Past Perfect Tense ESL Printable Worksheets and Exercises - Free Printable

Let’s go through each sentence one by one and decide whether to use Past Simple or Past Perfect.

Remember:
- Use Past Simple for actions that happened at a specific time in the past (often with words like “yesterday,” “last week,” etc.).
- Use Past Perfect when talking about an action that happened *before* another past action. It often goes with words like “after,” “before,” “when,” “by the time.”

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1. The robber ran / had run away when the policeman finally arrived / had arrived.
→ First, the robber ran away. Then the policeman arrived. So “ran” is first → Past Perfect? Wait — no! Actually, “when the policeman arrived” is the main event. The running away happened *before* that. So:
✔ had run (first) + arrived (second)
But wait — let’s think again. In English, we usually say:
“The robber had run away when the policeman arrived.”
Because the running happened before the arrival.
So: had run, arrived

2. I didn’t eat / hadn’t eaten anything yesterday because I wasn’t / hadn’t been hungry.
→ “Yesterday” = specific time → Past Simple for both.
✔ didn’t eat, wasn’t

3. By the time Monica arrived / had arrived, most guests already left / had already left.
→ “By the time” means something was completed before another past moment.
Monica arrived (simple past), but guests left BEFORE that → so “had already left”
✔ arrived, had already left

4. She told me she saw / had seen him the day before.
→ “The day before” refers to a time before she told me. So seeing happened before telling → Past Perfect.
✔ had seen

5. We were tired because we worked / had worked all day.
→ Working all day happened BEFORE being tired → Past Perfect.
✔ had worked

6. My father died / had died suddenly while he was driving / had driven home.
→ “While he was driving” = ongoing action in past → Past Continuous. Died happened during that → Past Simple.
✔ died, was driving

7. After they finished / had finished dinner, they watched / had watched TV.
→ “After” shows sequence. Finishing dinner happened first → Past Perfect. Watching TV after → Past Simple.
✔ had finished, watched

8. When I got / had got home, my brother already cooked / had already cooked dinner.
→ Getting home is the reference point. Cooking happened before that → Past Perfect.
✔ got, had already cooked

9. He said he forgot / had forgotten his keys, so he couldn’t get into the house.
→ Forgetting happened before saying → Past Perfect.
✔ had forgotten

10. They didn’t know where she went / had gone until they found / had found her diary.
→ Going somewhere happened before not knowing → Past Perfect. Finding diary is later → Past Simple.
✔ had gone, found

11. By the time we reached / had reached the station, the train already left / had already left.
→ Reaching station is the reference. Train left before that → Past Perfect.
✔ reached, had already left

12. She was upset because she failed / had failed the test.
→ Failing happened before being upset → Past Perfect.
✔ had failed

13. After I brushed / had brushed my teeth, I went / had gone to bed.
→ Brushing teeth first → Past Perfect. Going to bed after → Past Simple.
✔ had brushed, went

14. He realized he lost / had lost his wallet when he tried / had tried to pay.
→ Losing wallet happened before realizing → Past Perfect. Trying to pay is the moment of realization → Past Simple.
✔ had lost, tried

15. When the movie started / had started, we already sat / had already sat down.
→ Movie starting is the reference. Sitting down happened before → Past Perfect.
✔ started, had already sat

16. I didn’t recognize her because she changed / had changed her hair color.
→ Changing hair happened before not recognizing → Past Perfect.
✔ had changed

17. They were happy because they won / had won the game.
→ Winning happened before being happy → Past Perfect.
✔ had won

18. After she read / had read the book, she returned / had returned it to the library.
→ Reading first → Past Perfect. Returning after → Past Simple.
✔ had read, returned

19. He asked if I saw / had seen the news earlier that day.
→ Seeing news happened before asking → Past Perfect.
✔ had seen

20. By the time he woke up, his mom already made / had already made breakfast.
→ Waking up is reference. Making breakfast happened before → Past Perfect.
✔ woke up, had already made

21. She cried because she broke / had broken her favorite toy.
→ Breaking toy happened before crying → Past Perfect.
✔ had broken

22. When we arrived at the party, everyone already ate / had already eaten.
→ Arriving is reference. Eating happened before → Past Perfect.
✔ arrived, had already eaten

23. He didn’t answer because he didn’t hear / hadn’t heard the question.
→ Not hearing happened before not answering → Past Perfect.
✔ hadn’t heard

24. After they cleaned / had cleaned the room, they played / had played outside.
→ Cleaning first → Past Perfect. Playing after → Past Simple.
✔ had cleaned, played

25. I thought I locked / had locked the door, but it was open.
→ Locking (or thinking you did) happened before discovering it was open → Past Perfect.
✔ had locked

26. She felt sick because she ate / had eaten too much candy.
→ Eating candy happened before feeling sick → Past Perfect.
✔ had eaten

27. When the teacher entered / had entered the classroom, the students stopped / had stopped talking.
→ Teacher entering is reference. Stopping talking happened right then or just before → Usually Past Simple for both unless emphasis on completion. But “stopped” can be simple past here. However, if they stopped *because* she entered, then stopping happened at same time → Past Simple.
Actually, standard usage:
✔ entered, stopped

Wait — let’s double-check #27.
If the students stopped talking *as soon as* the teacher entered, then both are Past Simple.
If they had already stopped before she entered, then “had stopped”. But context suggests they stopped because she entered → so simultaneous → Past Simple.
✔ entered, stopped

28. He was surprised because he didn’t expect / hadn’t expected such a big crowd.
→ Not expecting happened before being surprised → Past Perfect.
✔ hadn’t expected

29. After we finished / had finished our homework, we went / had gone out to play.
→ Finishing homework first → Past Perfect. Going out after → Past Simple.
✔ had finished, went

30. She told me she never visited / had never visited Paris before.
→ Never visiting happened before telling → Past Perfect.
✔ had never visited

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Now let’s list all answers clearly:

1. had run, arrived
2. didn’t eat, wasn’t
3. arrived, had already left
4. had seen
5. had worked
6. died, was driving
7. had finished, watched
8. got, had already cooked
9. had forgotten
10. had gone, found
11. reached, had already left
12. had failed
13. had brushed, went
14. had lost, tried
15. started, had already sat
16. had changed
17. had won
18. had read, returned
19. had seen
20. woke up, had already made
21. had broken
22. arrived, had already eaten
23. hadn’t heard
24. had cleaned, played
25. had locked
26. had eaten
27. entered, stopped
28. hadn’t expected
29. had finished, went
30. had never visited

Final Answer:
1. had run, arrived
2. didn’t eat, wasn’t
3. arrived, had already left
4. had seen
5. had worked
6. died, was driving
7. had finished, watched
8. got, had already cooked
9. had forgotten
10. had gone, found
11. reached, had already left
12. had failed
13. had brushed, went
14. had lost, tried
15. started, had already sat
16. had changed
17. had won
18. had read, returned
19. had seen
20. woke up, had already made
21. had broken
22. arrived, had already eaten
23. hadn’t heard
24. had cleaned, played
25. had locked
26. had eaten
27. entered, stopped
28. hadn’t expected
29. had finished, went
30. had never visited