Past Perfect · Exercises
A2Elementary practice
Negatives, questions, by the time and never … before.
Play
- Practice10 exercises at your own pace
- Time Attack60 seconds, as many as you can
- Survival3 lives, harder as you go
- Tense SortDrag sentences into their tense — 60 seconds
- Timelines10 sentences to match to their timelines
- A2 Boss12 hits before you lose 3 lives
- Irregular MatchPair verbs with their past forms — 60 seconds
Want to mix tenses, go endless or pick exercise types? Set up your own session.
What you’ll practise at A2
- had + past participle
- Past participles (gone, seen, written…)
- Negatives: hadn’t
- Questions: Had you…?
- Short answers
- by the time / already / never … before
- Timelines: what the tense means
Need a refresher? Learn the past perfect: rules, tables and audio examples.
Sample exercises
A taste of what’s inside. In practice mode every exercise is freshly generated.
Find the word that is wrong.
Daniel had went to bed by then.
Show answer
Daniel had gone to bed by then.
“go” is irregular: go – went – gone. After had, use the past participle (gone).
Make the sentence negative.
Priya had finished the puzzle before the party started.
Show answer
Priya hadn't finished the puzzle before the party started.
Negative: hadn’t (had not) + past participle, for every subject. Priya hadn't finished the puzzle before the party started.
Make the sentence negative.
My cousin had done the shopping before the shop opened.
Show answer
My cousin hadn't done the shopping before the shop opened.
Negative: hadn’t (had not) + past participle, for every subject. My cousin hadn't done the shopping before the shop opened.
Write the verb in the past perfect.
Amara and Max _____ (cook) a big meal by nine o’clock.
Show answer
Amara and Max had cooked a big meal by nine o’clock.
Past perfect: had + past participle — the same for every subject. It shows an action completed before another moment in the past. Regular verbs add -ed: cook → cooked.
Choose the past participle.
My classmates had _____ (go) to the station before the rain started.
Show answer
My classmates had gone to the station before the rain started.
“go” is irregular: go – went – gone. After had, use the past participle (gone).
Make the sentence negative.
The children had fixed the bike before the shop opened.
Show answer
The children hadn't fixed the bike before the shop opened.
Negative: hadn’t (had not) + past participle, for every subject. The children hadn't fixed the bike before the shop opened.