Grammar A12 Past perfect

1 Read the speaking task and the student’s response, and write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.

Talk about an event in your childhood that you clearly remember.

You should say:
• where you were at the time
• who you were with
• what happened
and explain why you remember it so well.

The time in my childhood I remember best was when. I moved with my parents and my little sister
to our new house in the countryside. My father had sold everything to be able to buy it. He had
left his job in the city and decided he wanted us to be self-sufficient. He had bought seeds and
garden tools so we could grow our own vegetables. It was the biggest adventure I had ever
experienced in my life. I hadn’t been away from home before, and everything was so different in the
country. What had my mother thought of his idea? Well, she supported everything he did, and he
was right - it was hard work at first, but we never felt that he had made the wrong decision. We
soon became used to our new life in the country.

1 The speaker’s father used to work in the countryside. .....................

2 He didn’t want to buy their food from a shop. .....................
3 The speaker was very excited about their move. .....................
4 The speaker’s mother didn’t want to grow vegetables. .....................
5 It was not long before they felt at home in the new house..........................

Past perfect
We use the past perfect when speaking about things that happened before another
time in the past.
• When the speaker is talking about the day his family moved to the countryside, he uses past simple:
I moved with my parents and my little sister to our new house in the countryside.
• W7hen he talks about things that happened before that day, he uses the past perfect:
M y father had sold everything to be able to buy it.
Use it for IELTS!
You can use the past perfect to tell a story in a
more interesting way in the interview. Compare
Responses 1 and 2 (Activity 3 and Activity 5).
Form
Affirmative Negative Question
Subject + had + past participle Subject + had not (hadn’t) + past Yes / No questions
He had bought seeds and garden participle H ad + subject + past participle
tools. I h a d n ’t been away from home H ad he made the wrong
before. decision?
Wh- questions
Question word + had + subject +
past participle
What had my mother thought o f
36 | Achieve IELTS Grammar
his idea?
2 Read the student’s response in Activity 1 again and put the events in order.
A They moved house. .....................
B Her father left his job. .....................
C He bought seeds. .....................

3 Read the speaking task and underline the conjugated verbs in Response 1.

Talk about a party you enjoyed very much. You should say:
• what the occasion was
• who attended the party
• what preparations were made
and explain why you enjoyed it so much.

Response 1

I graduated in 2002 with 1st class honours. My friend Anna decided to have a surprise party to
celebrate, but she didn’t tell me. She invited all my friends, then she booked a large room at the Grand
Hotel. She even ordered a stretch limousine to take me there. Imagine my surprise when it turned up at
my door! I got dressed up very quickly - but I still didn’t know where I was going. When we arrived at
the hotel, my friends came out to meet me. We laughed and danced all night long.

4 Write the past simple verbs from Response 1 in the order they appear.
1 graduated 5 9 13
2 ....................... 6 ........................... 10 ........................
3 .................... 7 ..................... 11 .....................
4 ................... 8 ..................... 12 ......................

5 Complete Response 2 with past simple or past perfect, using the verbs from Activity 4.
Response 2
The party I enjoyed most of all was my graduation party. I’ll never forget the moment when the
stretch limousine (1 )..............................at my door. My friend Anna (2)................................it. I
(3)..............................very quickly and got in the car, but I really (4)................................where I
was going. Then we (5)..............................at the Grand Hotel, and all my friends (6) .............................
. out to meet me. What a surprise! Anna (7).............................. all my friends from university. I
(8) ........................................... with 1st class honours, so she (9 )............................... to have a party for
me, but she (10).............................. me about it. She (11)................................a large room at the hotel,
where we (12) .............................. and (13)................................all night long.

(§) Plav Track 6. Now listen and check your answers.

6 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in brackets.
1 W e............................. for hours because w e .............................. each other for so long, (talk / not see)
2 When the alarm b e ll............................. , I thatI ............................... to turn it off. (ring /
realise / forgot)
3 W h y ............................. that man yesterday? W h at...............................? (the police / arrest / do)
4 When h e ..............................the meal, h e ............................. it to the children. m _Now checku „your answers. p169
(prepare / serve)
Achieve IELTS Grammar I 37
 Grammar A13 Past perfect continuous

1 Look at the graph and complete the passage. Use these dates and figures.
2008 2005 2000 12% 8% 4% 10%

Writing task 1
The chart below shows the exports and carbon dioxide emissions for two countries between
1990 and 2008. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and
make comparisons where relevant.

Overall we can see that world exports from America Exports C02 emissions
are declining while exports from China are rising, and □United States United States1
carbon emissions from both countries are increasing. 14
Exports from China had been increasing steadily before 12
the year (1 ).................... to (2 )......................of world 10 -I
exports. After that they rose dramatically. In contrast,
exports from America had been growing before 2000
to reach above (3 ).................... of world exports, after
which year they decreased to just (4 ).................... in
2008. Before (5 ).................... , China had not been 1990 1995 2000 2005 2008
exporting as many goods as America, but after
(6 ).................. exports from China began to overtake those from America and reached under (7 ).....................

Past perfect continuous

When we refer to an action or event that happened before the time we have already referred to, we can use
the past perfect or the past perfect continuous. We use the past perfect continuous
• to write about longer actions and events
• with words and phrases like previously, before this, prior to this
• with fo r and since to show the period of time.
Form
Affirmative Negative
1 / He/She/It/ 1 / He/She/It/
had been waiting. had not (hadn’t) been waiting.
You / We / They You/We/They

Exports from China had been increasing steadily. China had not been exporting as many goods as
America.
Question
Yes / No questions Wh- questions
Had China been exporting as much as the What kind o f goods had America been producing
US before 1995? before 2000?

2 Read the passage in Activity 1 again and say what

1 had been increasing steadily. ....................
2 had been growing before 2000. ....................
3 China had not been exporting. ....................

38 | Achieve IELTS Grammar

3 Complete the conversation using the verbs in the box. Use the past perfect continuous where possible.

think find work do change

Examiner: What did you do before you came to Australia?

Candidate: Before I came here 1( 1) ..................... in IT. I worked for Computech for five years, then I
( 2 ) ......................jobs and became an IT trainer.
Examiner: Why did you decide to move into education?
Candidate: Well, while I w'as working for Computech, I ( 3 ) ..................... about changing career for a few
years. I ( 4 ) ..................... the job a bit boring - the job was about fixing computer problems
and I ( 5 ) ......................this for five years. It was time to move on really.

4 Complete the sentences using the past perfect continuous.

1 John was hurt in the car crash.
(not wearing / seatbelt) ^e hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt.
2 The company lost its share of the market.
(not investing / new products) ...................................................................................................
3 Jane didn’t do well in her exams.
(not working / hard enough) ...................................................................................................
4 Ayse didn’t know what to do.
(not listening / instructions) ...................................................................................................
5 Kevin couldn’t talk about the TV series.
(not / watching it) ...................................................................................................

5 Look at the chart in Activity 1 again and complete the passage using the verbs from the box.

increase (x2) fluctuate decrease rise (x2) produce

The amount of carbon dioxide (C 0 2) from both countries ( 1 )....................... Before 2000, emissions from
China ( 2 ) .................... - between 1990 and 1998 they (3) .................... steadily, and between 1998 and
2000 they ( 4 ) ......................, in contrast to the US, where emissions ( 5 ) ...................... steadily since 1993.
However, after 2000, emissions from China (6) ..................... very quickly. But ( 7 ) .......................China
really..................... as much C 0 2 as America? In reality, C 0 2 emissions per person are much lower in
China than in America.

Now check your answers. p169

Achieve IELTS Grammar | 39