sábado, 3 de dezembro de 2011

The Past Perfect Simple and The Past Perfect Continuous in Contrast


A. Structure


Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Continuous
Affirmative
Had + past participle
She had eaten.
We had worked.
They had written.
Affirmative
Had been + verb-ing
She had been eating.
We had been working.  They had been writing.
Negative
Had not (hadn’t) + past participle
She hadn’t eaten.
We hadn’t worked.
They hadn’t written.
Negative
Had not (hadn’t) + been + verb-ing
She hadn’t been eating.
We hadn’t been working.
They hadn’t been writing.
Interrogative
Had + subject + past participle
Had she eaten?
Had you worked?
Had they written?
Interrogative
Had + subject + been + verb-ing
Had she been eating?
Had you been working?
Had they been writing?

B. Use

Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Continuous
Past action which happened before another past action or before a stated past time.
He had already left when I got there.
She had finished lunch by 1:30.
Past action of a certain duration continuing up to a specific time in the past.

She had been working in a bank for three years before she got fired.

I had been doing my homework for an hour before the phone rang.
Completed past action with visible results in the past.
She was sad because she had failed her exam.

She was upset because she had lost her watch.
Past action of a certain duration with visible results in the past.

They were wet because they had been walking in the rain.

Her eyes were red because she had been crying.
Past Equivalent of the Present Perfect Simple

Now: He can’t find his wallet. He has lost it.

Yesterday: He couldn’t find his wallet. He had lost it.
Past Equivalent of the Present Perfect Continuous.

Now: He is going to the doctor. His leg has been hurting him for two days.

Yesterday: He went to the doctor. His leg had been hurting him for two days.

TIME EXPRESSIONS

By the time
By + time (by 5 o’clock)
Before
After
When
As soon as
No sooner….than
Since

TIME EXPRESSIONS

For
Since
All day /night / week etc


COMPARE!
(a) I was eating dinner when my friends arrived. (I was still eating when they arrived)
Past Continuous = past action in progress at a certain past time
(b) I had been eating dinner when my friends arrived. (I had already finished my meal when they arrived)
Past Perfect Continuous = past action of duration continuing up to a certain time in the past.  


Source: Mastering Use of English by Georgia Graham (Burlington Books)

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