Mark the text below using different colors marker / stabilo, some verbs that usually used in Simple Past Tense (V2) and Present Perfect Tense (V3)!
Joining the Traditional Dance Competition
I joined the Traditional Dance Competition in Jakarta last year. I represented my Junior High School. It was my biggest competition. I practiced hard with my teacher for a month. We also prepared the best costume we had.
We only had one day in Jakarta. We went there by plane. We left at 6 a.m. and arrived in Jakarta at 7 a.m. We took a taxi to take us to the place where the competition was held. It took an hour to get there. There were already some participants when we arrived. The competition would start in an hour.
First, my teacher and I went to the dressing room. My teacher helped me do the make-up and the costume. We spent almost an hour for the preparation. I told my teacher that I was really nervous. I was not ready for this. However, she told me that everything was alright, and I felt better.
Then, the time came for me to perform on stage. There were five judges and about two hundred people watching me. However, I did not feel nervous anymore. I performed on the stage confidently. I really did the best I could. I was glad when it ended smoothly.
After that, we waited for the announcement of the result. It was 4 p.m. when the judges finished making their final decision. I was so impatient to hear the result. I still could not believe when they called my name as the first winner. I was so happy to be given the trophy. My teacher was also proud of my achievement. Finally, we went back to Yogyakarta in the evening. We were so tired. However, we were satisfied because our effort was not useless.
Answers
Answer:
Examples of the Present Simple
The sun sets in the west.
We produce lasers for cosmetic surgery.
They move into their new home next week.
So, I go to Mr. D and say “I deserve a better mark in this class”.
Jones stops in mid-court and passes the ball to Schuster.
Explanation:
Any action or an event that started in the recent past and express idea of completion or occurence, in relation to another event, without an exact time of its completion is in the past perfect tense.
Past perfect is also used for actions completed in the recent past, not a very long time ago.
The past perfect tense form of a verb has two parts:
The past tense form of ‘to be’ – known as helping verb or auxillary verb
Past participle form of the main verb.
The structure of the sentence:
Affirmative sentences:-
Subject + helping verb + main verb + object
subject+ had + main verb (in past participle form) + object
Example: Farah had completed her homework.
In case of two events one happening after the other:
Subject + helping verb + (event 1) main verb (past participle form) + link + object + (event 2) main verb (in simple past form)
Example: The sun had set before the party started.
Note that here two events are described
Event 1: The sun set (in past perfect tense)
Event 2: The party began (in simple past tense)
Linking these events: before
Interrogative sentences:-
Helping verb + subject + main verb + object
Have/has + subject + participle form of main verb + object
Example: Had Farah completed her homework?
Negative sentences:-
Subject + helping verb + NOT – main verb + object
Subject + had NOT + participle form of main verb = object
Example: Farah had not completed her homework.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, all learners will be able to
Use auxiliary (helping) verbs with the past participle form of the base verb.
Distinguish between usage of simple past and past perfect forms of verbs.
Use verbs in past perfect tense in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences.
Arrange the words in the proper order to form good sentence structure.
Quick Read
The paragraph given below describes Madhavi’s experieces at a mall. The actions in this paragraph relate to two events that had taken place one before the other, but at a time in the past. Read carefully and note the usage of past perfect tense in the passage.
Last weekend, Madhavi and her friends had been to the newly opened mall. They all had finished their work before they went. They had never been to this mall before. Each time they had planned, some other work came up. They had to cancel their plans. They had never imagined that a get-together and outing of this kind would be so much fun. Madhavi and Roopali had already selected a beautiful dress to buy. They liked this dress as soon as they had entered the mall. Amit and Jay had agreed to buy pizzas for all of them. They had ordered for fresh, cheezy pizzas, even before the others finished their shopping. By the time they left the mall, they had seen amazing displays in each of the shops. They were exhausted because they had walked through the complete mall. No body they knew had been to the new mall till that day. They felt lucky.
Past perfect tense is used
When we mention two events happened sometime in the past, one before the other. The earlier action is in the past perfect tense form while the later action is in simple past.
Example: They had ordered for fresh, cheezy pizzas, even before the others finished their shopping. They were exhausted because they had walked through the complete mall.
In both the above sentences, there are two distinct actions taking place, both in the past – ordering the pizza and walking through the mall happened before finishing shopping and feeling exhausted. So, actions that took place first – are in the past perfect tense and the actions that took place later are in simple past tense.
When there is a mention of an action completed in the past.
Example: Last weekend, Madhavi and her friends had been to the newly opened mall. They had never been to this mall before.
In both these examples, there is a mention of some action that took place some time in the past – words like last weekend, before are an indication of completion of the action.