The earlier event comes before another past event.
When I arrived, the film ___ already.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: A)had started
💡 Explicación
The past perfect is the past of the past. English puts the earlier event in had plus participle and the later one in the past simple.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: A)had started
A)had startedCorrect! The film started before the moment of arrival, so the past perfect is correct.
B)has startedThe present perfect would connect the start to now, but the whole scene takes place in the past.
C)was startingA past continuous would suggest the film had not yet begun at the moment of arrival.
D)will startA future form is impossible inside a past scene.
💡 Explicación
The past perfect is the past of the past. English puts the earlier event in had plus participle and the later one in the past simple.
Pregunta 2
Pregunta 2 · D2Bloom: Apply
The sequence of two finished past events.
He ___ his keys and went back to look for them.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: B)had lost
💡 Explicación
When two past actions are chained, the past perfect marks the first. Without it the order of events is left to the reader, which is exactly what the past perfect fixes.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: B)had lost
A)lostThe past simple for both events loses the order, leaving no sign of which came first.
B)had lostCorrect! Losing the keys happened before going back, so the earlier event takes had plus participle.
C)has lostThe present perfect would tie the loss to now, but the story is entirely in the past.
D)was losingA past continuous would suggest the loss was still going on when he went back.
💡 Explicación
When two past actions are chained, the past perfect marks the first. Without it the order of events is left to the reader, which is exactly what the past perfect fixes.
Pregunta 3
Pregunta 3 · D3Bloom: Apply
The action had not been completed at a past moment.
By 2019 he ___ a single book in English.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: C)had not read
💡 Explicación
By plus a past year looks back from that year. Whatever had or had not happened by then takes had plus not plus participle.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: C)had not read
A)did not readDid would place the reading in a finished past moment, not measure up to the deadline of 2019.
B)has not readThe present perfect would measure up to now, and the 2019 deadline is already closed.
C)had not readCorrect! By 2019 is a past point, and nothing had been read by then.
D)was not readingA past continuous would suggest he was reading but not finishing, which is a different claim.
💡 Explicación
By plus a past year looks back from that year. Whatever had or had not happened by then takes had plus not plus participle.
Pregunta 4
Pregunta 4 · D3Bloom: Apply
The reason for a past event lies even further back.
She was late because she ___ the bus.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: D)had missed
💡 Explicación
Because introduces a cause that must be earlier than its effect. When the cause is the earlier of two past events, the past perfect expresses it.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: D)had missed
A)missedThe past simple would present both events as a simple sequence and lose the causal priority of the earlier one.
B)has missedThe present perfect would connect the missed bus to the present moment, which is not the story being told.
C)was missingA past continuous would suggest the bus was being missed gradually, which is not the meaning.
D)had missedCorrect! Missing the bus happened before being late, so the past perfect explains the reason.
💡 Explicación
Because introduces a cause that must be earlier than its effect. When the cause is the earlier of two past events, the past perfect expresses it.
Pregunta 5
Pregunta 5 · D3Bloom: Apply
The narrative moves on to a new past scene.
After they ___ the border, they stopped at a small town for petrol.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: A)had crossed
💡 Explicación
When, after and before all order two past events. The event that comes first in the clause usually takes the past perfect, which makes the sequence explicit for the reader.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: A)had crossed
A)had crossedCorrect! Crossing the border is the earlier of the two past events, and after fixes that order.
B)crossedThe past simple would be acceptable in a simple sequence, but after plus a completed clause puts the first event clearly first.
C)have crossedThe present perfect would place the crossing after the reference point rather than before it.
D)are crossingA present continuous would not describe a completed border crossing in a past narrative.
💡 Explicación
When, after and before all order two past events. The event that comes first in the clause usually takes the past perfect, which makes the sequence explicit for the reader.
Pregunta 6
Pregunta 6 · D3Bloom: Apply
The state before another past event, not the action itself.
___ you ever ___ a horse before that day?
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: B)Had ... ridden
💡 Explicación
Ever in a question can belong to the present perfect or to the past perfect. The deciding factor is the reference point: before that day puts it in the past.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: B)Had ... ridden
A)Have ... riddenThe present perfect would bring the question to now, but before that day closes the period in the past.
B)Had ... riddenCorrect! Before that day is a past reference point, so ever belongs to the past perfect.
C)Did ... rideDid with ever is not used, and it would ask about one definite past occasion.
D)Have ... ridingAfter have the verb must be a participle, and riding is the -ing form.
💡 Explicación
Ever in a question can belong to the present perfect or to the past perfect. The deciding factor is the reference point: before that day puts it in the past.
Pregunta 7
Pregunta 7 · D3Bloom: Apply
The evidence existed before a past conversation.
She showed us the photos. She ___ taken them the week before.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: C)had taken
💡 Explicación
An explicit measure of time before another past event is a strong signal for the past perfect. The week before is that measure here.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: C)had taken
A)has takenThe present perfect would suggest the photos might have been taken after the conversation, which the narrative excludes.
B)tookThe past simple is possible in a loose sequence, but the explicit time reference the week before invites the past perfect.
C)had takenCorrect! The photos were taken before she showed them, so the earlier action takes the past perfect.
D)was takingA past continuous would suggest the photographing overlapped the showing, which the week before denies.
💡 Explicación
An explicit measure of time before another past event is a strong signal for the past perfect. The week before is that measure here.
Pregunta 8
Pregunta 8 · D4Bloom: Apply
Two past events, and the earlier one is a duration that had ended.
When the company closed, the workers ___ there for fifteen years.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: D)had worked
💡 Explicación
A for phrase that measures a period completed at a past moment takes the past perfect. The closing is the deadline, and the working ended at it.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: D)had worked
A)have workedThe present perfect would mean the workers still work there, which the closing contradicts.
B)workedThe past simple would be defensible, but for fifteen years measured up to the closing reads more clearly as had worked.
C)will have workedThe future perfect projects forward from a future point, and the closing is in the past.
D)had workedCorrect! The fifteen years ended with the closing, so the past perfect measures the completed duration.
💡 Explicación
A for phrase that measures a period completed at a past moment takes the past perfect. The closing is the deadline, and the working ended at it.
Pregunta 9
Pregunta 9 · D3Bloom: Apply
The question is about what had been done at that stage.
What ___ you ___ to prepare for the trip?
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: A)had ... done
💡 Explicación
What had plus subject plus done is the standard way to ask about preparation that was complete before a past event. The auxiliary carries the tense and do keeps its base form.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: A)had ... done
A)had ... doneCorrect! The question looks back from the moment of the trip to the preparation before it.
B)did ... doDid with what is unusual and would ask about a single past occasion rather than the whole preparation.
C)have ... doneThe present perfect would bring the question to now, but the trip is already over.
D)were ... doingA past continuous would ask what was in progress at one moment, not what had been completed.
💡 Explicación
What had plus subject plus done is the standard way to ask about preparation that was complete before a past event. The auxiliary carries the tense and do keeps its base form.
Pregunta 10
Pregunta 10 · D3Bloom: Apply
Two things that were true at the same time in the past.
While she ___ the report, her phone rang twice.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: B)was writing
💡 Explicación
Two past actions that overlap are handled by the past continuous and the past simple, not by the past perfect. The past perfect requires a clear order, not an overlap.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: B)was writing
A)had writtenThe past perfect would place the writing completely before the calls, losing the overlap.
B)was writingCorrect! A past continuous gives the background action that the call interrupts.
C)wroteThe past simple would make the writing one finished act with no sense of it continuing.
D)has writtenThe present perfect would connect the writing to now, and the calls are in the past.
💡 Explicación
Two past actions that overlap are handled by the past continuous and the past simple, not by the past perfect. The past perfect requires a clear order, not an overlap.
Pregunta 11
Pregunta 11 · D4Bloom: Apply
The negative statement about an earlier period, with an unexpected result.
He ___ the email, ___ it was still in his outbox when he left.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: C)had sent ... but
💡 Explicación
The past perfect plus but is a frequent pattern for reporting an expectation that the evidence then contradicts. The outbox is the evidence.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: C)had sent ... but
A)has sent ... becauseThe present perfect would place the sending inside the present period, and because gives a reason instead of a contrast.
B)did send ... soDid send is not a form of the verb, and so would give a result rather than a contrast.
C)had sent ... butCorrect! Sending was supposed to be earlier and complete, and but signals the contrast with the outbox.
D)was sending ... althoughA past continuous would imply the sending was unfinished, which already conflicts with the email being in the outbox.
💡 Explicación
The past perfect plus but is a frequent pattern for reporting an expectation that the evidence then contradicts. The outbox is the evidence.
Pregunta 12
Pregunta 12 · D3Bloom: Apply
The activity was still running at a past moment.
By nine o'clock the students ___ for three hours.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: D)had been studying
💡 Explicación
The past perfect continuous, had plus been plus -ing, measures a duration that ended at a past reference point. By nine o'clock supplies exactly that point.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: D)had been studying
A)have been studyingThe present perfect continuous would measure the study up to now, and by nine o'clock is a past deadline.
B)were studyingA past continuous works for a single ongoing scene, but the for phrase measures a completed duration.
C)will have studiedThe future perfect would look forward from a future point, and nine o'clock that evening is a closed period.
D)had been studyingCorrect! A duration that had been running at a past deadline takes the past perfect continuous.
💡 Explicación
The past perfect continuous, had plus been plus -ing, measures a duration that ended at a past reference point. By nine o'clock supplies exactly that point.
Pregunta 13
Pregunta 13 · D3Bloom: Apply
The state had already been reached before a past event.
By the time the police arrived the thief ___ the building.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: A)had left
💡 Explicación
By the time is a past boundary when the main clause is in the past simple. Everything completed before that boundary belongs to the past perfect.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: A)had left
A)had leftCorrect! Leaving happened before the arrival of the police, so the earlier event takes had plus participle.
B)has leftThe present perfect would tie the escape to now, but the police arriving is the reference point in the past.
C)was leavingA past continuous would suggest the thief was still in the act of leaving when the police arrived.
D)leavesThe present simple would place the escape in the present, which the narrative denies.
💡 Explicación
By the time is a past boundary when the main clause is in the past simple. Everything completed before that boundary belongs to the past perfect.
Pregunta 14
Pregunta 14 · D3Bloom: Apply
The information was already available at a past moment.
I didn't buy the ticket because I ___ that the show was sold out.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: B)had heard
💡 Explicación
Because needs a cause that precedes its effect. When the cause is complete before the effect begins, the past perfect is the natural form for it.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: B)had heard
A)heardThe past simple would present both actions without marking the earlier one as the reason.
B)had heardCorrect! Hearing the news came before not buying the ticket, so the past perfect gives the reason.
C)have heardThe present perfect would suggest the news may be new, but the buying decision is already past.
D)was hearingA past continuous would suggest the news arrived gradually over a period, which hear does not allow here.
💡 Explicación
Because needs a cause that precedes its effect. When the cause is complete before the effect begins, the past perfect is the natural form for it.
Pregunta 15
Pregunta 15 · D4Bloom: Analyze
Distinguish the past perfect from the present perfect.
___ you finished the report? I ___ it yesterday, and now I am writing the summary.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: C)Have ... wrote
💡 Explicación
Write is irregular, and its three forms are distinct: write, wrote, written. With yesterday the correct past choice is wrote, and the present summary makes the present perfect the right tense.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: C)Have ... wrote
A)Had ... wroteThe past perfect would need a past reference point later than yesterday, and the present is not that point.
B)Have ... writtenThe participle of write is written, not wrote, and wrote is the past simple form.
C)Have ... wroteCorrect! Yesterday is a finished past time, and the summary being written now shows the present relevance.
D)Did ... wroteDid with wrote is not a valid form, because the auxiliary carries the tense and the verb stays in the base form.
💡 Explicación
Write is irregular, and its three forms are distinct: write, wrote, written. With yesterday the correct past choice is wrote, and the present summary makes the present perfect the right tense.
Pregunta 16
Pregunta 16 · D3Bloom: Apply
A completed obligation viewed from a past deadline.
By the end of the term, the class ___ every required unit.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: D)had completed
💡 Explicación
By the end of a closed period measures what had been achieved by that point. The past perfect reports the completed work in exactly that way.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: D)had completed
A)have completedThe present perfect would mean the units are complete as of now, but the term has already ended.
B)completeA bare base form would leave the verb without any tense marking at all.
C)will have completedThe future perfect looks forward from a future point, and the end of the term has passed.
D)had completedCorrect! The end of the term is a past deadline, and the units were finished before it.
💡 Explicación
By the end of a closed period measures what had been achieved by that point. The past perfect reports the completed work in exactly that way.
Pregunta 17
Pregunta 17 · D3Bloom: Apply
Two clauses, the first clearly set in a completed past period.
They ___ in the same neighbourhood for years ___ they finally moved to the coast.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: A)had lived ... when
💡 Explicación
A completed duration before another past event is the classic past perfect plus when or plus before. The final move is the reference point that makes the earlier period closed.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: A)had lived ... when
A)had lived ... whenCorrect! The long period ended when the move happened, so the past perfect plus when is the correct pair.
B)have lived ... whenThe present perfect would claim the living in that neighbourhood is still going on.
C)were living ... untilUntil would point forward to an end time, and were living describes the overlap rather than a completed duration.
D)will have lived ... beforeThe future perfect projects from a future point, but the move is already in the past.
💡 Explicación
A completed duration before another past event is the classic past perfect plus when or plus before. The final move is the reference point that makes the earlier period closed.
Pregunta 18
Pregunta 18 · D4Bloom: Apply
The question asks about an earlier period, with the negative opening the pair.
___ you ___ the deadline in 2023? No, I ___ it by the previous Friday.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: B)Did ... meet
💡 Explicación
A question about a specific past year uses did plus base form. The answer then reports a single deadline met in the past, which the past simple expresses perfectly well.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: B)Did ... meet
A)Had ... met ... hadHad would need a later past reference point, and the previous Friday is not later than 2023 in the way the question intends.
B)Did ... meetCorrect! A definite year asks with did, and the answer with by the previous Friday uses the past simple for a single completed deadline.
C)Do ... meet ... haveDo builds the present simple and cannot ask about a year that has passed.
D)Will ... meet ... will haveA future form in the question contradicts a deadline already in 2023.
💡 Explicación
A question about a specific past year uses did plus base form. The answer then reports a single deadline met in the past, which the past simple expresses perfectly well.
Pregunta 19
Pregunta 19 · D3Bloom: Apply
The earlier event explains an unexpected discovery in the present.
The keys were on the table, ___ my brother ___ them there an hour earlier.
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: C)but ... had left
💡 Explicación
The main clause reports a present state and the subordinate clause reports an earlier completed event. But expresses the surprise, and had left fixes the past perfect.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: C)but ... had left
A)so ... has leftSo would give a result, and the present perfect would suggest the leaving is not yet complete.
B)because ... leavesBecause gives a reason, but the keys on the table is a contrast to leaving them, not a cause of it.
C)but ... had leftCorrect! But signals the contrast, and leaving the keys an hour earlier is complete before the discovery.
D)although ... is leavingA present continuous would place the leaving now, which an hour earlier denies.
💡 Explicación
The main clause reports a present state and the subordinate clause reports an earlier completed event. But expresses the surprise, and had left fixes the past perfect.
Pregunta 20
Pregunta 20 · D4Bloom: Analyze
The tense is decided by the reference point of the whole pair.
___ the technician ___ the machine before the client arrived?
Elige una opción para comprobar tu respuesta.
Respuesta correcta: D)Had ... repaired
💡 Explicación
Before plus a past event is a reference point that closes the earlier period. Everything finished before that point belongs to the past perfect, and the question keeps that auxiliary.
Ver respuesta
Respuesta correcta: D)Had ... repaired
A)Did ... repairDid would be defensible only with a definite past time, and before the client arrived is a reference point rather than a time.
B)Has ... repairedThe present perfect would ask whether the repair is complete now, but the question closes the period at the client's arrival.
C)Will ... repairA future form in a before clause about the past would reverse the direction of time.
D)Had ... repairedCorrect! The client's arrival is the past reference point, and the repair was complete before it.
💡 Explicación
Before plus a past event is a reference point that closes the earlier period. Everything finished before that point belongs to the past perfect, and the question keeps that auxiliary.
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