The Past Perfect 16/17 ep.19
The Past Perfect 16/17 ep.19
In this week's Premier Skills English podcast, Rich and Jack talk about the latest from the Premier League and a return to form for Leicester City and Jamie Vardy. The language focus this week is on the past perfect. We have some examples and activities to help you use the past perfect better when you are speaking and writing. We also have a new football phrase for you to guess and a Premier League prediction for you to make. Enjoy!
How much did you understand?
Vocabulary
In the podcast, Rich and Jack used some words and phrases that might be new for you. You can see two examples here:
Diego Costa grabbed the only goal of the game.
Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick to shock Pep Guardiola's team.
There were a few more tricky words in the podcast. Can you remember all of them? Try the activity below, then, listen to the podcast again to hear how we used the words in context. This can really help with understanding.
Language - The Past Perfect
We use the past perfect when we are talking about the past and want to talk about something else which happened further in the past. We create the past perfect with had + past participle (third form of the verb). Here are a couple of examples from the podcast:
Jamie Vardy hadn't scored for 10 Premier League games before he scored his hat-trick against Manchester City.
Jamie Vardy had never scored a Premier League-hat trick before.
In these examples, the past perfect is being used in the negative. In the first sentence, the action in the past simple is Jamie Vardy scoring his hat-trick. The action before this is Jamie Vardy not scoring for 10 matches, this is further in the past so we use the past perfect to talk about this.
Let's look at another example. In the podcast, we used two sentences in the past simple:
I went to the football stadium at 1300 yesterday.
Jack went to my house at 1400 yesterday.
We can put these two sentences into one and use the past perfect because we are speaking about two different times in the past. Jack went to my house later so this stays in the past simple, but the action that was earlier or further in the past (going to the stadium) changes to the past perfect:
Jack went to my house at 1400 yesterday, but I'd gone to the stadium.
In this activity, match the two phrases to make one sentence. Then, look at each sentence and think about why we use the past perfect.
The Past Perfect - Other Uses
The past perfect is used most often to compare two different times in the past but it can also be used in some other ways. Some of these uses also compare two different times in the past:
- to talk about past wishes (I wish Liverpool had beaten West Ham last week.)
- when we use since to show when something started in the past (It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played there since he was 7.)
- to talk about past conditions (Manchester Utd would have lost if David De Gea hadn't made a brilliant save.)
- to talk about something done many times up to a specific point in the past (He was a fantastic player. He had won the Champions League three times before he retired.)
- to talk about experience up to a point in the past (The goal in last night's match was the best I had ever seen.)
In this activity, take a look at the sentences that use the past perfect and decide why we are using the past perfect in each case.
The Past Perfect - Your Turn
In the podcast, we gave you three sentences to think about. Here are the sentences again. Look at each sentence and decide why we are using the past perfect. Also, one of the sentences can be replaced by the past simple. Which one? If you think you know, let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
- Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season.
- It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was 7 years old.
- Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he came to the UK to play in the Premier League.
Transcript
Welcome to the Premier Skills English Podcast
Rich: Hello my name’s Rich
Jack: and I’m Jack
Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast
Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.
Jack: What’s happening this week Rich?
Rich: In this week’s show, we’re going to talk about all the latest news from last weekend’s Premier League football and we’re going to take a look at the past perfect.
Jack: We also have a new football phrase for you to guess and a Premier League prediction for you to make - we will have all of that, later on.
Latest news
Jack: Let’s start with the Premier League headlines this week.
Rich: Jamie Vardy is back to his best for the Champions.
Jack: Leicester City beat Manchester City 4-2 and Jamie Vardy scored a hat-trick to shock Pep Guardiola’s team. Vardy hadn’t scored for 10 Premier League games but looked like he had been scoring goals all season!
Rich: Costa keeps Chelsea flying high.
Jack: Diego Costa grabbed the only goal of the game as Chelsea beat West Brom. This was Chelsea’s 9th Premier League in a row and they stay top of the table by 3 points.
Rich: Arsenal stay in touch after beating Stoke.
Jack: Arsenal are Chelsea’s closest challengers and beat Stoke City 3-1 at the weekend. It wasn’t easy. Stoke had taken the lead before goals from Walcott, Ozil and Iwobi gave Arsenal victory.
Player of the Week
Rich: There were some great games last weekend and lots of goals. Hull and Palace drew 3-3. Watford, Burnley and Swansea all scored three.
Jack: And some great individual performances, too. Manchester Utd’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan got his first Premier League goal against Spurs, Diego Costa was the difference for Chelsea and Riyad Mahrez was looking good again for Leicester.
Rich: But our Player of the Week this week is another Leicester City player …...Jamie Vardy.
Jack: No competition this week, really. A hat-trick against Man CIty. The only thing I’m surprised about is that Vardy had never scored a Premier League hat-trick before!
Rich: Yes, that is a bit surprising.
Language Focus: Grammar - The Past Perfect
Rich: In the previous section we spoke about Leicester City’s win against Manchester City and Jamie Vardy.
Jack: Rich said ‘Vardy hadn’t scored for 10 Premier League games’ and he later said, ‘Vardy had never scored a Premier League hat-trick before’.
Rich: In both these sentences, Rich is talking about something that happened or didn’t happen before another thing in the past. When we want to speak about one thing that happened in the past before another thing in the past we can use the past perfect.
Jack: We create the past perfect by using had and the third form of the verb or the past participle. The third form of the go is gone. You may have seen verb tables when studying English so you get go - went gone.
Rich: Or be - was/were - been or take took - taken. We’re looking at the third form or the past participle.
Jack: But these examples are all irregular - most verbs end in -ed like played, worked and scored.
RIch: So we get ‘Vardy hadn’t scored for 10 Premier League games’ or ‘Vardy had never scored a Premier League hat-trick before’.
Jack: Let’s look at these ‘Jamie Vardy’ examples now and we’ll look at more examples using irregular verbs in a moment.
Rich: So, we use the past perfect when we want to speak about two things in the past that happened at different times. What are the two things in these Vardy sentences?
Jack: Well, if we take the second example first, ‘Vardy had never scored a hat-trick before’; one of the actions is Vardy scoring a hat-trick. This happened last Saturday - very nice goals, too.
Rich: And the second action?
Jack: The sentence is negative - Vardy hadn’t scored. So, the second action, the thing that is further in the past, is Vardy not scoring a hat-trick.
Rich: So if we look at the other example; ‘Vardy hadn’t scored for 10 Premier League games’ we use the past perfect because he scored on Saturday and the time before that was 10 games ago - back in September I think!
Jack: Yes - in the next section we’re going to look at some more examples.
Sting
Rich: Let’s look at two example sentences in the past. I went to the football stadium at 1’o clock yesterday. Jack went to my house at 2'o clock yesterday.
Jack: Both of these sentences are in the past simple but we can put them together using the past perfect.
Rich: Jack went to my house at two but I had already gone to the football stadium.
Jack: Here we have two actions in the past. We use the past perfect with had gone because this is the action that is earlier or further in the past.
Rich: Let’s take a look at another example: ‘I knew the result because I had seen the match earlier but I watched the highlights anyway’.
Rich: We’re going to give you a few sentences and we want you to think why we use the past perfect. Have a listen and then tell us why we use the past perfect in the comments section.
Jack: All of the sentences are correct but in one sentence it’s not necessary to use the past perfect. Which one is it?
Rich: The first sentence is: Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season.
Jack: The second sentence is: It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was seven years old.
Rich: The third sentence is: Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he played in the Premier League.
Jack: Let us know in the comments section below.
Can you work out this week’s football phrase?
Premier League Prediction
Rich: Last week’s prediction was the match between Manchester Utd and Tottenham. United won 1-0 with a great goal from the Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan. I went for a draw last week so no points for me but more joy for Jack and our listeners who both predicted a win for the Red Devils. That’s one point for Jack who went for 2-0 to United and our listeners who thought it would finish 2-1.
Quiz
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Form
Premier League Prediction -
In Gameweek 19, Liverpool beat Man City 1-0, and our listeners, as well as Rich, predicted the right result! Well done to Aleksandr from Uzbekistan who predicted for our listeners last time! Rich stays on 8 points and our listeners move up to 9 points and second place 8 but Jack stays in the lead on 10 points. Remember, it's one point for the correct result and two additional points for the correct score. The big match this week is in the FA Cup - Preston North End from the Championship take on Premier League Arsenal. Can you predict the right score?
| Gameweek 19 | Total Points | Preston North End v Arsenal | |
| Jack | 0 | 10 | 0-3 |
| Podcast Listeners | 1 | 10 | ? |
| Rich | 1 | 9 | 2-1 |
Make your prediction now!
What do you think?
In this week’s podcast, Jack and Rich spoke about Jamie Vardy and Leicester City.
-
Are you surprised that Leicester are not doing so well this season?
-
Were you surprised that Leicester beat Manchester City 4-2?
-
Were you surprised to hear that Jamie Vardy had gone 10 matches without a goal?
We spoke about the past perfect in the podcast this week. We asked you to think about three different sentences. Can you tell us why we use the past perfect and which one can be replaced by the past simple?
- Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season.
- It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was 7 years old.
- Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he came to the UK to play in the Premier League.
Remember to write your guess at this week's football phrase and the questions above in the comments section below.
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Comments
20/01/2021
points
1-No.I’m not surprised.Because they “sent off” their successful manager Claudio Ranieri when season was going on.
2-Yes I’m surprised. It's like victory of an underdog.
3-Striker’s task is scoring goal(s). It’s abnormal.
PHRASES
The keeper would had been transferred to another team if her/his substitute's leg hadn't broken.
P.S.
There is a cliche “The player who saved the match”. Jamie Vardy is this kind of person for Leicester by scoring sometimes at last minute.
20/01/2021 17:38
Tottenham Hotspur
5558
1-No.I’m not surprised.Because they “sent off” their successful manager Claudio Ranieri when season was going on.
2-Yes I’m surprised. It's like victory of an underdog.
3-Striker’s task is scoring goal(s). It’s abnormal.
PHRASES
The keeper would had been transferred to another team if her/his substitute's leg hadn't broken.
P.S.
There is a cliche “The player who saved the match”. Jamie Vardy is this kind of person for Leicester by scoring sometimes at last minute.
16/05/2020
points
The football phrase for this week is ( shin guards ) or ( shin pads )
16/05/2020 05:53
Manchester United
6539
The football phrase for this week is ( shin guards ) or ( shin pads )
16/05/2020
points
Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season.
We use the past perfect here to talk about experience that happened at some point in the past.
It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was 7 years old.
In this sentence we use the past perfect with since to show when something started in the past.
Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he came to the UK to play in the Premier League.
We use it here to talk about something done many times up to a specific point in the past.
16/05/2020 05:51
Manchester United
6539
Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season.
We use the past perfect here to talk about experience that happened at some point in the past.
It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was 7 years old.
In this sentence we use the past perfect with since to show when something started in the past.
Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he came to the UK to play in the Premier League.
We use it here to talk about something done many times up to a specific point in the past.
16/05/2020
points
Jamie Vardy was on fire last season so going on a goal drought for 10 games had shocked me honestly but luckily he's back with a bang
What a way to be back on track with a Hat-Trick against Manchester City
16/05/2020 05:45
Manchester United
6539
Jamie Vardy was on fire last season so going on a goal drought for 10 games had shocked me honestly but luckily he's back with a bang
What a way to be back on track with a Hat-Trick against Manchester City
16/05/2020
points
Leicester beating Manchester City is always a surprising result and even the match result has added an icing on the cake
16/05/2020 05:43
Manchester United
6539
Leicester beating Manchester City is always a surprising result and even the match result has added an icing on the cake
16/05/2020
points
I am not surprised really about Leicester's performance this season because they have reached the summit and it's really hard to stay there for a long times in addition to the depature of Kante , the most dynamic player of the team , who had left for Chelsea
16/05/2020 05:41
Manchester United
6539
I am not surprised really about Leicester's performance this season because they have reached the summit and it's really hard to stay there for a long times in addition to the depature of Kante , the most dynamic player of the team , who had left for Chelsea
30/03/2019
points
Phrase
stud
30/03/2019 02:29
Chelsea
1749
Phrase
stud
24/12/2016
points
The phrase is a leg protector.
24/12/2016 07:15
Liverpool
3705
The phrase is a leg protector.
24/12/2016
points
Yes i was,i do not know what happened to him this season.
24/12/2016 07:13
Liverpool
3705
Yes i was,i do not know what happened to him this season.
24/12/2016
points
Yes i was,i thought it will be a difficult task for the foxes.
24/12/2016 07:12
Liverpool
3705
Yes i was,i thought it will be a difficult task for the foxes.
24/12/2016
points
Actually,i thought that Leicester will not play for the title this season but i thought they would stay in the top six.so i am a little surprised.
24/12/2016 07:09
Liverpool
3705
Actually,i thought that Leicester will not play for the title this season but i thought they would stay in the top six.so i am a little surprised.
17/12/2016
points
This week's phrase is **** ****.
17/12/2016 23:35
Arsenal
1449
This week's phrase is **** ****.
18/12/2016
points
Well done, Emir! You are correct and welcome to Premier Skills English.
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
18/12/2016 14:44
Liverpool
594
Well done, Emir! You are correct and welcome to Premier Skills English.
Rich - The Premier Skills English Team
17/12/2016
points
yess
17/12/2016 11:21
Arsenal
42
yess
16/12/2016
points
Great
16/12/2016 20:15
Arsenal
52
Great
16/12/2016
points
1. I had discussed with 2 my friends - both Arsenal's fans - the possible Leicester's position after all the 38 matches before the Premier League started. I predicted that Leicester will neither qualify even to the Europa League nor will be relegated. One of my friend bet title winners will qualify to Champions League and another believed that Leicester will be relegated. Meantime, my opinion is the closest to the reality.
2. Of course I was. Suprised, disappointed, furious. I returned to my flat 25 minutes after the match had started and I got hot under the collar when found out a score. Unfortunately, City was far enough from equalizing. However, the absence of sent-off players is the only one thing that I can cheer about.
3. One successful season is not a reason to speak about Jamie Vardy consistency. If he score this season not less than during previous one, I will expect consistency from him from the beginning of next one.
A week phrase is "**** ****", but I agree with all the previous website users that "shin guards" is used more frequently.
16/12/2016 19:23
Manchester City
989
1. I had discussed with 2 my friends - both Arsenal's fans - the possible Leicester's position after all the 38 matches before the Premier League started. I predicted that Leicester will neither qualify even to the Europa League nor will be relegated. One of my friend bet title winners will qualify to Champions League and another believed that Leicester will be relegated. Meantime, my opinion is the closest to the reality.
2. Of course I was. Suprised, disappointed, furious. I returned to my flat 25 minutes after the match had started and I got hot under the collar when found out a score. Unfortunately, City was far enough from equalizing. However, the absence of sent-off players is the only one thing that I can cheer about.
3. One successful season is not a reason to speak about Jamie Vardy consistency. If he score this season not less than during previous one, I will expect consistency from him from the beginning of next one.
A week phrase is "**** ****", but I agree with all the previous website users that "shin guards" is used more frequently.
16/12/2016
points
"It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was 7 years old."
We should use the Past Perfect here because of "since" which points at the point in the past when Stevie began playing for Liverpool until his leaving the club. IMHO
16/12/2016 18:13
Liverpool
6577
"It was difficult for Steven Gerrard to leave Liverpool because he had played for the club since he was 7 years old."
We should use the Past Perfect here because of "since" which points at the point in the past when Stevie began playing for Liverpool until his leaving the club. IMHO
16/12/2016
points
"Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season." By using the Past Perfect here we stress that a non-winning streak PRECEDED their long-awaited victory.
16/12/2016 18:07
Liverpool
6577
"Leicester City had never won the Premier League until they won it last season." By using the Past Perfect here we stress that a non-winning streak PRECEDED their long-awaited victory.
16/12/2016
points
We could also say or write "Yaya Toure played in many countries before he came to the UK to play in the Premier League." because we do not need to stress in this case the precedence of the first action - the fact of Toure playing in many countries before. IMHO
16/12/2016 18:01
Liverpool
6577
We could also say or write "Yaya Toure played in many countries before he came to the UK to play in the Premier League." because we do not need to stress in this case the precedence of the first action - the fact of Toure playing in many countries before. IMHO
16/12/2016
points
You're right. It's unnecessary to use the past perfect in this case as the sequence is clear in the past simple. Even without the word 'before', the context makes it clear.
16/12/2016 19:14
Arsenal
560
You're right. It's unnecessary to use the past perfect in this case as the sequence is clear in the past simple. Even without the word 'before', the context makes it clear.
16/12/2016
points
The football phrase this week is **** ****.
16/12/2016 16:57
Liverpool
6577
The football phrase this week is **** ****.
16/12/2016
points
Well done!
16/12/2016 19:16
Arsenal
560
Well done!
16/12/2016
points
Not only was I surprised when Leicester beat Manchester City 4-2, but also by the hat-trick of Vardy's who had had such a bad run before the match.
16/12/2016 10:57
Liverpool
6577
Not only was I surprised when Leicester beat Manchester City 4-2, but also by the hat-trick of Vardy's who had had such a bad run before the match.
16/12/2016
points
1.I am not surprised about Leicester not doing as good as last year.
2.A great surprise in fact but when Mahrez and Vardy are on touch and mind no defence can stop them.
3. Very pity for Vardy and his fans. He will do better in the future.
The second sentence can be made with simple past.
Football guess, prorect legs.
16/12/2016 07:33
Manchester City
3988
1.I am not surprised about Leicester not doing as good as last year.
2.A great surprise in fact but when Mahrez and Vardy are on touch and mind no defence can stop them.
3. Very pity for Vardy and his fans. He will do better in the future.
The second sentence can be made with simple past.
Football guess, prorect legs.
15/12/2016
points
The phrase is **** ****
15/12/2016 10:36
Arsenal
209
The phrase is **** ****
15/12/2016
points
Unfortunately this week football phrase is not covered by the asterisks in the transcript. So I can only add that the American equivalent ‘**** ******’ is more commonly use internationally, for example, if you want to buy it on Internet retailer web-site your should better look for ‘**** ******’, but not for ‘**** ****’.
15/12/2016 08:59
Watford
4417
Unfortunately this week football phrase is not covered by the asterisks in the transcript. So I can only add that the American equivalent ‘**** ******’ is more commonly use internationally, for example, if you want to buy it on Internet retailer web-site your should better look for ‘**** ******’, but not for ‘**** ****’.
15/12/2016
points
Hi Liubomyr
Oops. Thanks for letting us know. That was a schoolboy error on our part.
Jack
15/12/2016 09:02
Arsenal
560
Hi Liubomyr
Oops. Thanks for letting us know. That was a schoolboy error on our part.
Jack
14/12/2016
points
Yes it is Rich.
9 out of 10 Ghanaians who know the phrase are most likely to mention the 2nd one i used.
14/12/2016 20:37
Manchester United
4779
Yes it is Rich.
9 out of 10 Ghanaians who know the phrase are most likely to mention the 2nd one i used.
14/12/2016
points
Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he played in the Premier League.
In my opinion this phrase would be: Yaya Toure played in many countries before he's playing in the Premier League
On the other hand the week's phrase is **** ****
14/12/2016 18:25
Arsenal
951
Yaya Toure had played in many countries before he played in the Premier League.
In my opinion this phrase would be: Yaya Toure played in many countries before he's playing in the Premier League
On the other hand the week's phrase is **** ****
14/12/2016
points
This week's phrase is **** ****
In my country most footballers call it **** ******
14/12/2016 14:23
Manchester United
4779
This week's phrase is **** ****
In my country most footballers call it **** ******
14/12/2016
points
Nice one, Kwesimanifest, you're the first to get the right answer this week. I think the second term is used more in the US and the first one in the UK. It's interesting that in Ghana the American word is used more. Is that usually the case?
14/12/2016 15:54
Liverpool
594
Nice one, Kwesimanifest, you're the first to get the right answer this week. I think the second term is used more in the US and the first one in the UK. It's interesting that in Ghana the American word is used more. Is that usually the case?
14/12/2016
points
I was not so surprised because I knew they'll have to start winning soon. I don't know why is Vardy struggling with scoring goals this season but I'm glad he had scored a hat trick against City. He had gone 10 matches without a goal but now he finally started a winning streak. Many Leicester players will have to play on the African Cup of Nations. That means he'll be a key player in the upcoming matches in January.
14/12/2016 13:52
Arsenal
3557
I was not so surprised because I knew they'll have to start winning soon. I don't know why is Vardy struggling with scoring goals this season but I'm glad he had scored a hat trick against City. He had gone 10 matches without a goal but now he finally started a winning streak. Many Leicester players will have to play on the African Cup of Nations. That means he'll be a key player in the upcoming matches in January.
14/12/2016
points
I am not surprised that Leicester is not defending the title but I didn't expect to see them in the lower part of the table. Still, they made big success in the CL. Now they'll have to eliminate Sevilla if they want to advance to the 1/4 final.
14/12/2016 13:47
Arsenal
3557
I am not surprised that Leicester is not defending the title but I didn't expect to see them in the lower part of the table. Still, they made big success in the CL. Now they'll have to eliminate Sevilla if they want to advance to the 1/4 final.
14/12/2016
points
That Leicester-Sevilla tie is a very interesting one. I think Leicester could win and then, in the quarter-finals, anything could happen! On the other hand, Sevilla were fantastic against Liverpool in the Europa Final last season. It's a very difficult match to predict. Do you have any Champions League predictions?
14/12/2016 15:57
Liverpool
594
That Leicester-Sevilla tie is a very interesting one. I think Leicester could win and then, in the quarter-finals, anything could happen! On the other hand, Sevilla were fantastic against Liverpool in the Europa Final last season. It's a very difficult match to predict. Do you have any Champions League predictions?
14/12/2016
points
Well, Man.City probably won't have difficult task against Monaco but Arsenal and Leicester will have to find that moment of inspiration. Anyway, Arsenal and Bayern know each other's weaknesses so anything is in the game..Hard to predict these matches Rich..
14/12/2016 18:43
Arsenal
3557
Well, Man.City probably won't have difficult task against Monaco but Arsenal and Leicester will have to find that moment of inspiration. Anyway, Arsenal and Bayern know each other's weaknesses so anything is in the game..Hard to predict these matches Rich..