Simple Past and Past Perfect
Complete this story by Julius Lester. Choose the correct forms of the words
given in the brackets.
Brer Rabbit (a) ________ (decidedI had decided) gardening was too much hard work. So he (b) ________ (had gone/went) back to his old ways of eating from everybody else’s garden. Earlier, he (c)________ (made/had made) a tour through the community to see what everybody (d)________ (had been/was) planting that summer and his eye (e) ________ (was/had been) caught by Brer Fox’s peanut patch.
That night Brer Rabbit (l) _______ (came/had come) down to the peanut patch. He climbed through the hole and WHOOSH ! Next thing he (m) _______ (had known/knew), he was hanging in the air upside down. There (n) ________ (wasn’t/hadn’t been) a thing he could do, so he made himself comfortable to catch a little sleep!
Answer the following questions based on the story you have read.
(a) What had Brer Rabbit found out?
(b) What did he do when the plants grew?
(c) How did he enter Brer Fox's peanut patch?
(d) Brer Fox had an idea of who was stealing from his patch. What did he do to trap
Brer Rabbit?
You must have used the simple past tense and past perfect tense in your
answer. Do you know most often, when you use the past perfect, you use it with
the (simple) past?
Study the sentences from the story and write whether (a) the action happened
before the action mentioned in the simple past tense, or (b) an action happened
after the action mentioned in the past perfect tense.
(e.g.) Brer Rabbit had decided _(a)_ gardening was _(b)_too much for him. So,
he went __ back to his old ways. Earlier, he had made __ a tour through
the community to see what everybody had been __ planting that summer
and his eye was __ caught by Brer Fox's peanut patch.
Solution
(A) Brer Rabbit (a) had decided (decidedI had decided) gardening was too much hard work. So he (b) went (had gone/went) back to his old ways of eating from everybody else’s garden. Earlier, he (c) had made (made/had made) a tour through the community to see what everybody (d) had been (had been/was) planting that summer and his eye (e) had been (was/had been) caught by Brer Fox’s peanut patch.
That night Brer Rabbit (l) came (came/had come) down to the peanut patch. He climbed through the hole and WHOOSH ! Next thing he (m) knew (had known/knew), he was hanging in the air upside down. There (n) wasn't (wasn’t/hadn’t been) a thing he could do, so he made himself comfortable to catch a little sleep!
(B) Answer the following questions based on the story you have read. (ANSWER)
(a) Brer Rabbit had found out that gardening was too much hard work.
(b) He ate peanuts to his fill.
(c) He entered Brer Fox’s peanut patch through a small hole in the fence.
(d) Brer Fox inspected his fence and found a small hole on the north side. He tied a rope with a loop knot and put it inside the hole. If anybody stepped into it, the rope would grab his leg and hoist him up in the air.
(C) (a) decided / had decided This action takes place before the one given in (b) here.
(b) had gone / went — do —
(c) made / had made This action takes place before those given in (a), (b) above.
(d) had been / was — do —
(e) was / had been — do —
(f) had been / were Action in (f) takes place before the action in (g).
(g) decided / had decided — do —
(h) had eaten / ate This action takes place after the actions shown in (f) and (g) above.
(i) had / had had Action shown in (i) takes place before the action in (j)
(j) had found / found — do —
(k) stepped / had stepped The action shown in (k) takes place after the action given in (i) and (j).
(l) came / had come This action takes place after those given under (i), (j) and (k).
(m) had known / knew This action takes place after the actions under (k) and (l).
(n) wasn’t / hadn’t been This action also takes place after those given above.
Notes
Usually the action shown in Past Perfect Tense occurs before the action shown in Simple Past Tense occurs.
