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Past Perfect – Worksheet 1

B1 Intermediate WorksheetEnglish

This worksheet practises the past perfect (had + past participle) for actions that happened before another moment in the past. It covers positive sentences, negatives, questions and time words such as after, before, already and by the time. It is designed for B1 learners in class or at home.

items
36
Time
35 min
PDF
5 pages
Answer key
Included
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New to this topic? Read the guide first: Past Perfect: Form, Uses, Examples and Common Mistakes

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Exercise 1: Complete the sentences

Complete each sentence with the past perfect form of the verb in brackets.

Example: I was late because I ___ (miss) the bus. → had missed

  1. When we arrived at the cinema, the film (already / start).

  2. Lucy was nervous because she (never / fly) before.

  3. I couldn't open the door because I (lose) my keys.

  4. They (not / eat) anything all day, so they were very hungry.

  5. By the time the police arrived, the thief (escape).

  6. How did you know the answer? (you / study) this topic before?

  7. Marco didn't recognise his old school because it (change) so much.

  8. We (not / finish) dinner when the guests arrived.

Exercise 2: Use the words in the box

Complete the sentences with words from the box. Use each word once. There are two extra words.

Word box hadhadn'tafterbeforeby the timealreadyneverhaswas

  1. I had finished my homework, I watched TV.

  2. The shop closed, so we couldn't buy any bread.

  3. we got to the station, the train had left.

  4. I was tired because I slept well the night before.

  5. She had seen snow before she moved to Canada.

  6. I didn't need to cook because Tom had made dinner.

  7. He had worked as a teacher he became a writer.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the sentences

Rewrite each sentence as instructed in brackets.

Example: He had called his mum. (negative) → He hadn't called his mum.

  1. She had finished the report. (negative)

  2. They had visited Rome before. (question)

  3. The children had gone to bed. (negative)

  4. You had seen the film. (question)

  5. Anna had heard the news on the radio. (question beginning with Where)

  6. I had met him at a conference. (negative)

  7. He had left his phone at home. (question)

  8. First Paul saved the file. Then he closed the computer. (Begin: After Paul ...)

Exercise 4: Find and correct the mistake

Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correct sentence.

Example: She had forget her bag. → She had forgotten her bag.

  1. When I arrived, everyone had leave.

  2. She was happy because she has passed the exam.

  3. Had you ate before the meeting?

  4. We didn't had seen the email until Monday.

  5. By the time we arrived, the concert already had started.

  6. He told me he had wrote a new song.

  7. I had never went to a concert before last year.

Exercise 5: Put the words in order

Put the words in the correct order to make sentences and questions.

Example: had / I / the / book / read → I had read the book.

  1. had / the / already / train / left

  2. had / she / before / never / sushi / eaten

  3. you / had / finished / your / homework / ?

  4. why / they / had / early / left / ?

  5. hadn't / we / the / booked / tickets

  6. after / had / dinner / we / eaten / we / went / for a walk

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About this test

Printable B1 Past Perfect worksheet: form, meaning and use, with negatives, questions and time words like after, before and by the time. Answers included.

Topics covered

Past perfect formPast perfect negativesPast perfect questionsPast perfect vs past simpleTime expressions: after, before, by the time

Notes for teachers

Start with a quick timeline on the board to show which action happened first, then let students work through the exercises in order. Typical mistakes include using the past simple form instead of the past participle (had went, had ate) and using did in negatives (didn't had). Learners also put already and never in the wrong place. As a follow-up, ask students to write five sentences about what they had or hadn't done before they started school or got their first phone.

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