Past Perfect

FORM
[had + past participle]
Examples:
You had studied English before you moved to New York
Had you studied English before you moved to New York!
You had not studied English before you moved to New York
"omplete #ist of $ast $erfect %orms
USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past
&he $ast $erfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action
in the past 't can also show that something happened before a specific time in the
past
Examples:
' had never seen such a beautiful beach before ' went to (auai
' did not have any money because ' had lost my wallet
&ony knew 'stanbul so well because he had isited the city several times
Had )usan ever studied &hai before she moved to &hailand!
)he only understood the movie because she had read the book
(ristine had never !een to an opera before last night
*e were not able to get a hotel room because we had not !oo"ed in
advance
+: Had you ever isited the ,) before your trip in -../!
0: Yes1 ' had !een to the ,) once before
USE # $uration Before Something in the Past %&on'Continuous (er!s)
*ith Non2"ontinuous 3erbs and some non2continuous uses of 4ixed 3erbs1 we use
the $ast $erfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until
another action in the past
Examples:
*e had had that car for ten years before it broke down
0y the time +lex finished his studies1 he had !een in #ondon for over eight
years
&hey felt bad about selling the house because they had o*ned it for more
than forty years
+lthough the above use of $ast $erfect is normally limited to Non2"ontinuous 3erbs
and non2continuous uses of 4ixed 3erbs1 the words 5live15 5work15 5teach15 and
5study5 are sometimes used in this way even though they are N6& Non2"ontinuous
3erbs
+MPOR,A&, Specific ,imes *ith the Past Perfect
,nlike with the $resent $erfect1 it is possible to use specific time words or phrases
with the $ast $erfect +lthough this is possible1 it is usually not necessary
Example:
)he had isited her 7apanese relatives once in 899: before she moved in
with them in 899/
MOREO(ER
'f the $ast $erfect action did occur at a specific time1 the )imple $ast can be used
instead of the $ast $erfect when 5before5 or 5after5 is used in the sentence &he
words 5before5 and 5after5 actually tell you what happens first1 so the $ast $erfect is
optional %or this reason1 both sentences below are correct
Examples:
)he had isited her 7apanese relatives once in 899: before she moved in
with them in 899/
)he isited her 7apanese relatives once in 899: before she moved in with
them in 899/
HO-E(ER
'f the $ast $erfect is not referring to an action at a specific time1 $ast $erfect is not
optional "ompare the examples below ;ere $ast $erfect is referring to a lack of
experience rather than an action at a specific time %or this reason1 )imple $ast
cannot be used
Examples:
)he never sa* a bear before she moved to +laska Not Correct
)he had never seen a bear before she moved to +laska Correct
A$(ERB P.ACEME&,
&he examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always1
only1 never1 ever1 still1 <ust1 etc
Examples:
You had preiousl/ studied English before you moved to New York
;ad you preiousl/ studied English before you moved to New York!
AC,+(E 0 PASS+(E
Examples:
=eorge had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic>s license
ACTIVE
4any cars had !een repaired by =eorge before he received his mechanic>s
license PASSIVE
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been
singing
How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:
subje
ct
+ auxiliary
verb
+ auxiliary
verb
+ main
verb
have
has
been base +
ing
Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:
subje
ct
auxiliary
verb
auxiliary
verb
main
verb

+ I have been waiting for one hour.
+ You have been talking too much.
- It has no
t
been raining.
- We have no
t
been playing football.
? ave you been seeing her?
? ave they been !oing their
homework?
Contractions
When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject
and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.
I have been I"ve been
You have
been
You"ve been
e has been
#he has been
It has been
$ohn has
been
%he car has
been
e"s been
#he"s been
It"s been
$ohn"s been
%he car"s
been
We have
been
We"ve been
%hey have
been
%hey"ve
been
Here are some examples:
I"ve been rea!ing.
%he car"s been giving trouble.
We"ve been playing tennis for two hours.
How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with
the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:
1. n action that has just stopped or recently stopped
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and
stopped recently. There is usually a result now.
I"m tire! because I"ve been running.
past present future
&&&
'ecent
action.
'esult now.
I"m tire!
(now)
because I've been running.
Why is the grass wet
(now)
? Has it been raining?
You !on"t un!erstan!
(now)
because you haven"t been listening.
!. n action continuing up to now
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and
is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.
I have been rea!ing for * hours.
past present future
+ction starte! in
past.
+ction is continuing
now.

I have been reading for * hours. (I am still rea!ing now.)
We've been studying since , o"clock. (We"re still stu!ying now.)
ow long have you been learning -nglish? (You are still learning now.)
We have not been smoking. (+n! we are not smoking now.)
For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
We use for to talk about a period of time - . minutes/ * weeks/ 0 years.
We use since to talk about a point in past time - , o"clock/ 1st $anuary/
2on!ay.
for since
a period of
time
a point in past
time
x
*3 minutes 0.1.pm
three !ays 2on!ay
0 months $anuary
4 years 1,,4
* centuries 1533
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of
time
etc etc
Here are some examples:
I have been stu!ying for 6 hours.
I have been watching %7 since 8pm.
%ara hasn"t been feeling well for * weeks.
%ara hasn"t been visiting us since 2arch.
e has been playing football for a long time.
e has been living in 9angkok since he left school.
For can be use! with all tenses. Since is usually use! with perfect tenses only