1. Uses of had.

The verb had has five uses.

A. The past form or past participle of the verbs have and have got.

  • When I was a student I had plenty of time to travel. I've never had much time to travel since then.

B. The past form of have to, used with the infinitive to talk about obligation in the past.

  • We had to get a permit to go trekking in Nepal.

C. An auxiliary used to form the past perfect to talk about the "past before the past" in a narrative.

  • When I got to the station I realised I had left the train ticket at the hotel.

D. An auxiliary used to form the past perfect to talk about a hypothetical situation in the past.

  • If I had taken more money with me I would have stayed in America for another month.

E. The past form of have, have got and have to refer to a hypothetical situation in the present or future.

  • I wish I had a better sleeping bag – I was really cold last night.

 

Match the example of had in each sentence to its use.

2. Negation.

Make the phrases in bold in the following sentences negative. Remember to include punctuation.

For example:
I had to see the doctor.
I didn't have to see the doctor.

We had forgotten our passports.
We hadn't forgotten our passports.

3. Review: Negation.

Can you remember? Make the sentences negative in the same way as in the previous exercise. Say and record the complete sentences.

4. Rephrasing.

Use the word in bold to complete the second sentence so that it is similar in meaning to the first sentence.

For example:

There was an excellent view from their hotel room. (they)
______ an excellent view from their hotel room.
They had an excellent view from their hotel room.

 

5. Verbs that are often followed by the past perfect.

 

Some verbs can be used in the past form to talk about the moment when you discover or understand something that happened before. When used in this way, these verbs are often followed by a past perfect phrase.
  • When we went to pay we discovered we had left the credit card at the garage.

Choose the correct ending for each of the sentences.

6. Verbs that are often followed by the past perfect.

Here are the sentences from exercise 4 again. Write one to three words or contractions in each box to complete them.

7. Verbs that are often followed by the past perfect.

Here are the sentences again. Write the missing words or contractions in each space.

8. Talking about frustrated plans.

Which ending for the sentence sounds more natural, (a) or (b)?

Go to the Grammar Reference and learn about other expressions like meant to before doing the next exercise.


Put the words in the right order.

9. Talking about frustrated plans.

Here are the sentences from the previous exercise. Can you complete them using the word given without looking back?