To decide whether to use the Past Simple or Past Perfect tense, it's important to consider the sequence of events and whether one event occurred before another in the past. Here's how you can correctly use these tenses in the given sentences:
When I got to the party, it had already started.
- Past Simple (got) because it's a single completed action; Past Perfect (had started) because it refers to an action that was completed before another past action.
I had just sat down when Rick asked me to dance.
- Past Perfect (had sat) to show that sitting down happened just before another action in the past; Past Simple (asked) since it follows the previous action.
After Juliet arrived at the hotel, she had a bath.
- Past Simple (arrived) for the action that happened first; Past Simple (had) as it follows directly after arriving.
When they left the restaurant, it began raining.
- Past Simple (left) and Past Simple (began) as both actions are sequential in the past.
Jack gave up drinking because he had had so many accidents.
- Past Simple (gave) for a decision made in the past; Past Perfect (had had) to show that the accidents happened before the decision.
By the time they reached the shop, it had already closed.
- Past Simple (reached) for reaching the shop; Past Perfect (had closed) to indicate the shop was closed before they reached it.
When they got married, they had known each other for ten years.
- Past Simple (got) for the action of getting married; Past Perfect (had known) to show the duration of their acquaintance before getting married.
My sister looked very tired because she had slept badly.
- Past Simple (looked) since it describes her state at a specific time; Past Perfect (had slept) as it explains the reason for her tiredness, occurring before the moment described.
Larry said they had been engaged for ten months.
- Past Simple (said) to indicate the act of saying; Past Perfect (had been) to show the duration of engagement before the moment he spoke.
Although Madge hadn't learned to ski until she was 11, by her 19th birthday she had already won two World Cup races.
- Past Perfect (hadn't learned) to reflect a condition that persisted up to a certain point in the past; Past Simple (was) as a state; Past Perfect (had already won) to show achievements completed before another time in the past.
Jill was upset because Stephen hadn't called her.
- Past Simple (was) to describe her condition; Past Perfect (hadn't called) because his not calling occurred before her being upset.
Nobody came to Mark's party because he had forgotten to send the invitation cards.
- Past Simple (came) to describe the event; Past Perfect (had forgotten) because the forgetting occurred before the party.
Last month my parents bought a new computer for me.
- Past Simple (bought) as it is a single completed action in the past.
Jenny walked for 20 minutes and then suddenly burst into tears.
- Past Simple (walked) and Past Simple (burst) both describe sequential actions in the past.
Roger was not sure he had shut the door before leaving.
- Past Perfect (had shut) to indicate the possibility that shutting the door happened before leaving.
In summary, Past Simple is used for actions completed at a specific time in the past, while Past Perfect is used to emphasize that one past action happened before another.
