Past Perfect: What Had Already Happened

• CEFR B1–B2
• Grammar
• Printable
• Answer key

Past Perfect: What Had Already Happened is a printable grammar worksheet for English language learners at CEFR level B1–B2. It covers had + past participle, with 5 exercises and an answer key.

Use the past perfect to talk about an action that happened before another past action.

It makes clear which event came first.

Form: subject + had + past participle

Examples

• When I arrived, the film had already started.
• She had eaten before she came, so she wasn't hungry.
• I was tired because I hadn't slept well.
• Had you visited London before last year?
• By the time he called, I had already left.
• They had never seen snow before they moved to Canada.
• He didn't recognise her because she had changed so much.
• Had she finished her homework before dinner?

What's in this worksheet

1. Had or hadn't?
2. Correct the mistake
3. Combine the sentences
4. True or False
5. Write the question

Common mistakes

• When I arrived, the film already started.  →  When I arrived, the film had already started. Use the past perfect for the earlier action — 'had already started'.
• She had ate all the food.  →  She had eaten all the food. Use the past participle ('eaten'), not the simple past ('ate').
• He hadn't never been to Italy.  →  He had never been to Italy. Don't use 'hadn't' and 'never' together — that is a double negative.
• I have left before you called.  →  I had left before you called. Use 'had', not 'have', when talking about the past.

Speaking prompts

• Before you started school, had you learned to read?
• Before you got your first phone, had you used the internet?
• Before you came to this class, had you studied English before?
• Before you were 10, had you travelled to another country?