Past Perfect (vs. Past Simple)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3

Past Perfect

The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.

They lost many of the games because they had not practiced enough.

Grammar time!

Goal:

At the end of this class, 

you know how to use the 

Past Perfect (in combination

with the Past Simple).

What is happening in this sentence?

When he arrived at the train station, the train had already left.

What happened

first?

🇬🇧 Past Simple 

🇳🇱 Verleden Tijd

ww+ed

(irr. verb = 2e vorm)

I 

I saw him yesterday.

🇬🇧 Past Perfect

🇳🇱 Voltooid Verleden Tijd

🇬🇧 Past Simple 

🇳🇱 Verleden Tijd

ww+ed

(irr. verb = 2e vorm)

He arrived to the train station.

I decided to walk home.

🇬🇧 Past Perfect 

🇳🇱 Voltooid Verleden Tijd

had + ww+ed

(irr. verb = had + 3e vorm)

When he arrived to the train station the train had left.

I had lost my bike key so I decided to walk home.

The Past Perfect shows what happened first in the past.

Fill in the Past Perfect:
When I walked in, the meeting ___already___ (start).

Fill in the Past Perfect:
After he ______ (pass) his exam, he threw a party.

Fill in the Past Perfect:
He was shocked because he ____ never ____ (see) anything like this.

Great! Now let's practise a bit with the Past Perfect and the Past Simple.

In every question, look carefully at what happened first (past perfect) and what happened next (past simple).

When they _______ (finish) school, they _______ (go) to the mall.

1. had finished - went
2. finished - had gone

They ________ (show) me the pictures they ________ (take) during their holiday.

1. had shown - took
2. showed - had taken

The boy _______ (be) sorry for what he ______ (do).

1. had been - did
2. was - had done

Making a sentence with the Past Perfect and Past Simple.

- Ben bought flowers for Jen.

- Ben arrived at Jen's house.

What happened first?

Making a sentence with the Past Perfect and Past Simple.

- Ben bought flowers for Jen. (1)

- Ben arrived at Jen's house. (2)

What happened first? --> Past Perfect

Ben had bought flowers before he arrived at Jen's house. 

or

Before he arrived at Jen's house, Ben had bought flowers.