Past Perfect · Exercises
A1Beginner practice
First steps: had + participle before a past moment.
Play
- Practice10 exercises at your own pace
- Time Attack60 seconds, as many as you can
- Survival3 lives, harder as you go
- Tense SortDrag sentences into their tense — 60 seconds
- Timelines10 sentences to match to their timelines
- A1 Boss12 hits before you lose 3 lives
- Irregular MatchPair verbs with their past forms — 60 seconds
Want to mix tenses, go endless or pick exercise types? Set up your own session.
What you’ll practise at A1
- had + past participle
- Past participles (gone, seen, written…)
- Negatives: hadn’t
- Questions: Had you…?
- Timelines: what the tense means
Need a refresher? Learn the past perfect: rules, tables and audio examples.
Sample exercises
A taste of what’s inside. In practice mode every exercise is freshly generated.
Complete the negative sentence.
Rosa _____ left the house before the taxi came.
Show answer
Rosa hadn't left the house before the taxi came.
Negative: hadn’t (had not) + past participle, for every subject. Rosa hadn't left the house before the taxi came.
Put the words in order to make a question.
the / Lucia / puzzle / then / by / finished / had
Show answer
Had Lucia finished the puzzle by then?
Questions: Had + subject + past participle…? Had Lucia finished the puzzle by then?
Write the verb in the past perfect.
We _____ (eat) the last slice of cake before the guests arrived.
Show answer
We had eaten the last slice of cake before the guests arrived.
Past perfect: had + past participle — the same for every subject. It shows an action completed before another moment in the past. “eat” is irregular: eat – ate – eaten. After had, use the past participle (eaten).
Complete the negative sentence.
Kofi _____ cleaned the windows before the guests arrived.
Show answer
Kofi hadn't cleaned the windows before the guests arrived.
Negative: hadn’t (had not) + past participle, for every subject. Kofi hadn't cleaned the windows before the guests arrived.
Put the words in order to make a negative sentence.
by / washing-up / friend / my / best / hadn't / done / the / then
Show answer
My best friend hadn't done the washing-up by then.
Negative: hadn’t (had not) + past participle, for every subject. My best friend hadn't done the washing-up by then.
Is this sentence correct?
The children had bought the bread by nine o’clock.
Show answer
The children had bought the bread by nine o’clock.
Yes, it’s correct. Past perfect: had + past participle — the same for every subject. It shows an action completed before another moment in the past. “buy” is irregular: buy – bought – bought. After had, use the past participle (bought).