1.4: Past Perfect Simple & Continuous

Question 1

Past Perfect Simple: Use and example

Answer 1

For an activity or situation that happened before a point of time in the past, of which the result is important.
Example: I saw that the burglars had taken my laptop.

Question 2

Past pefect simple: Another example.
Explain the difference between the two following sentences
A. The bomb exploded when the police arrived.
B. The bomb had exploded when the police arrived.

Answer 2

In scenario A, the police were able to see the explosion. The two actions happened at the same time.
In scenario B, the police didn’t see the explosion. The actions didn’t happen at the same time

Question 3

When two actions in the past are mentioned…

Answer 3

The past perfect simple is used for the earliest action! For the other action, the past simple is used.
The other action (most recent one) doen’t necessarily have to be mentioned in the same sentence.

Question 4

Past perfect simple is used…

Answer 4

For an past action that happened before another past action