PAST PERFECT TENSE

Summary

This video offers an engaging and easy-to-follow explanation of the Past Perfect Tense in English. It explains how this tense is used to describe an action completed before another past event, providing clear examples such as 'I had showered before you arrived.' The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding time indicators like 'before,' 'after,' 'until,' and 'because' in constructing past perfect sentences. The video also covers sentence structures, including affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms, with additional focus on how past perfect pairs with simple past tense. Overall, it aims to help learners grasp the tense through practical examples and relatable explanations.

Takeaways

• 😀 The Past Perfect Tense is used to express an activity that was completed before another activity in the past.
• 😀 The Past Perfect Tense is often paired with the Simple Past Tense, where the Past Perfect describes the first event and the Simple Past describes the second.
• 😀 Key signal words for the Past Perfect Tense include 'before', 'after', 'until', and 'when'.
• 😀 The Past Perfect Tense structure follows the pattern: Subject + had + past participle (verb 3).
• 😀 The use of 'before' and 'after' in sentences determines the sequence of events in the past, with the event expressed in the Past Perfect happening first.
• 😀 There are three main sentence structures for the Past Perfect: affirmative, negative, and interrogative (questions).
• 😀 In affirmative sentences, the structure is: Subject + had + past participle (verb 3).
• 😀 In negative sentences, the structure is: Subject + had + not + past participle (verb 3).
• 😀 In interrogative sentences (questions), the structure is: Had + Subject + past participle (verb 3)?
• 😀 The Past Perfect Tense is commonly used with time expressions like 'yesterday', 'last year', 'already', and 'before'.
• 😀 The video provides multiple examples and explains how to construct sentences with the Past Perfect Tense and how it differs from other tenses.

Q & A

What is the Past Perfect tense used for?

The Past Perfect tense is used to express an activity that was completed before another activity in the past.

How can the use of 'before' and 'after' affect sentence structure in Past Perfect tense?

'Before' and 'after' help establish the sequence of actions. In sentences with 'before,' the Past Perfect tense comes first, while 'after' comes after the action in Past Perfect.

What are the common time indicators for Past Perfect tense?

Common time indicators for the Past Perfect tense include 'yesterday,' 'last night,' 'before,' 'after,' 'until,' and sometimes 'because.'

What is the structure of an affirmative sentence in the Past Perfect tense?

The structure is: Subject + had + past participle (V3). For example, 'I had studied English before I moved to New York.'

How do you form a negative sentence in the Past Perfect tense?

In a negative sentence, 'not' is added after 'had'. The structure is: Subject + had + not + past participle. For example, 'I had not eaten before you arrived.'

What is the structure of a yes/no question in the Past Perfect tense?

The structure for a yes/no question is: Had + subject + past participle? For example, 'Had you finished your homework before the meeting?'

What is the difference between affirmative and nominal sentences in the Past Perfect tense?

In affirmative sentences, action verbs (V3) are used, whereas nominal sentences typically use 'to be' verbs. For example, 'He had gone' (affirmative) vs. 'He had been tired' (nominal).

What does 'WH' question refer to in the Past Perfect tense?

'WH' questions are those that require more than a yes/no answer. These questions begin with words like 'What,' 'Where,' 'When,' 'Why,' or 'How.' For example, 'What had you done before you came home?'

What role do conjunctions like 'because' play in the Past Perfect tense?

'Because' is often used in the Past Perfect tense to introduce a reason. The clause after 'because' typically uses the Past Perfect tense, while the clause before 'because' uses the simple past.

Can the Past Perfect tense be used with both simple past tense and other time indicators in a sentence?

Yes, the Past Perfect tense often appears alongside the simple past tense or other time indicators like 'before' or 'after' to show the order of events.