English Grammar- Past Perfect Or Past Simple Quiz

1. Which of the following sentences is in the past perfect tense?

She will finish her project by tomorrow.

They are playing tennis at the moment.

He had already eaten dinner when I arrived.

I am going to the store later.

The correct sentence, "He had already eaten dinner when I arrived," is in the past perfect tense. In this tense, an action was completed before another past action. In this case, "had already eaten" shows that eating dinner occurred before the arrival.

Explanation

The correct sentence, "He had already eaten dinner when I arrived," is in the past perfect tense. In this tense, an action was completed before another past action. In this case, "had already eaten" shows that eating dinner occurred before the arrival.

2. Last week I _______________ (have) a terrible day.

The given sentence is in the past tense, indicating that the event happened in the past. The word "had" is the correct form of the verb "have" in the past tense. Therefore, the correct answer is "had".

Explanation

The given sentence is in the past tense, indicating that the event happened in the past. The word "had" is the correct form of the verb "have" in the past tense. Therefore, the correct answer is "had".

Submit

3. So by the time I reached the bus stop to go to school, the bus...

Already left

Had already left

The correct answer is "had already left" because the sentence is in the past perfect tense. The phrase "by the time I reached the bus stop" indicates that the action of reaching the bus stop happened before the action of the bus leaving. Therefore, the past perfect tense is used to show that the bus had already left by the time the person reached the bus stop.

Explanation

The correct answer is "had already left" because the sentence is in the past perfect tense. The phrase "by the time I reached the bus stop" indicates that the action of reaching the bus stop happened before the action of the bus leaving. Therefore, the past perfect tense is used to show that the bus had already left by the time the person reached the bus stop.

4. I ____________________ up late this morning.

Woke

Had woken

The correct answer is "woke." This is because the word "woke" is the simple past tense of the verb "wake." It indicates that the subject of the sentence (not mentioned in the question) woke up late in the past. The other option, "had woken," is the past perfect tense and would imply that the subject had already woken up before something else happened.

Explanation

The correct answer is "woke." This is because the word "woke" is the simple past tense of the verb "wake." It indicates that the subject of the sentence (not mentioned in the question) woke up late in the past. The other option, "had woken," is the past perfect tense and would imply that the subject had already woken up before something else happened.

5. When I ___________ (get) to the school, the bell _____________________(ring) yet, which was strange.

Got

Had got

Didn't ring

Hadn't rung

The correct answer is "got, hadn't rung". The sentence is in the past tense, and "got" is the correct past tense form of "get". The second part of the sentence is in the past perfect tense, indicating an action that happened before another past action. "Hadn't rung" is the correct past perfect tense form of "not ring". Therefore, the sentence means that when the person arrived at the school, the bell had not rung yet, which was strange.

Explanation

The correct answer is "got, hadn't rung". The sentence is in the past tense, and "got" is the correct past tense form of "get". The second part of the sentence is in the past perfect tense, indicating an action that happened before another past action. "Hadn't rung" is the correct past perfect tense form of "not ring". Therefore, the sentence means that when the person arrived at the school, the bell had not rung yet, which was strange.

Submit

6. I wanted to send my friend a text, but then I ________________ (realize) that I _______________ (leave) my phone on the kitchen table.

Realized

Had realized

Left

Had left

The correct answer is "realized,had left". The use of "realized" indicates that the action of realizing that the phone was left on the kitchen table happened in the past. The use of "had left" indicates that the action of leaving the phone on the kitchen table also happened in the past, before the realization occurred. Therefore, the correct answer is a combination of the past simple tense ("realized") and the past perfect tense ("had left").

Explanation

The correct answer is "realized,had left". The use of "realized" indicates that the action of realizing that the phone was left on the kitchen table happened in the past. The use of "had left" indicates that the action of leaving the phone on the kitchen table also happened in the past, before the realization occurred. Therefore, the correct answer is a combination of the past simple tense ("realized") and the past perfect tense ("had left").

Submit

7. Our neighbor was just leaving her house, so she ____________ to take me to the school.

Offered

Had offered

The correct answer is "offered." This is because the sentence is in the past tense and the action of offering to take me to school happened at the same time as our neighbor was leaving her house. The past simple tense "offered" is the appropriate verb form to use in this context.

Explanation

The correct answer is "offered." This is because the sentence is in the past tense and the action of offering to take me to school happened at the same time as our neighbor was leaving her house. The past simple tense "offered" is the appropriate verb form to use in this context.

8. I went inside the school and looked at the clock in the school hall, and then I understood – the clocks__________________ (go) back by an hour and so, in fact, I wasn't late at all!

Went

Had gone

The correct answer is "had gone." The use of the past perfect tense "had gone" indicates that the clocks had already been set back by an hour before the speaker looked at the clock in the school hall. This explains why the speaker realized they weren't late, as the time on the clock was actually an hour behind.

Explanation

The correct answer is "had gone." The use of the past perfect tense "had gone" indicates that the clocks had already been set back by an hour before the speaker looked at the clock in the school hall. This explains why the speaker realized they weren't late, as the time on the clock was actually an hour behind.

9. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic and no cars _____________ for about 30 minutes.

Moved

Had moved

The correct answer is "moved" because the sentence is in the past tense and the word "moved" indicates an action that happened in the past. The sentence suggests that there was traffic and during that time, nothing was able to move for about 30 minutes.

Explanation

The correct answer is "moved" because the sentence is in the past tense and the word "moved" indicates an action that happened in the past. The sentence suggests that there was traffic and during that time, nothing was able to move for about 30 minutes.

10. Yesterday, Sarah ___________ to the store before it started raining.

Goes

Went

Had gone

Is going

The correct option is "went." In this sentence, the past perfect tense is used to show that the action of going to the store (Sarah's visit) happened before another past action (it started raining). The past perfect tense is formed with the past tense of "go" (went) and the past participle of the main verb (gone).

Explanation

The correct option is "went." In this sentence, the past perfect tense is used to show that the action of going to the store (Sarah's visit) happened before another past action (it started raining). The past perfect tense is formed with the past tense of "go" (went) and the past participle of the main verb (gone).