Lección 20 - Past Perfect Tense
In this lesson you'll learn how to use the past perfect tense. Plenty of examples are given to show you how to use the past perfect tense. You'll also learn the past participles of more common English verbs.
A conversation is also included between two friends, who talk about the first day on a job.
Anuncio
Conversaciones
English
Mark has just finished the first day at his new job. His friend Eric works a few blocks away, and they've met up at local café.
Eric: How was the first day at your new job?
Mark: Well, I had just arrived at the office, when I realized I had left my wallet at home. I went back home to get it, and by the time I was back at the office, I was 20 minutes late.
Eric: Oh no! Did it cause a problem?
Mark: No, but wasn't a good way to start my first day.
Eric: What happened next?
Mark: I introduced myself to the receptionist, then after a few minutes Susan arrived. She is one of the people who sat in on the interview. She took me around and introduced me to the people I'll be working with.
Eric: Had you met any of the people that you'll be working with before?
Mark: Yes. I had met Mike already at a friend's wedding, but I don't know him very well.
Eric: Did they put you to work right away?
Mark: No. Susan brought me to my desk and gave me a lot of documents to read.
Eric: I remember when I first started my job last year. I was very nervous, but it felt like starting on a new adventure as well.
Español
Mark acaba de terminar el primer día en su nuevo trabajo. Su amigo Eric trabaja a pocas cuadras de distancia, y se han reunido en el café local.
Eric: ¿Cómo fue el primer día en su nuevo trabajo?
Mark: Bueno, acababa de llegar a la oficina, cuando me di cuenta de que había dejado mi billetera en casa. Regresé a casa para conseguirlo, y cuando regresé a la oficina, llegué 20 minutos tarde.
Eric: ¡Oh, no! ¿Causó un problema?
Mark: No, pero no fue una buena manera de comenzar mi primer día.
Eric: ¿Qué pasó después?
Mark: Me presenté a la recepcionista, luego, después de unos minutos, Susan llegó. Ella es una de las personas que se sentó en la entrevista. Ella me llevó y me presentó a las personas con las que trabajaría.
Eric: ¿Había conocido a alguna de las personas con las que estarás trabajando antes?
Mark: Sí. Ya conocí a Mike en la boda de un amigo, pero no lo conozco muy bien.
Eric: ¿Te pusieron a trabajar de inmediato?
Mark: No. Susan me trajo a mi escritorio y me dio muchos documentos para leer.
Eric: Recuerdo cuando comencé mi trabajo el año pasado. Estaba muy nervioso, pero también me pareció comenzar con una nueva aventura.
Vocabulario y Frases
| I had just arrived at the office | Acababa de llegar |
| I had left my wallet | Me había dejado la billetera |
| Did it cause a problem? | ¿Causó un problema? |
| receptionist | recepcionista |
| interview | entrevista |
| a friend's wedding | la boda de un amigo |
| Did they put you to work right away? | ¿Te pusieron a trabajar? |
| desk | escritorio |
| documents | documentos |
| adventure | aventura |
Gramática
More Past Participles
Like the present perfect tense, the past perfect tense also uses past participles. The following table shows the past tense and past participle of some more common verbs.
| Verb | Past Tense | Past Participle | Español |
|---|---|---|---|
| be | was | been | estar, ser |
| begin | began | begun | empezar |
| believe | believed | believed | creer |
| break | broke | broken | romper |
| choose | chose | chosen | elegir |
| close | closed | closed | cerrar |
| come | came | come | venir |
| do | did | done | hacer |
| drink | drank | drunk | beber |
| eat | ate | eaten | comer |
| enjoy | enjoyed | enjoyed | disfrutar de |
| fall | fell | fallen | caer |
| feel | felt | felt | sentir |
| find | found | found | encontrar |
| fly | flew | flown | volar |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | olvidar |
| give | gave | given | dar |
| go | went | gone | ir |
| happen | happened | happened | ocurrir |
| have | had | had | tener |
| know | knew | known | saber, conocer |
| learn | learned | learned | aprender |
| let | let | let | dejar |
| like | liked | liked | gustar |
| live | lived | lived | vivir |
| need | needed | needed | necesitar |
| open | opened | opened | abrir |
| run | ran | run | correr |
| say | said | said | decir |
| see | saw | seen | ver |
| sit | sat | sat | sentar, sentarse |
| sleep | slept | slept | dormir |
| speak | spoke | spoken | hablar |
| stand | stood | stood | quedarse |
| take | took | taken | tomar, llevar, aceptar |
| talk | talked | talked | hablar |
| teach | taught | taught | enseñar |
| tell | told | told | decir, informar |
| think | thought | thought | pensar |
| touch | touched | touched | tocar |
| turn | turned | turned | girar |
| walk | walked | walked | andar, caminar |
| want | wanted | wanted | querer |
| wish | wished | wished | desear, querer |
| write | wrote | written | escribir |
Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is used to indicate that an event happened before another event, or before a specific date in the past.
The past perfect tense is formed using the past participle of a verb along with the simple past tense of the verb have. The following table shows the past perfect tense of the verb walk.
| Past Perfect Tense | |
|---|---|
| I had walked | yo había caminado |
| you had walked | tú habías caminado |
| he had walked | él había caminado |
| she had walked | ella había caminado |
| it had walked | había caminado |
| we had walked | nosotros habíamos caminado |
| they had walked | habían caminado |
Ejemplos
| I had already left when you arrived. | Ya me había ido cuando llegaste. |
| I planned to wash the dishes, but somebody had already washed them. | Planeaba lavar los platos, pero alguien ya los había lavado. |
| She had already learned French before she started to learn Spanish. | Ella ya había aprendido francés antes de comenzar a aprender español. |
| We had come home before it started to rain. | Habíamos llegado a casa antes de que empezara a llover. |
| They had studied for the exam before writing it. | Habían estudiado para el examen antes de escribirlo. |
| Had he locked the door when he left work? | ¿Había cerrado la puerta cuando salió del trabajo? |
| He had forgotten to lock the door when he left for work. | Se había olvidado de cerrar la puerta cuando se fue al trabajo. |
| He had not locked the door before he left for work. | No había cerrado la puerta antes de irse a trabajar. |
| Had the car needed a new engine when you bought it? | ¿Necesitaba el automóvil un motor nuevo cuando lo compró? |
| Had you read the books before you gave them to me? | ¿Había leído los libros antes de dármelos? |
| She had just gotten home when they arrived. | ¿Acababa de llegar a casa cuando llegaron? |
| I wanted to watch the movie, but they had already seen it. | Quería ver la película, pero ya la habían visto. |
| It hadn't happened until last week. | No había sucedido hasta la semana pasada. |
Flashcards
Aquí hay algunas tarjetas para ayudarte a aprender el tiempo pasado perfecto. Para cada flashcard, cambia el verbo en el pretérito al pasado perfecto.
Examen
En el examen de esta lección, practicas el uso del tiempo pasado perfecto. Puedes responder el examen tantas veces como quieras. Tu puntaje más alto se guardará.
