A selection of English ESL past perfect tense printables

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

I designed this to help students understand how past perfect works. Not only must they conjugate the verb correctly, but they identify the 2 events in the sentence and which happened first and which happened second. This helps them to understand when to use the past perfect tense and when to use the past simple. Hope you can use it!

Past Perfect tense, broken down

The ss have to fill in the sentences with the correct form (past perfect) of the appropriate verb, and then match the sentences to the pictures. The pics are from Philip Martin. Thanks for his generosity. Hope you find it useful. Have a great day. Hugs, Zsuzsapszi

Past Perfect Tense * upper-elementary * fully editable * with key

Now the ss have to choose whether they have to use past simple or past perfect in the sentences and also the appropriate verb, and finally they have to match the sentences to the pictures. Since there are two verbs missing in each sentence the negative verbs are given with this sign:(-).The background is from http://www.cutecolors.com/ Hope you find it useful. Have a great day. Hugs, Zsuzsapszi

Simple past and past perfect tense * fully editable * with key

This A2-level worksheet focuses on the past perfect tense, using the context of sports legends who passed away too early. Students will read about iconic athletes like Johnny Gaudreau, Kobe Bryant, and Diego Maradona, while learning how to form and use the past perfect to describe accomplishments before a specific event in the past. The worksheet includes comprehension questions, a detailed grammar explanation, common mistakes, and practice exercises to reinforce understanding. A task-based writing activity encourages students to use the past perfect in a meaningful context by writing short biographies of famous athletes. Perfect for reading comprehension and grammar integration.

Sports Icons Who Passed Away Too Early: past perfect tense

Students learn about the difference between the Simple past, and past Perfect tenses. There are examples of each. Both are explained in English and Korean. Students make 6 sentences.

The Difference between Simple past, and Past Perfect tense. An Explanation. Korean translations

This is one of the 'top' google search verb tense mind maps.  All Past Tenses are shown in an easy to follow, colour associated, hierarchic mind map.  It couldn't be more simple.  All active and passive forms are shown on one page.  A hit on 'like' or a thank you would be highly appreciated.  

ALL PAST TENSES - active and passive - mind map 

A few exercises to practice the difference between the simple past and the present perfect tense. Answers included 0:)

Past simple Vs. Present Perfect

It is often difficult for students to realize which form of a verb should be used.  Visualizing verb types (simple, continuous/perfect on a time-line can make understanding which verb to use a little easier.  I use a time-line made of wood (similar to the design) in my lessons.  It seems to make the explanation easier to understand. 

USING A TIME-LINE TO FIND  THE CORRECT VERB FORM

Talking about past experiences using present perfect tense. The students are expected to fill in empty scenes of a movie strip to see what they have done so far in their lives and then to plan for the next one by writing what they have never done before. You can use this worksheet to practice "ever/never" in present perfect tense.

Present Perfect- The Movie of Your Life

Exercises about present simple, present continuous, past simple, past continuous, comparatives, superlatives, present perfect, future, past simple passive and some topics to express oneself.

Advanced exercises

Excellent worksheet to practice Present Continuous and Past simple. I used it with my secondary students and with my adult students. They liked it a lot! Everyone loves Ed Sheeran. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vv-BfVoq4g

Perfect - Ed Sheeran - Present Continuous & Past Simple

This is a worksheet I have prepared for my low secondary school students struggling with simple past of irregular verbs. They are simply asked to complete the lyrics with the simple past of the verbs in brackets. The aim of the activity is to activate their prior schemata or, if not, their listening skills.

At the end of the first activity, the students will complete the table with all the verbs they met in the song, and will keep the table for future lessons adding other verbs.

A follow-up activity can include writing an interview for the singer with questions that has answers in the text: e.g. "What did you find?" ---> "I found a love for me"



1,037 Past perfect tense English ESL worksheets pdf & doc