Unit 4

Level 4
Mt. San Antonio College
Marina McLaughlin M.S. Ed.
Finish the Sentences

He has been living in Los Angeles since ____________.

He has been living in Los Angeles for _____________.

He traveled to Australia in _____________.

I lived in San Diego _____________.

I __________ ____________ (read) 3 English books.

She __________ __________ (go) to the gym 3 times this

month.
 Past Perfect

had (not) + past participle

I had arrived by then.

subject

Yes/No Questions:

Had you arrived by then?

subject

Yes, I had.

No, I had not.

Past Perfect Progressive

had (not) been + (base form + ing)

I had been playing all over the world by then.

 Grammar Note 1

Use the past perfect to show that something

happened before a specific time in the past.

*The focus is often on the completion of the action.

By 1987, I had moved to the United States.

Now

Past X X Future
Moved 1987
to the
U.S.
Grammar Note 1

It was 1987. Marina had been living in the United

States for a few months.
 Grammar Note 2
Use the past perfect progressive to show that an action
was in progress before a specific time in the past.

*Focus on the continuation of the action, not the end result.

Now

Past X X Future
1987 1988

By 1988, Marina had been speaking English for 1 year.

 Remember!: Non-action
verbs are not usually used
in the progressive.

Grammar Note 2
We also use the past perfect progressive for
finished actions that had just ended. You can often see
the results of the action.

Now

Past X Future
1 hour
ago

She was red and sweaty. It was clear that she had been
running.
 Grammar Note 3
Use the past perfect and the past perfect
progressive with the simple past to show a
relationship between two past events.
Now

Past X X Future
living in won competition
Venezuela

He had been living in Venezuela when he won a

competition in Germany.

(He was living in Venezuela. During that time, he won a

competition in Germany.)
 Grammar Note 3
When the time relationship between two past events is clear (as
with before, after, and as soon as), we often use the simple
past for both events.
Now

Past X X Future
joined music studie
school d violin

After John had joined music school, he studied the violin.

OR,

After John joined music school, he studied the violin.

 Grammar Note 3
Be Careful! In sentences with when, notice the difference in
meaning between the simple past and the past perfect.

1. When the concert ended, she left.

2. When the concert ended, she had left.

 Grammar Note 4
We often use the past perfect and the past perfect progressive
with by + time or event, or by the time + time clause.

By 2006, Gustavo had gotten married.

OR: By the time we got tickets, we had been waiting in line for an
hour.

Use already, yet, ever, never, and just with the past perfect to
emphasize which event happened first.

Be Careful! Do NOT put an adverb between the main verb and the
direct object.

I hadnt seen him yet. (okay) I hadnt yet seen him. (okay)

I hadnt seen yet him. (incorrect).