Lesson Plan Past Perfect

How to teach the past perfect

It is easier to teach the past perfect than to teach the present perfect. The past
perfect is clearly situated in the past. This can even be represented without any
ambiguity through a timeline or a diagram. what is more, an example with a past
perfect tense may give a clear picture of the tense. In this lesson plan we will give
ideas and hints on how to teach the past perfect.
Start with contextualized examples
It is of paramount importance to introduce grammatical constructions in clear
contexts, relating them to the real world. The past perfect tense is undoubtedly well
understood if it is used in contextualized examples because learners need to have a
clear picture of not only the how but also the why. The following is a situation
(borrowed from this article) that may be a good start.
I couldnt believe my eyes
Yesterday when I arrived home, I couldnt believe my eyes:

Someone had broken into my house.

They had broken the door and the window.

They had stolen all my money.

They had broken my TV and my computer.

They had emptied my drawers.

They had even eaten the food in the fridge.

Ask them:
Which things happened first? Had those terrible things happened before or after
arriving?
Draw a diagram to make the situation clearer:

Past Perfect Tense

The above situation provides two important prerequisites for the teaching of the past
perfect tense:
1. Contextualizing the past perfect (they had broken into my house, they had
emptied the drawer)
2. Contrasting it with the simple past (when I arrived)
This will help learners notice not only the use but also the form of the tense.
The form
After the students understand the use of the past perfect, elicit the form.
Had + past participle
Ask them to underline the tense in the examples above.
Noticing, discussing and personalizing
To grasp the past perfect, students need to notice and discuss the different uses of
the tense. The past perfect doesnt only refer to an action prior to a past event, but it
is also used to express regret and third conditional sentences.
Here are some activities to teach the tense.
Matching exercise
Match the numbers with the letters
1. I was very tired
2. I didnt want to go to the movies with my
friends
3. They offered me muffins,
4. As soon as she had done her homework,
5. I was interested in the discussion about the
story

a. because I had seen the film already.

b. as I hadnt slept well for several days.
c. but I wasnt hungry because I had just eaten
lunch.
d. because I had read the novel before.
e. she went to bed.

Sentence completion
Another way to help your students use the past perfect is by asking them to
complete sentences like the following:
1. She was late for work because she.. (miss the bus)
2. They talked about the film they.. (see) .

3. She read the letter her husband .. (send) .

4. The teacher was satisfied with the essay he.. (write) .
5. They ate the chicken their mother (cook)
Join sentences
Ask students to join two sentences like the following:
I went to bed. Before that I watched a documentary on TV.
They have to transform it into:
Before I went to bed I had watched a documentary on TV.
Or
After I had watched a documentary on TV I went to bed.
Or
When I had watched a documentary on TV I went to bed.
Here are more examples:
1. I left the house. Before that I had my breakfast.
2. She set up her own business. Before that she studied business management.
3. The association built a school in the poor village. Before that they collected
donations.
Third conditional
Another use of the past perfect is the third conditional. Here is an activity you can try
with your students:
What would have happened if things had been different?
Give a model sentence:
Today I was late because I had missed the bus. I wouldnt have missed the bus if I
had woken up early
Then ask them to complete theses sentences:
1. I would have been the happiest person on earth if I ..
2. He wouldnt have died if they
3. She wouldnt have left him if he
4. They would have finished the project if they
You can also introduce constructions like the following:

Had I known he was mean, I wouldnt have married him.

Had she been able to join them, she wouldnt have stayed at home.

Regrets
Expressing regret is another use of the past perfect tense. Write this example on the
borad:
I didnt pass the exam. I wish I had worked harder.
Then ask them to give examples. You can help with prompts like the following:
1. Start smoking. I wish.
2. Break with a friend. I wish.
3. Move to another town. I wish.
Whats the difference?
Contrasting tenses can be very effective to enhance the use of the past perfect. For
example ask students to discuss the difference between these two sentences:
A. When I arrived they had had dinner.
B. When I arrived they were having dinner.
C. When I arrived they had dinner.
Personalization
After formal practice of the past perfect, you can proceed by personalizing the use of
the tense
What had happened?
What had happened when you arrived home yesterday?
What had you done before you came to school?
Where had you studied before you joined this school?
Great Links for online activities
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pooQp1sjqYc
http://www.teach-this.com/resources/grammar/past-perfect
http://busyteacher.org/10753-3-perfect-ways-introduce-past-perfect-tense.html
http://www.esl-lab.com/grammarquizzes.htm