[C-C+] Past Perfect Simple and Continuous

LET'S READ! 📖

Direction: Read the short passages then answer the questions being asked.

FLOOD

On 28 August 2005, the US government told everyone in New Orleans to leave the city. Scientists had been studying a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. It was moving towards the city. The US government had been preparing for a hurricane in New Orleans for a number of years and had already decided on a plan to get people out. People were able to leave the city quickly by using both sides of certain roads. When Hurricane Katrina hit the city on 29 August, many people had already left. However, the government had not been ready for the large number of people who could not, or did not, leave. More than 1,800 people died and tens of thousands of people lost their homes when winds of 125 miles per hour hit the city. It was one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States. After the hurricane, around 80% of New Orleans was underwater.

QUESTIONS:

1. How many American citizens lost their homes?

2. What was something the government had not been ready for??

LET'S UNDERSTAND! 📚

Past perfect simple and past perfect continuous

Past perfect simple

1. We use the past perfect to talk about an event which happened before another event in the past. We follow the structure "had" + past participle. The past perfect is common in indirect speech.

See the difference:

Past Perfect Simple adn Continuous-01

This sentence means that I immediately heard the news as soon as I turned on the TV.

Past Perfect Simple adn Continuous-02

This sentence, on the other hand, means that I already heard the news even before my friend called me.

2. When talking about things that did not happen as you expected or wished, use the past perfect.

Example:

I had intended to give members a short recess, but it was prolonged for reasons beyond my control.
They had wanted it to be a surprise but the plan didn't come off.

3. In sentences with the time expressions after, as soon as, by the time or when, we can often use either the past perfect or the past simple.

Example:

As soon as he (saw) had seen her, he was smitten.
We were huffing and puffing by the time we (climbed) had climbed to the top of the hill.

Past perfect continuous

The past perfect continuous is not as common as the past perfect simple. Sometimes both forms are acceptable.
We follow the pattern "had been" + -ing

Past Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Simple
- used to describe an activity or situation in the past which began before something else happened and continued during it or finished just before.	- used to talk about completed events or past states.

Example:

The Philippine government had been preparing for a hurricane in Cebu for a number of years.

(means that these preparations continued up until the hurricane came.)

The government had decided on an evacuation plan.

(means that both the plan and decision were complete.)

LET'S PRACTICE! 📝

Part I

Direction: Think about five things in the past that didn't go as planned or as you expected using the past perfect simple.

Example: I had expected to receive a promotion at work, but unfortunately, it didn't happen despite my hardwork and dedication.

Part II

Direction: Talk about three significant events in your life using the past perfect continuous tense.

Example: By the time I retired, I had been working as a teacher for 30 years.

Before launching his own business, I had been working in the corporate words for a decade.