Past Perfect Tense — Exercise 4 (Q&A with Solution’s Explanation and Vocabulary Builder, Learn English)
This practice test trains you to recognize and use the Past Perfect Tense (had + verb 3rd form) in real contexts. Each question includes the correct past-perfect form, a short verb definition (vocabulary builder + POS notes), and detailed one-sentence explanations for every option (A–D) that tell why the option is correct or incorrect and what choosing it would mean. Practice, prepare and improve both English grammar and vocabulary.
English Grammar Definition: Past Perfect (had + past participle form)
- Form: had + past participle (Verb 3rd form).
- Examples: She had finished; They had gone; Had you seen it before?
- Main uses:
- An action completed before another past action or past time.
- To show the earlier of two past events in a narrative.
- Signal words: already, by the time, before, after, until, when, prior to.
- Negatives / Questions: had not (hadn’t) + V3; Had + subject + V3?
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Quiz Instructions
- Read each question and choose the best answer out of four given options.
- On top, header section of the quiz, you will see the “title of the quiz,’ ‘spending-time,’ ‘value of question in points,’ and ‘number of questions.”
- Below on footer, you will see Full Screen mode. As the name suggests, it covers the whole screen. It will save a lot of your time attempting the quiz.
- You can zoom the images given in the questions.
- After submitting the quiz, you can see your score and compare with other users.
- The Full Leaderboard link will take you to a page, where you can see all users attempts.
- Below the quiz box, there are explanation of each options. You can study and try again.
- Best of Luck!
Quiz Question, Answer and Explanation
Note: Do remember in the quiz box above, the questions and options will shuffle, so they won’t have the same sequence like 1, 2, 3, or A, B, C as below.
1. They __ the critical patch before rolling it out to production.
A) tested B) had tested C) have tested D) were testing
Verb: test — verb. To run checks to validate behaviour; test (noun).
Correct: B) had tested
B) Correct: Past perfect — testing finished prior to rollout.
A) Wrong: Past simple — not explicit about order.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong sequence.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — suggests testing was ongoing.
2. By the time the press asked, they __ a public response.
A) prepared B) had prepared C) have prepared D) were preparing
Verb: prepare — verb. To make ready; preparation (noun).
Correct: B) had prepared
B) Correct: Past perfect — response ready before press enquiry.
A) Wrong: Past simple — doesn’t specify precedence.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong temporal relation.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — implies composing was ongoing.
3. He __ the regulatory checklist before filing the return.
A) completed B) had completed C) has completed D) was completing
Verb: complete — verb. To finish something; completion (noun).
Correct: B) had completed
B) Correct: Past perfect — checklist done before filing.
A) Wrong: Past simple — neutral; not explicit about earlier action.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong nuance.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — ongoing, not prior completion.
4. They __ legacy connections before the cutover.
A) terminated B) had terminated C) have terminated D) were terminating
Verb: terminate — verb. To end or stop; termination (noun).
Correct: B) had terminated
B) Correct: Past perfect — indicates termination was complete ahead of cutover.
A) Wrong: Past simple — neutral past, not showing it occurred prior to cutover.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — not the right temporal marker.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — process, not completed before cutover.
5. By the time QA started, devs __ the regression test suite.
A) updated B) had updated C) have updated D) were updating
Verb: update — verb. To make something more current; update (noun).
Correct: B) had updated
B) Correct: Past perfect — the suite was updated before QA began.
A) Wrong: Past simple — does not clarify prior completion.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong nuance.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — implies updates ongoing.
6. She __ the consent forms before the study commenced.
A) collected B) had collected C) has collected D) was collecting
Verb: collect — verb. To gather items or information; collection (noun).
Correct: B) had collected
B) Correct: Past perfect — forms gathered before study start.
A) Wrong: Past simple — neutral past, not explicitly prior.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong sequence.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — implies ongoing gathering.
7. They __ the dependencies and then initiated the build.
A) resolved B) had resolved C) have resolved D) were resolving
Verb: resolve — verb. To find a solution to a problem; resolution (noun).
Correct: B) had resolved
B) Correct: Past perfect — resolution completed prior to build initiation.
A) Wrong: Past simple — doesn’t show that resolution preceded the build.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong temporal relation.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — indicates resolving in progress.
8. By the time the vendor responded, we __ substitute parts.
A) ordered B) had ordered C) have ordered D) were ordering
Verb: order — verb. To request goods or services; order (noun).
Correct: B) had ordered
B) Correct: Past perfect — orders were placed before vendor reply.
A) Wrong: Past simple — neutral past, not indicating sequence.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — wrong nuance.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — implies ordering in progress.
9. They __ the credentials before the incident report was filed.
A) revoked B) had revoked C) have revoked D) were revoking
Verb: revoke — verb. To officially cancel or withdraw; revocation (noun).
Correct: B) had revoked
B) Correct: Past perfect — shows revocation occurred prior to report filing.
A) Wrong: Past simple — doesn’t emphasise it was done earlier.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — not the right sequence.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — suggests revocation ongoing at the time.
10. By the time the manager called, the trainee __ the checklist twice.
A) completed B) had completed C) has completed D) was completing
Verb: complete — verb. To finish; completion (noun).
Correct: B) had completed
B) Correct: Past perfect — indicates both completions happened prior to the call.
A) Wrong: Past simple — neutral past, not showing it happened before the call.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — not the intended sequence marker.
D) Wrong: Past continuous — indicates action in progress.
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