Past perfect simple Forma affermativa sogg. + had ( d) + participio passato interrogativa had + sogg. + participio passato? negativa sogg. + had not (hadn t) + participio passato interrogativo-negativa hadn t + sogg. + participio passato? He had ( d) been there before. Had he been there before? He hadn t been there before. Hadn t he been there before? Lui era stato là in precedenza Lui era stato là in precedenza? Lui non era stato là in precedenza. Lui non era stato là in precedenza? L ausiliare è sempre had anche quando in italiano è presente l ausiliare essere. Risposte brevi Question tags (vero?/non è vero?) Yes, sogg. + had. No, sogg. + hadn t. He had been there before, hadn t he? He hadn t been there before, had he?
Quando si usa Il past perfect simple si usa: per parlare di un azione avvenuta prima di un tempo passato o prima di un altra azione avvenuta nel passato. L azione che è avvenuta dopo va espressa con il past simple. When I got home Peter had already gone away. (Peter era andato via - 1a azione; io arrivai a casa - 2a azione) Quando arrivai a casa Peter era già andato via. Everybody had left the office by the time I finished my work. Tutti avevano lasciato l ufficio per l ora in cui io finii il mio lavoro. (Tutti avevano lasciato l ufficio - 1a azione; io finii il mio lavoro - 2a azione) È spesso accompagnato da: ever, never, already, just, yet, not yet, before, till then, by the time I had never been there. Non ero mai stato là. He had just gone away. Lui era appena andato via. Everything had been fine till then. Tutto era andato bene fino a quel momento.
Inoltre il past perfect simple si usa: nella forma di durata per dire da quanto tempo durava un azione o situazione. I had had that car for two years when I had that terrible accident. Avevo quella macchina da due anni quando ebbi quel terribile incidente. dopo: It was the first/second time It was the first time I had played bridge. Era la prima volta che giocavo a bridge. con superlativi relativi. It was the best film I had ever seen. Era il miglior film che avessi mai visto. Il past perfect è spesso usato in testi narrativi e nel discorso indiretto introdotto da verbi al passato. He said that he had never been to London before. Lui disse che non era mai stato a Londra in precedenza.
Past perfect continuous Forma affermativa sogg. + had ( d) + been + forma in -ing interrogativa had + sogg. + been + forma in -ing? negativa sogg. + had not (hadn t) + been + forma in -ing interrogativo-negativa hadn t + sogg. + been + forma in -ing? Risposte brevi Yes, sogg. + had. No, sogg. + hadn t. Quando si usa Il past perfect continuous SI USA quando si vuole enfatizzare la durata di un azione, ma solo con i verbi di azione. By the time we arrived he had been waiting for an hour. Quando noi arrivammo lui aspettava da un ora. (Noi arrivammo ad una certa ora e lui era lì che stava aspettando da un ora). Il past perfect continuous NON SI USA con i verbi di stato come: be, have, own, belong, want, know, understand, like, con i verbi che esprimono un azione compiuta come: start, finish, stop, break, forget, remember, decide, die, di norma in frasi negative con espressioni di quantità o un numero con How often, How much, How many, just, already, ever, never, yet, not yet, twice, three times, it was the first time,
EXERCISE 1 Completiamo le seguenti frasi con il past simple o il past perfect dei verbi tra parentesi e motiviamo la scelta. 1. We (not / see) Kenneth at the party because when we (arrive) he (already / leave).. 2. When David (come). out of the shop, his bike (disappear). It was obvious that somebody (steal) it. 3. I was sure I (put).. my trainers in the car boot, but when I (look)., they (not / be).. there.
EXERCISE 2 Past simple o past perfect simple? Sottolineiamo in verde l alternativa corretta e motiviamo la scelta. 1. I got / had got angry with my neighbour because his dog had come / came into my garden five times that day. 2. When I finished lunch, I watched / had watched TV for a while. 3. They never lived / had never lived abroad when they first had moved / moved to France. 4. I hadn t been / wasn t well for a few days, so I decided / had decided to see the doctor. 5. 5. We just arrived / had just arrived when it had started / started to rain.
EXERCISE 3 Past perfect simple o past perfect continuous? Sottolineiamo in verde l alternativa corretta o preferibile e motiviamo la scelta. 1. When David s parents arrived home, they asked him how long he had watched / had been watching TV. 2. When I met Mark at Victoria station he was living in London. He told me that he had been living / had lived there for three months. 3. We had waited / had been waiting for half an hour but we hadn t seen / hadn t been seeing a single taxi. 4. He had been knowing / had known her for years but he didn t know that she was his brother s ex-girlfriend. 5. I knew that he had had / had been having that sports car for a long time.