5. Past perfect (I had done) and past perfect continuous (I had been doing)

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS	PAST PERFECT
an activity in the past that was in progress up to a specified time in the past: I had been working for the firm for five years before I got a promotion. …работал…	an activity in the past that happened at a time before the past: As soon as we had installed the new line, productivity went up. …установили…
Time expressions:
for, since, how long, before, until, etc.	before, after, already, just, till/until, when, by, by the time, etc.

Exercise 1. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form of the past perfect continuous.

1. Sophie __had been painting__ (paint) the walls all day before she finished them.

2. _________ (you/wait) long when the boss announced that he couldn’t see you?

3. Tom _________ (look) for a job for six months when he found one.

4. We _________ (watch) TV for half an hour when the doorbell rang.

5. They _________ (sunbathe) for an hour when it started to rain.

6. Stan _________ (work) as a postman for forty years when he retired.

7. I _________ (live) in France for ten years when I met my husband.

Exercise 2. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form of the PAST PERFECT SIMPLE.

1. Jason __had returned___ (return) home before the storm broke out.

2. _________ (Lucy/pack) her suitcase by the time you called her?

3. The children ________ (finish) doing their homework by nine o’clock.

4. _______ (Julie/type) the letters by the time her boss came to the office?

5. I ________ (not/finish) my lunch when uncle Dill came.

6. After Sarah _______ (do) the shopping, she had coffee with her friends at a café.

7. When I got to the garage, the mechanic _________ (not/repair) my car.

8. The boys were frightened because they ________ (not/be) on a plane before.

Exercise 3. Match column a with column b to make correct sentences. Which is the first action in each pair?

Column A
By the time he reached the airport c (first action: the plane had already taken off). Mary was angry because The bank robbers had escaped We went to the theatre The actress gave an interview
	Column B
	her husband had forgotten her birthday. after we had bought the tickets. the plane had already taken off. after she had won the prize. before the police arrived.

Exercise 4. Use the prompts to make sentences, as in the example.

e.g. a) After/When Sue had packed her suitcase, she called a taxi.

b) Sue had packed her suitcase before she called a taxi.

First	Then
Sue/pack/her suitcase Bob/eat/the meal Mary/read/the contract The boys/watch/the match Peter/borrow/some money	call/taxi pay/the bill sign/it turn off/the TV buy/a car

Exercise 5. Put the verbs in brackets into the PAST PERFECT SIMPLE or the PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS.

A: B: A: B:

Did you do anything exciting at the weekend? Not really. By the time (1) I _________ (do) my shopping and cleaned the house, Saturday was nearly over. What about you? Well, I (2) __________ (plan) to go out with my friend but she was late and I (3) __________ (wait) for nearly two hours before she phoned me to say she couldn’t come after all. That’s a shame. Next weekend, we should go somewhere nice together.

Exercise 6. Put the verbs in brackets into the PAST PERFECT SIMPLE or the PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS.

Yesterday was a bad day for Andrew. He ⁽¹⁾ __hadn’t slept___ (not/sleep) well because there was a terrible storm in the night. After he ⁽²⁾ _________ (have) a shower, he made breakfast. After he ⁽³⁾ ________ (eat), he got into his car and drove to work. He ⁽⁴⁾ ________ (only/drive) for five minutes when he remembered that he ⁽⁵⁾ ________ (leave) his briefcase at home. He turned the car around and went home again. Then, he realized that he ⁽⁶⁾ _________ (lock) himself out. The keys were still inside the house! Andrew was already late for work, so he decided to leave the briefcase and go to work. When he arrived, his secretary told him that his boss ⁽⁷⁾ ________ (try) to call him at home. Andrew went to find his boss. When he asked his boss why he ⁽⁸⁾ _________ (call) , he told him that it hadn’t been necessary for him to come to work that day after all! Poor Andrew drove all the way home again.

Exercise 7. Put the verbs in brackets into the PAST PERFECT SIMPLE or the PAST SIMPLE.

A B C D

Bert and Willy (1) __went__ (go) fishing on Sunday. They (2) ________ (take) some sandwiches and some coffee with them. They (3) _________ (sit) on the river bank all day, but by the time they (4) _________ (leave), they (5) _________ (not/catch) anything. James (1) __________ (be) late for work this morning. He (2) _________ (forget) to set his alarm clock and then, when he (3) _________ (get) to work, his boss (4) _________ (be) very angry. Barry (1) __________ (have) lots of work to do yesterday. He (2) __________ (get up) very early and by six o’clock, he (3) __________ (finish). Then, he (4) __________ (have) time to relax. Yesterday, Liz (1) __________ (go) to a party. She (2) ________ (have) a great time, but when she (3) __________ (get) home, she (4) __________ (realize) she (5) __________ (forget) her jacket. So, she (6) _________ (go) back to the party to get it.

Exercise 8. Choose the correct form of the verbs.