Past Perfect / Pasado Perfecto

PAST PERFECT:

Se usa para acciones que han ocurrido antes de otras o antes de un momento en el pasado.

-Acción acabada que ocurrió antes de otra acción en el pasado.

I had already spoken to Ann before she went on stage. / Yo ya había hablado con Ann antes de que saliese al escenario.

-Acción que ha ocurrido antes de un momento concreto en e tiempo. 

I had spoken to Anne before the show. / Yo ya había hablado con Ann antes de la función.

Affirmative: had + past participle

0. Alice spent all the money she had inherited from her uncle. 

1. Sandra opened the package she ________ _____________ (receive).

2. We thought about what John _________ ______________ (say).

3. I opened the window Peter _________ ________________(close).

4. Frank was in jail because he _________ _______________ (sell) alcohol to minors.

5. We paid for the things we __________ ________________(buy) before leaving the shop.

Negative: had not / hadn't + past participle

0. He flunked Physics because he hadn´t studied for the test.

1. We kept the food we ___________ ________________ (not eat) in the fridge.

2. I phoned the people Jane ____________ _________________ (not send) e-mails to.

3. Sylvia __________ ___________­­­­_______ (not forget) to invite Aldo to the party.

4. The show ________ ________________ (not begin) when we arrived at the theatre.

5. Alfie ____________ _______________(not see) Elizabeth since she was twelve.

Yes /No Questions:

 Had (verbo auxiliar) + sujeto +  past participle (verbo principal) + resto +?

Had the bus left before she got to the bus stop?

Recuerda que en esa formula se pueden colar expresiones temporales como already (ya), ever (alguna vez), just (acaba de), never (nunca), not yet (todavía no), so far (por ahora), till now (hasta ahora), up to now (hasta ahora), by the time (para cuando).

Had you already paid for the things you bought before leaving the store?

0. Had you been to Hawaii before your honeymoon?

Yes, I had been to Hawaii before my honeymoon.

1.      

No, I had never seen Arthur before that night.

2.      

Yes, we had heard about the accident by the time it appeared on TV.

3.      

Yes, we locked the door after we had closed the windows.

4.      

Yes, the clock had struck midnight by the time Harry got home.

5.

Yes, Paul had read the contract before signing it.

6.      

No, they hadn’t forgotten to turn off the lights when they went to bed.

Questions with question words:

Question word  + had (verbo auxiliar) + sujeto + past participle (verbo principal) + resto + ?

0. What had you eaten before you threw up?

I had eaten raw liver. (hígado crudo)

1.      

I had seen the girl at the hotel before she had the accident at the beach.

2.

They had arrived when the meeting was over.

3.      

She had left early because she wanted to stop by Ned’s house before going home.

4.      

Paul had sold his old car before Helen decided she wanted it.

Cuando preguntas por el sujeto, la única diferencia es que el sujeto no puede aparecer en la pregunta.  En el ejemplo de abajo, no hay sujeto entre el verbo auxiliar had y el participio.

0. Who had eaten the cake by the time Sam was ready to blow the candles?

The twins had eaten the cake by the time Sam was ready to blow the candles.

1.      

Her father had painted her room blue before Susan said she wanted it green.

2.      

John had watered the tree too much and so it died.

Cuando preguntas por el objeto y este es persona o no lo sabes pero puede serlo y hay una preposición por medio, tienes dos opciones:

0. and 0. To whom had you sent invitations before the wedding was cancelled?

Who had you sent invitations to before the wedding was cancelled?

I had sent invitations to all my friends before the wedding was cancelled.

1. and  2.

Mary had knitted sweaters for the children before.

3. and 4.

Paul had bought plants from that nursery many times before.

En principio whom se refiere a personas, pero en este ejemplo se refiere a un vivero, lugar donde venden plantas. Es posible usar whom aquí para una cosa porque no sabemos si la respuesta se va a referir a una persona. Por ejemplo, si la respuesta va a ser que compra las plantas directamente a Pedro, el dueño del vivero.

Cuando el dato que falta es el verbo principal, hay que sustituirlo por “done.”

0. What had he done by the time he got to Bristol?

He had robbed a dozen people travelling on the train by the time he got to Bristol.

1.      

He had seen the musical “Into the Woods” before we recommended he do it.

2.      

They had robbed banks many times before.

3.

They had climbed Mount Everest when they were young.

ANSWERS / RESPUESTAS

PAST PERFECT:

Affirmative: had + past participle

0. Alice spent all the money she had inherited from her uncle. 

1. Sandra opened the package she had recieved (receive).

2. We thought about what John had said (say).

3. I opened the window Peter had closed (close).

4. Frank was in jail because he had sold  (sell) alcohol to minors.

5. We paid for the things we had bought (buy) before leaving the shop.

Negative: had not / hadn't + past participle

0. He flunked Physics because he hadn´t studied for the test.

1. We kept the food we hadn't eaten (not eat) in the fridge.

2. I phoned the people Jane hadn't sent (not send) e-mails to.

3. Sylvia hadn't forgotten(not forget) to invite Aldo to the party.

4. The show hadn't begun (not begin) when we arrived at the theatre.

5. Alfie hadn't seen (not see) Elizabeth since she was twelve.

Yes /No Questions:

 0. Had you been to Hawaii before your honeymoon?

Yes, I had been to Hawaii before my honeymoon.

1. Had you seen Arthur before that night? Had you ever seen Arthur before that night?      

No, I had never seen Arthur before that night.

2. Had you heard about the accident by the tine it appeared on TV?     

Yes, we had heard about the accident by the time it appeared on TV.

3. Did you lock the door after you had closed the windows?     

Yes, we locked the door after we had closed the windows.

4. Had the clock struck midnight by the time Harry got home?     

Yes, the clock had struck midnight by the time Harry got home.

5.Had Paul read the contract before signing it?

Yes, Paul had read the contract before signing it.

6. Had they forgotten to turn off the lights when they went to bed?      

No, they hadn’t forgotten to turn off the lights when they went to bed.

Questions with question words:

Question word  + had (verbo auxiliar) + sujeto + past participle (verbo principal) + resto + ?

0. What had you eaten before you threw up?

I had eaten raw liver. (hígado crudo)

1.Where had you seen the girl before she had the accident at the beach?      

I had seen the girl at the hotel before she had the accident at the beach.

2.When had they arrived? 

They had arrived when the meeting was over.

3.Why had she left early?      

She had left early because she wanted to stop by Ned’s house before going home.

4. What had Paul sold before Helen decided she wanted it?     

Paul had sold his old car before Helen decided she wanted it.

Cuando preguntas por el sujeto, la única diferencia es que el sujeto no puede aparecer en la pregunta.  En el ejemplo de abajo, no hay sujeto entre el verbo auxiliar had y el participio.

0. Who had eaten the cake by the time Sam was ready to blow the candles?

The twins had eaten the cake by the time Sam was ready to blow the candles.

1. Who had painted her room blue before Susan said she wanted it green?     

Her father had painted her room blue before Susan said she wanted it green.

2.  Who had watered the tree too much and so it died?

John had watered the tree too much and so it died.

Cuando preguntas por el objeto y este es persona o no lo sabes pero puede serlo y hay una preposición por medio, tienes dos opciones:

0. and 0. To whom had you sent invitations before the wedding was cancelled?

Who had you sent invitations to before the wedding was cancelled?

I had sent invitations to all my friends before the wedding was cancelled.

1. and  2.

Who had Mary knitted a sweater for before?

For whom had Mary knitted a sweater before?

Mary had knitted sweaters for the children before.

3. and 4.

Whom had Paul bought plants from many times before?

From whom had Paul bought plants before?

Paul had bought plants from that nursery many times before.

En principio whom se refiere a personas, pero en este ejemplo se refiere a un vivero, lugar donde venden plantas. Es posible usar whom aquí para una cosa porque no sabemos si la respuesta se va a referir a una persona. Por ejemplo, si la respuesta va a ser que compra las plantas directamente a Pedro, el dueño del vivero.

Cuando el dato que falta es el verbo principal, hay que sustituirlo por “done.”

0. What had he done by the time he got to Bristol?

He had robbed a dozen people travelling on the train by the time he got to Bristol.

1. What had he done before you recommended he do it?     

He had seen the musical “Into the Woods” before we recommended he do it.

2. What had they done many times before?     

They had robbed banks many times before.

3.What had they done when they were young?

They had climbed Mount Everest when they were young.