________________________ (have) an accident.

3 – He explained how the accident happened. Apparently, he _________________________ (drive) home when a young man _________________________ (run) out into the road in front of him. He _________________________ (swerve) to avoid him and _________________________ (crash) into a parked car.

4 – He called me at eleven in the evening to tell me that he _________________________ (find/finally) a solution to the problem.

5 – Mary had a bandage on her arm. She _________________________ (fall) off her bike the day before.

Exercise 3:
Complete the sentences below by putting the verbs provided in the appropriate tense.

a) By the time I got to school, classes _________________________ (already/begin) and the halls were empty.

b) By the end of the course, I _________________________ (learn) so much that I felt confident to start my career as a foreign language teacher.

c) Sleeping Beauty was told she _________________________ (sleep) for 100 years and Prince Charming _________________________ (save) her.

d) Until he met Mary, he _________________________ never really _________________________ (believe) in romantic love.

e) Cindy remembered that distant afternoon very well: they _________________________ (lay) on the deck chairs while Charlie _________________________ (buy) gifts.

f) I _________________________ (listen) to music for hours when Ben rang and said he wanted to go clubbing that night.

g) By the time tea was over, the rain _________________________ (stop) and the grass was shining like silver.

h) She was hoarse because she _________________________ (have) choir practice and they _________________________ (sing) all afternoon.

i) It was past 6 o’clock and all the shops _________________________ (close): Mina and I _________________________ (wander) about for nearly three hours.

j) Before her graduation day she _________________________ (buy) a new dress so that she would have something new to wear on that day.

Solutions

Exercise 1:

Past Perfect Simple – had believed / had looked / had enjoyed.
Past Perfect Continuous – Had been writing / had been joking.

Exercise 2:

1 – It was a relief to find the documents. I had been looking for them all morning.
2- He arrived late because he had had an accident.
3 – He explained how the accident happened. Apparently, he had been driving home when a young man had run out into the road in front of him. He had swerved to avoid him and had crashed into a parked car.
4 – He called me at eleven in the evening to tell me that he had finally found a solution to the problem.
5 – Mary had a bandage on her arm. She had fallen off her bike the day before.
Exercise 3:
a) By the time I got to school, classes had already begun and the halls were empty.
b) By the end of the course, I had learnt so much that I felt confident to start my career as a foreign language teacher.
c) Sleeping Beauty was told she had been sleeping for 100 years and Prince Charming had saved her.
d) Until he met Mary, he had never really believed in romantic love.
e) Cindy remembered that distant afternoon very well: they had been laying on the deck chairs while Charlie had been buying gifts.
f) I had been listening to music for hours when Ben rang and said he wanted to go clubbing that night.
g) By the time tea was over, the rain had stoppped and the grass was shining like silver.
h) She was hoarse because she had had choir practice and they had been singing all afternoon.
i) It was past 6 o’clock and all the shops had closed: Mina and I had been wandering about for nearly three hours.
j) Before her graduation day she had bought a new dress so that she would have something new to wear on that day.