Past Perfect
Narrate & Describe
Objectives
Understand the difference between the three major aspects of past
Produce the correct pronunciation of -ed endings
Correct spoken narrations & descriptions for accuracy
Create detailed narrations& descriptions in English
Narrations & Descriptions
When we talk about narrations in terms of grammar and language, there are two very important vocabulary words: tense and aspect. These two concepts give us different, but essential, information about the story we are listening to.
- Tense
- tells us WHEN in time a verb occurred. Think of this as a timeline.
- Aspect
- adds information by telling us HOW that verb occurred in that time. Was it continuous? Or was the action in one particular moment?
Simple Past
One aspect we will discuss is past perfect. We use perfect to talk about an action that was already completed in the past. We use this when we are telling a story in the past, but we want to indicate that one action happened before this point in the story.
For example:
She had already gone grocery shopping by the time he came home. (completed before)
The students had asked the teacher the same question yesterday. (completed before)
You hadn't been to New York City before this trip, correct?
You'll notice that the past perfect is often used surrounded by the other forms of the past. This is because it is making an order of events more clear in the past. The verb in past perfect happens first.
Simple Past Form
Past Perfect has two pieces: the auxiliary had and a past participle. A past participle can sometimes look like the past form of the word or can be totally different. Here are some examples.
I told him that I had eaten dinner.
The news of the discovery had already spread.
List of English Past Participles
List of English irregular verbs
Exercise 1: Noticing
Watch this video about Rosa Parks. Notice that the majority of the verbs are in the simple past. Many other verbs are in passive voice, which also uses the past participle. However, the past perfect is used a few times to provide important context of the order of events. Listen carefully and pause the video to write down the past perfect examples you hear.
she had traveled
a young woman who had been
she had hoped
Park’s simple act had transformed
But this victory for the movement had come
Rosa had been receiving
Did you know who Rosa Parks was before you listened to this video? If so, how did this information compare with what you already knew? If this is new information, try to explain the information from memory.
Who is another famous activist you have heard of? What did that person do? How did his/her actions impact the community/country/world?
Exercise 2: Community Event
Talk about an event you recently attended in your community.
Include as many details as you can about the experience.
Try to talk about the event and your community in general, rather than talking about your specific experience.
Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past.
Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.
Exercise 3: Birthday
Talk about your most recent birthday.
Include as many details as you can about what you did, who you were with, and how you felt on that day.
Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past.
Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.
Exercise 4: Notice & Summarize
Watch "The dangerous race for the South Pole" about early explorers in Antarctica.
As you watch, make a list of the past tense verbs you hear. Identify them as either simple past, past progressive, or past perfect.
Prepare a summary of the information in the video. If you need to, watch the video again and focus on the organization. Take notes of the main idea and major details.
Summarize the video in 45 seconds. Include only the most essential information.
Here is a list of the past tense verbs used in the video.
Past verb answer key
Simple Past | Past Progressive | Past Perfect |
|---|---|---|
received constructed had discovered came decided called weren't reached found pitted was/were left drew traveled weighed battled began proved made stayed arrived traversed covered reached succumbed hoped | were going was leading was (also) heading | had spent had secured/hand-picked had (long) dreamed had staked had (already) visited had been visited (passive) was greeted (passive) had been documented (passive) |
Practice 5: Famous Person or Event Presentation
Your teacher will provide details about the requirements for this presentation.
Think about an important event or person in your field of study (ex. the life of a scientist, the discovery of a new species, or the invention of a new technology).
Narrate a story about that event or person and include as many details as you can.
Remember to organize the events clearly and to tell the story in the past.
Try to use a variety of verbs and aspects of the past.