Since it’s a crucial tense to talk about the past, in this past perfect Spanish practice quiz, you’ll test your conjugation knowledge. Here is what you have to do.
You’ve been given 10 incomplete questions. Based on the information provided, your job is to complete those sentences with the correct past perfect conjugations. You can check this guide to refresh your memory on how to form and use the Spanish past perfect tense.
Be aware that any irregularity that you find in the past perfect in Spanish is going to be reflected in the past participle verb. If you need help, you should check this guide on forming past participles in Spanish.
Pensé que Juan ya les (decir) a tus amigas.
I thought that Juan had already told your friends.
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Había is the conjugation for the third person singular (Juan) and dicho is the irregular participle of the verb decir. As a result, había dicho is the correct answer in this example.
Ellos nunca me (tratar) tan mal.
They had never treated me so badly.
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The past perfect in Spanish conveys the idea of before this moment. Since ellos is a plural subject, you must use habían in your answer.
A los 10 años, Gina ya (leer) todos esos libros.
By the age of 10, Gina had already read all of these books.
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In this example, we use the past perfect because we’re expressing that Gina had read those books before reaching 10. Notice that leído (the past participle form of leer) uses an accent mark.
Cuando llegué, mis papás todavía no (cenar).
When I arrived, my parents hadn’t eaten dinner yet.
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In this case, we use the past perfect to express that my parents hadn’t completed the action before a certain point reference (when I arrived). Since mis papás is the third person plural, the correct answer is habían cenado.
Ellos me dijeron que tú ya (ir) a la tienda.
They told me that you had already gone to the store.
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Ido is the irregular past participle form of the verb ‘ir’. Therefore, habías ido is the correct answer. In this case, “ellos me dijeron” is the action that happened after you supposedly went to the store.
Karla, ¿por qué no me (contar)?
Karla, why hadn’t you told me?
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We use the past perfect tense because we’re conveying that before now, Karla hadn’t told me something. Since we’re addressing Karla directly, the right answer is habías contado.
Cuando fui a su cuarto, Judith ya (despertarse).
Judith had already woken up when I went to her room.
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When working with reflexive verbs, the pronoun must always be placed in front of the verb ‘haber’. As a result, the correct answer for this example is se había despertado.
¿Qué pasó? Dijiste que ya (terminar).
What happened? You told me that you had already finished.
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Dijiste is the clue that allows you to infer that we’re addressing someone. As a result, we must use the ‘tú’ past perfect conjugation for terminar. So, in this case, the appropriate answer is habías terminado.
Cuando llegaste, nosotros todavía no (bañarse).
When you arrived, we hadn’t showered yet.
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Nosotros is the subject of this action. As a result, we must use the reflexive pronoun nos and the past perfect conjugation for ‘nosotros’. So, the right answer is nos habíamos bañado. Notice that ‘nos’ must be placed in front of ‘haber’.
Yo no (tener) tiempo de descansar.
I hadn’t had time to rest before today.
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We use the past perfect to express that before today I hadn’t had time to rest. Since I’m talking about myself, the correct answer is había tenido.
Quiz Results
| Question | Answer Given | Correct Answer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pensé que Juan ya les _______ (decir) a tus amigas. | |||
| Ellos nunca me ______ (tratar) tan mal. | |||
| A los 10 años, Gina ya ______ (leer) todos esos libros. | |||
| Cuando llegué, mis papás todavía no _____(cenar). | |||
| Ellos me dijeron que tú ya _____ (ir) a la tienda. | |||
| Karla, ¿por qué no me _____ (contar)? | |||
| Cuando fui a su cuarto, Judith ya ______ (despertarse). | |||
| ¿Qué pasó? Dijiste que ya ______ (terminar). | |||
| Cuando llegaste, nosotros todavía no _______ (bañarse). | |||
| Yo no _____ (tener) tiempo de descansar. |