Past Perfect worksheet

1. 1.
   By the time we got there, the shop .a) closedb) had closed
2. 2.
   She a plane before that trip.a) had never takenb) has never taken
3. 3.
   I the film before, so I knew the ending.a) have seenb) had seen
4. 4.
   If I about the traffic, I'd have left earlier.a) had knownb) would have known
5. 5.
   Yesterday I to the dentist.a) wentb) had gone

1. 1.
   When I arrived, she already left.
2. 2.
   I had visited my grandparents last weekend.
3. 3.
   If I would have known, I would have come.

Write three sentences about your own life in the Past Perfect. Use one of these words in each.

• already
• by then
• by the time
• before
• after
• when
• just
• never … before

1. 1.b) had closed It closed before we got there.
2. 2.a) had never taken Before that trip is a point in the past, so the earlier past takes had + participle.
3. 3.b) had seen Seeing it came before knowing the ending, and both are in the past.
4. 4.a) had known The if-part of the third conditional takes the Past Perfect.
5. 5.a) went Just one past event at a finished time: the Past Simple is enough.

1. 1.When I arrived, she had already left. She left before you arrived. The Past Perfect shows that order.
2. 2.I visited my grandparents last weekend. There's no second past event here, so the Past Perfect isn't needed.
3. 3.If I had known, I would have come. The if-part of the third conditional takes the Past Perfect. Would belongs only to the result.

Answers will vary. Check that each sentence follows the rule on page 1, or paste them into Clarigram to have them checked.