ADVANCED VERB FORMS EXERCISE 1: PAST PERFECT IN REPORTED THOUGHT (ESL)
level: Upper-Intermediate/Advanced (B2/C1)
✓ Useful for IELTS
✓ Useful for Cambridge B2/C1
This exercise targets past perfect forms, including passive and double-auxiliary forms like “had had”, inside reported thought: sentences like “We decided that he had had enough” or “They believed the money had been stolen.” Every sentence here has exactly one correct structure, forced by its subject and object. No modal guesswork involved. Conditional perfect forms (would have been hired) and perfect modals (should/could/might have) get their own dedicated exercises next.
Grammar review
Past perfect inside reported thought
When a sentence reports what someone thought, decided, believed, or realized, the clause that follows often needs the past perfect, because it's describing something that was already true or already happened before the moment being reported.
Structure: had + past participle (active), or had been + past participle (passive)
“They realized she had had too much coffee.” (the auxiliary had + the main verb "have" as its own participle: yes, had had is correct)
“He mentioned that the dog had eaten already.” (active: the dog did the eating)
“They discovered the vase had been broken.” (passive: the vase can't break itself)
Active or passive? Let the sentence tell you:
If the subject of the clause is the one doing the action, use active: “He admitted he had lied about it.”
If the subject is the one the action happens to, use passive: “She confirmed the package had been delivered.”
This is the first exercise in the Advanced Verb Forms series. See also Exercise 2: Never Would Have... and Exercise 3: Should/Could/Might Have.
When a sentence reports what someone thought, decided, believed, or realized, the clause that follows often needs the past perfect, because it's describing something that was already true or already happened before the moment being reported.
Structure: had + past participle (active), or had been + past participle (passive)
“They realized she had had too much coffee.” (the auxiliary had + the main verb "have" as its own participle: yes, had had is correct)
“He mentioned that the dog had eaten already.” (active: the dog did the eating)
“They discovered the vase had been broken.” (passive: the vase can't break itself)
Active or passive? Let the sentence tell you:
If the subject of the clause is the one doing the action, use active: “He admitted he had lied about it.”
If the subject is the one the action happens to, use passive: “She confirmed the package had been delivered.”
This is the first exercise in the Advanced Verb Forms series. See also Exercise 2: Never Would Have... and Exercise 3: Should/Could/Might Have.
Complete each sentence with the correct past perfect form (active or passive).
KEEP PRACTICING: MORE EXERCISES FOR YOU
Advanced Verb Forms series:
Exercise 2: Never Would Have... (C1/C2)
Exercise 3: Should/Could/Might Have (C1)
Related perfect tense exercises:
Past Perfect Tense Exercise 1 (B1/B2)
Past Perfect Tense Exercise 2 (B1/B2)
Present Perfect Tense Exercise 1 (B1/B2)
Future Perfect Tense Exercise 1 (B/I)
Wishes + Past Perfect 1 (I)
Related modals & reported speech exercises:
Modal Verbs Hub
Reported Speech (Mixed) 1
Passive Voice (Mixed) 1
Mixed & advanced tense practice:
Mixed Verb Tenses 1 (I)
Mixed Verb Tenses 2 (I)
Future Tenses Exercises 1 (B2)
Browse all grammar exercises →
Advanced Verb Forms series:
Exercise 2: Never Would Have... (C1/C2)
Exercise 3: Should/Could/Might Have (C1)
Related perfect tense exercises:
Past Perfect Tense Exercise 1 (B1/B2)
Past Perfect Tense Exercise 2 (B1/B2)
Present Perfect Tense Exercise 1 (B1/B2)
Future Perfect Tense Exercise 1 (B/I)
Wishes + Past Perfect 1 (I)
Related modals & reported speech exercises:
Modal Verbs Hub
Reported Speech (Mixed) 1
Passive Voice (Mixed) 1
Mixed & advanced tense practice:
Mixed Verb Tenses 1 (I)
Mixed Verb Tenses 2 (I)
Future Tenses Exercises 1 (B2)
Browse all grammar exercises →
