Pre-Intermediate · Grammar Reference
Unit 9 — Past Perfect & Linking
past perfect · conjunctions · so/such
9.1 Past Perfect
Form
had + past participle (for all subjects)
| + | – | ? |
|---|
| all subjects | had finished | hadn't finished | Had you finished? |
Use
- Action that happened before another past action or time:
- When I arrived, the film had already started.
- She was happy because she had passed her exam.
📌 Note
Use the Past Perfect for the
earlier action and Past Simple for the
later action.
9.2 Joining words (conjunctions)
| Word | Use | Example |
|---|
| and | addition | She sings and dances. |
| but | contrast | I called but he didn't answer. |
| or | alternative | Tea or coffee? |
| because | reason | I was tired because I worked late. |
| so | result | It was cold, so I put on a coat. |
| although / though | contrast | Although it was late, she kept working. |
| when | time | When I got home, dinner was ready. |
| while | simultaneous actions | I read while she cooked. |
9.3 so / such / so many / so much
| Structure | Example |
|---|
| so + adjective/adverb | It was so cold. She speaks so quickly. |
| such (a) + (adj +) noun | It was such a long film. She has such energy. |
| so many + countable plural | There were so many people. |
| so much + uncountable | I had so much fun. |
📌 Note
Both
so and
such can be followed by
that to show result:
It was so cold that the river froze. / It was such a cold day that we stayed in.