MODULE 1.UNDERSTANDING THE PAST PERFECT

Today we are going to concentrate on verb tenses, especially on the PAST PERFECT TENSE.  

 The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:

• The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

The train had left when we arrived.
past	present	future
Train left at 9am.
We arrived at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

• I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.
• They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
• I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.
• "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived."
  "Really? Where had she gone?"

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect tense				present perfect tense
had | done | > |					have | done | > |
past	now	future		past	now	future

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:

• "You are too late. The train has left."

Later, you tell your friends:

• "We were too late. The train had left."

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:

Look at these examples:

• He told us that the train had left.
• I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
• He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
• I wondered if I had been there before.
• I asked them why they had not finished.

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_past-perfect_u.htm

3 TASKS

(www.perfect-english-grammar.com) 

A.-Complete with the past perfect or the past simple: 

1. We ____________(already eat) when John ___________ (come) home. 

2. Last year Juan ____________ (pass) all his exams after he _______________ (study) a lot. 

3. When I ________________________________ (get) to the airport I discovered I ____________(forget) my passport. 

4. I went to the library, then I_____________ (buy) some milk and finally I ________ (go) home. 

5. I __________(open) my handbag to find that I _________ 

(lose) my credit card. 

6. When we ____________ (arrive) at the station, the train ____________(already/leave). 

7. We __________(get) home to find that someone _____________ (break) into the house. 

8. I ________ (open) the fridge to find someone ___________ (eat) all my chocolate. 

9. I ___________ (know) my husband for three years when we 

_____________ (get) married. 

10. Julie was very pleased to see that John __________ (clean) the kitchen when she __________ (arrive). 

B.-Rephrase using the past perfect, past continuous, used to. CLICK HERE

C.-VERB TENSES REVISION. Click HERE to revise verb tenses rewriting sentences. 

1. 4 IDIOMS TO TALK ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

 

1. 10 IDIOMS IN FILMS AND SERIES

 

1. EXAMPLE OF IDIOMS

To learn some food idioms click HERE

-The bread and butter: the important things
Just tell me the bread and butter of your report.

-Bring home the bacon: bring the money
She is the one who brings home the bacon.

-It's not my cup of tea: I don't like it.

-Out of the frying pan and into the fire: get involved in more and more trouble.

0. FIND SOMEONE WHO...

 
0. FIND SOMEONE WHO...

First write the questions on your notebook, then move around and talk to your partners. 

1. likes English             (Do you like English?)
2. went to the beach last summer (Did you go to the beach last summer?)
3. can tell a good joke
4. has more than one brother or sister
5. has visited a museum recently
6. has a pet
7. walks to school
8. celebrates his or her birthday the same month you do
9. went to the cinema last weekend
10. is reading a book at the moment
11. is good at Maths
12. can sing very well
13. can play a musical instrument
14. is great at painting
15. is allergic
16. practises a sport
17. hates football
18. comes from a different town
19. loves dancing
20. gets up early at weekends


What did you find out about your classmates and your teacher? Add your comments. 

"I found out ..."
"I didn't know..."
"Now I know" 

0. 40 QUESTIONS

 

0. MAKE A QUESTIONS FOR THE UNDERLINED WORDS:

1.-I bought a newspaper this morning.

2.-Something odd happened during the storm last night.

3.-Steve didn't do the final exam.

4.-Pam wrote a romantic letter to one of her friends.

5.-A noise disturbed me when I was working.

6.-Peter rang me at 3am last night.

7.-My husband gave me a watch for my birthday

8.-The new student  has broken the window.

9.-I visited my grandmother on Sunday.

10.-The baby was crying because he was tired.

11.-They were waiting at the restaurant.

12.-Mark ate a chocolate cake.

13.-Yes, I have visited Dublin twice.

14.-I’ve lived in Cáceres for five years.

15.-The student stopped talking because the principal entered the room.

16.-The weather is pleasant today.

17. 15 million people have seen UFO`s.

18. Obesity affects millions of people.

19. Some paper companies are now cutting trees in Russia.

20. I was only 12 when Neil Amstrong walked on the moon.

21. He wants to go to Harvard next year.

22. I grew up in Tennessee.

23. Three quarters of the world’s mail is written in English.

24. Most products are manufactured in China.

25. He has to draw a map for the Geography lesson.

26. Margaret Thatcher slept three hours a day.

27. It took six months to find her disease.

28. Susan used to do her shopping in New York.2

29. I’m visiting my friend tomorrow.

30. She's arriving by train tonight.

31. She has taken David’s car to her house.

32. I was sleeping when the alarm went off.

33. Joe is tall and good looking.

34. Joe is a bit shy.

35. Joe is tall, good-looking and a bit shy.

36. The Thompsons travel to Nice every spring.

37. Dan seldom listens to the radio.

38. Yes, my brother had to wear a uniform in his secondary school.

39. Colin is leaving his job because he doesn’t like it.

40. There are eight denominations of olive oil in this area.

0. TAYLOR SWIFT, ANTI-HERO

 Answer these 10 questions while you watch the video of the song: 

Memory Game Questions: 

1 - Where is Taylor at the beginning of the video,which room? 
2 - What’s she eating? 
3 - How many shots of tequila do the two Taylors drink the first time? 
4 - What’s written on the black board? 
5 - How many people are eating in the dining room when giant Taylor arrives?
6 - What are they drinking? 
7 - What’s Taylor’s son wearing around his neck at her funeral? 
8 - Which animal appears in Taylor’s funeral photo? 
9 - How much money does she leave her children? 
10 - What kind of house do they argue at the funeral? 

 Click HERE to check your answers.