English Grammar in Use · Murphy

Intermediate Grammar

Master English grammar one unit at a time. Clear notes, then 40+ interactive exercises with instant feedback – based on the topics in English Grammar in Use (Intermediate).

UNIT 1

Continuous or simple?

Present perfect cont.

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UNIT 10

Perfect: cont. or simple?

Future: present tenses

Future: will / going to

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UNIT 24

Future cont. & perfect

Must / mustn’t / needn’t

Had better / It’s time

If I knew / I wish I knew

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UNIT 40

If I had known / I wish I had known

Verb + -ing or to … 1

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UNIT 57

Verb + -ing or to … 2

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UNIT 15 · Intermediate · B1–B2

Past Perfect“I had done” – 44 interactive questions

Correct answers

🎉 Brilliant! You finished all 44 questions of Unit 15!

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Video lesson – coming soon

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📖 Grammar Reference – Past Perfect

Study the notes, then work through the six exercises.

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What you’ll learnPast perfect (had + done) for the earlier past in storytelling

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~20 min4-Tier notes + 4 exercises (15.1–15.4)

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24 questionsInstant automated feedback

1 Tier 1 – The Concept & Nuance: The “Past of the Past”

When looking back from a point in the past to an action that happened even earlier, use the past perfect (had + past participle).

⏪ Sequence of Events

– “When Sarah arrived at the party, Eric had already gone home.” (Eric left before Sarah arrived).
– “I didn’t know who she was. I had never seen her before.”

💡 Past Reason / State

– “Karen didn’t want to go to the cinema because she had already seen the film.”

2 Tier 2 – Past Simple vs Past Perfect

When we arrived, the train left.	The train departed at the moment or right after we arrived (we might have caught it).
When we arrived, the train had left.	The train departed before our arrival (we missed it).

3 Tier 3 – Top 3 Common Learner Pitfalls

✗ ~~When I got to the airport, I realised I forgot my passport.~~

✓ When I got to the airport, I realised I had forgotten my passport.

– Rule: The earlier past action (forgetting passport) requires the past perfect.

✗ ~~The house was very quiet because everybody went to bed.~~

✓ The house was very quiet because everybody had gone to bed.

– Rule: The cause of a past situation uses the past perfect.

✗ ~~I had lived in Paris in 2018.~~ (isolated simple event)

✓ I lived in Paris in 2018.

– Rule: Do not use past perfect for an isolated past fact when no second past event is involved.

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Tier 4 – Interactive Practice: Work through Exercises 15.1–15.4 below with instant scoring!

Made with care for English learners · allenglish4u.com
Original practice material inspired by the English Grammar in Use syllabus (Cambridge University Press). Example sentences and exercises are written by All English 4U.