Past Perfect grammar rules in English and the pro-feminist Ivan Franko
About course
Ivan Franko taught us not only to wear an embroidered shirt with a jacket but also that "a calm respect and intelligence befit a man." And now, he will help you understand the concept of the Past Perfect tense.
Our online lesson focuses on Ivan Franko's life story and the grammar topic of Past Perfect. You will learn how to use the Past Perfect tense in a narrative context. The lesson provides a straightforward explanation of grammar rules, along with exercises and intriguing facts from the life of the brilliant poet, publicist, and activist Ivan Franko.
This course has been developed in collaboration with the Green Penguin Media agency and the Books&Cartoons animation publishing house as part of the «Книга-мандрівка. Україна» project.
The course features an educational video in English, an in-depth analysis of the Past Perfect grammar topic, and interactive exercises to help you expand your vocabulary.
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Level:
Intermediate
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20 minutes
- 1 lesson
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7
tasks
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Teacher's language:
English
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Interactive exercises
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Video
Course program
1 LESSON
Educational video
You will get acquainted with new vocabulary and practice listening to English
Grammar
Table with grammar rules
Tasks
Tasks for practicing and learning past narrative tenses
Who is this course for
The course is designed for an average or confident initial level of English.
You will like this course if you want to learn new and exciting things and at the same time improve your English.
What will you get after the course
After completing this course, you will be able to confidently discuss the life of the iconic Ukrainian poet in English. Moreover, you will have mastered the Past Perfect tense for narrative purposes and acquired new vocabulary related to Ukrainian history.
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Level:
Intermediate
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20 minutes
- 1 lesson
-
7
tasks
-
Teacher's language:
English
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Interactive exercises
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Video
Past Perfect is an English tense that allows us to describe situations that preceded other events in the past. It's also worth noting that this tense is called "perfect" because the action is already completed. An example of its use is the sentence "I had gotten my driver's license before I entered university." Both events described by the speaker happened, but getting the license occurred first in chronological order. To emphasize this, we use the Past Perfect tense and its rules. Below, we'll discuss the tense in more detail and how to quickly learn and use it in your speech.
When to use the Past Perfect and how it differs from other Tenses
The structure of a sentence in the Past Perfect tense looks like this:
Subject + had + verb with -ed ending / third form of an irregular verb
Example:
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I had ironed all the clothes before the lights were turned off.
The Past Perfect Tense is most commonly used to describe narratives—events that are connected to each other. For example, when we recount the life of a famous writer and focus on how the events of their life unfolded one after the other. To help you better grasp the nuances and differences of this tense, we’ll provide examples of its use in speech:
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events that were completely finished before a certain point in the past: “I told you that I had already eaten today”;
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situations in the past that influenced another event (also in the past), for example: “I had lost the keys to my flat, so I had to book a hotel room”;
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sentence constructions like “as soon as I…”, for example: “As soon as I had entered, my father started arguing with me.”
Comparing the Past Perfect Tense with Other Tenses in English
The English language has four past tense forms, which can be easily mixed up. Besides the Past Perfect, there’s also the Past Simple, the most commonly used tense. There’s also Past Continuous — the past progressive tense. Additionally, there’s a combination of perfect and progressive — the Past Perfect Continuous. To help you understand the semantic differences between these four tenses, we’ve prepared a summary table with simple examples:
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Past Tense Name |
Function |
Example |
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Simple |
Indicates an event that happened at a specific moment in the past — yesterday, 3 days ago, etc. Using the simple, we can also list past events without emphasizing the order in which they occurred (or if they occurred simultaneously). |
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|
Perfect |
Allows describing a situation from the past that preceded another event in the past. According to the rules, Past Perfect can also be used to emphasize the connection between events or the influence of one event on another. |
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|
Continuous |
Describes a continuous action in the past that was happening at a specific moment in the past or when talking about two parallel continuous actions in the past. It’s also used to describe background events during which other stories of our life happened. |
|
|
Perfect Continuous |
This tense also describes two consecutive events that already happened one after another. However, its difference from the regular Past Perfect is the emphasis on the duration of a certain action. |
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A course on the Past Perfect in English that can replace a tutor
If you want to master English grammar as thoroughly as possible, it’s advisable to focus on each tense separately. Our new grammar course, complete with a bonus historical-literary excursion, will help you familiarize yourself with and memorize all the features of the Past Perfect in English.
Key features of this course:
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Takes minimal time. We’ve packed all the necessary information into a single lesson for self-study. By dedicating just 1-2 hours to it, you’ll be able to understand all the rules of the Past Perfect. We save you both time and money!
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Allows you to explore native culture through learning English. Since this tense is narrative, we decided to tell you the biography of Ivan Franko and, through it, show the nuances of using English grammar.
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Helps you learn new useful vocabulary. In the text about Ivan Franko, you’ll find many new words and will be able to quickly understand and memorize their translation from the context. In the future, these words will come in handy when telling foreign friends about Ukrainian culture.
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Teaches you to comprehend English by ear. The story of the great Kameniar is presented in a video that will help you practice listening skills. Being able to listen to your interlocutor is the path to understanding.
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Explains the Past Perfect Tense and its rules in accessible language. We’ve placed the grammar rules in a table so you can quickly see and understand everything, and then repeat it.
Exercises for better material retention. Use your new knowledge in practice so it’s better retained in your memory. You’ll find interactive exercises that can be done as a quiz right from your phone. We provide you not only with knowledge but also ensure the ease of the learning process!
- access to all 194 courses on the platform, except for the English PRO series
- 2 - 4 new courses every month
- exclusive access to SUBSCRIPTION ONLY courses
- access to the Smarte+ - smart online tool for English practice
- unlimited studying for the selected period
- access to self-study English plans
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