Past perfect simple
Past perfect continuous
Exercises

Exercise 1

There are two past perfect tenses in English, the past perfect simple and past perfect continuous.

Past perfect simple: Before I moved to London I had lived in Leeds.
Past perfect continuous: Before I moved I had been packing boxes for a month.

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Test 1. Past perfect simple or continuous? Choose the correct tense. I had to have a break. I  drove had been driving so long.

Before we parked our car we  collected had collected the ticket.

I arrived on Sunday. I  was not had not been at home for two days.

The roads were blocked in the morning. It  had snowed had been snowing all night.

They got to the beach after they  were walking had been walking for hours.

She called the police when she  saw had seen the light in the hall.

His English was perfect. He  was studying had been studying it since he started school.

I was really hungry. I  had not eaten had not been eating anything since the morning.

She didn't go to work. She  had been catching had caught a cold.

When we moved to Park Street, the Johnsons  had been living had lived there for ages.

We  had been signing had signed the contract before the meeting ended.

Ben was so sweaty because he  had gone jogging had been jogging .

Test 2. Past perfect simple. Complete sentences. Example: Carol wanted to fly to Dublin. She ___ by plane before. (never travel) Carol wanted to fly to Dublin. She had never travelled by plane before. It was 11 o'clock. Carol Parker at the Shaw Hotel five minutes before. (arrive)

She'd lost her way because she to Dublin. (never be)

Carol had a detailed map in her hanbag but she her glasses at home and could not read it. (leave)

She the reception and about the way. (call, ask)

Finally, she in front of the hotel. (stand) She a couple of times before, but she had never felt so miserable. (get lost)

Test 3. Past perfect continuous. Rewrite sentences. Example: His driving too fast caused an accident. He had an accident because he had been driving too fast. He was relaxing all day. He felt better in the evening. He felt better in the evening because he all day.

The ship sailed for two days. It landed in Nice. The ship landed in Nice after it for two days.

After swimming all day they were hungry. They were hungry because they all day.

Sarah thought about going to America. She decided to study there. Sarah decided to study in America after she about going there for a while.

They walked all the way. They were tired. They were tired because they all the way.

It snowed all night. I had an accident. I had an accident after it all night.

Sue was happy after dancing with Peter all night. Sue was happy because she with Peter all night.

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Past perfect simple and continuous exercises with answers, pdf worksheets and grammar rules with examples.

For pre-intermediate - advanced learners of English as a foreign language.

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