Past Simple vs Past Perfect – Negative Sentences (1–25)

Past Simple vs Past Perfect – Negative Sentences

Past Simple vs Past Perfect – Exercises

We use past simple negative (didn't + verb) for a finished action in the past.

We use past perfect negative (hadn't + past participle) for an action that had not happened before another past action.

Example:
I didn't see him yesterday.
[Ich habe ihn gestern nicht gesehen.]
I hadn't seen him before the meeting.
[Ich hatte ihn vor dem Meeting nicht gesehen.]

Simple timeline:
Past Perfect ─────────► Past Simple

Signal words:
before – after – when – by the time – already – yet

These show which action happened first.
[Diese zeigen, welche Handlung zuerst passiert ist.]

Score: 0 / 25

1. When I arrived, the film ______.
a) hadn't started
b) didn't start
[Als ich ankam, hatte der Film noch nicht begonnen.]

2. She ______ the report yesterday.
a) hadn't finished
b) didn't finish
[Sie beendete den Bericht gestern nicht.]

3. He ______ the email before the meeting started.
a) hadn't read
b) didn't read
[Er hatte die E-Mail vor dem Meeting nicht gelesen.]

4. We ______ him at the office yesterday.
a) didn't see
b) hadn't seen
[Wir sahen ihn gestern im Büro nicht.]

5. By the time the bus came, I ______ long.
a) didn't wait
b) hadn't waited
[Als der Bus kam, hatte ich noch nicht lange gewartet.]

6. She was disappointed because she ______ the exam.
a) hadn't passed
b) didn't pass
[Sie war enttäuscht, weil sie die Prüfung nicht bestanden hatte.]

7. They ______ the door when they left.
a) hadn't locked
b) didn't lock
[Sie schlossen die Tür nicht ab, als sie gingen.]

8. After he saw the answer, he realised he ______ the problem correctly.
a) hadn't understood
b) didn't understand
[Nachdem er die Antwort gesehen hatte, merkte er, dass er das Problem nicht richtig verstanden hatte.]

9. I ______ my keys yesterday, so I used the spare set.
a) didn't find
b) hadn't found
[Ich fand meine Schlüssel gestern nicht, deshalb benutzte ich den Ersatzschlüssel.]

10. When she arrived, we ______ dinner yet.
a) didn't finish
b) hadn't finished
[Als sie ankam, hatten wir noch nicht zu Ende gegessen.]

11. He ______ to Berlin in 2022.
a) didn't move
b) hadn't moved
[Er zog 2022 nicht nach Berlin.]

12. By the time I called, he ______ the house yet.
a) hadn't left
b) didn't leave
[Als ich anrief, hatte er das Haus noch nicht verlassen.]

13. They ______ the project last week.
a) hadn't started
b) didn't start
[Sie begannen das Projekt letzte Woche nicht.]

14. After she opened the book, she realised she ______ the first chapter before.
a) hadn't read
b) didn't read
[Nachdem sie das Buch geöffnet hatte, merkte sie, dass sie das erste Kapitel vorher nicht gelesen hatte.]

15. We ______ football yesterday because it rained all day.
a) didn't play
b) hadn't played
[Wir spielten gestern kein Fußball, weil es den ganzen Tag regnete.]

16. By the time the meeting started, we ______ the documents.
a) didn't prepare
b) hadn't prepared
[Als das Meeting begann, hatten wir die Dokumente noch nicht vorbereitet.]

17. She ______ me last night.
a) didn't call
b) hadn't called
[Sie rief mich gestern Abend nicht an.]

18. When they got to the cinema, they realised they ______ the tickets online.
a) hadn't booked
b) didn't book
[Als sie am Kino ankamen, merkten sie, dass sie die Tickets nicht online gebucht hatten.]

19. He ______ the report yesterday because he was ill.
a) didn't send
b) hadn't sent
[Er schickte den Bericht gestern nicht, weil er krank war.]

20. When I woke up, I realised I ______ my phone at work after all.
a) hadn't left
b) didn't leave
[Als ich aufwachte, merkte ich, dass ich mein Handy doch nicht bei der Arbeit gelassen hatte.]

21. They ______ the problem quickly, so the customer complained again.
a) didn't solve
b) hadn't solved
[Sie lösten das Problem nicht schnell, deshalb beschwerte sich der Kunde erneut.]

22. By the time we arrived, they ______ everything.
a) didn't prepare
b) hadn't prepared
[Als wir ankamen, hatten sie noch nicht alles vorbereitet.]

23. She ______ the email yesterday morning.
a) didn't answer
b) hadn't answered
[Sie beantwortete die E-Mail gestern Morgen nicht.]

24. Before he went to bed, he realised he ______ the door.
a) hadn't locked
b) didn't lock
[Bevor er ins Bett ging, merkte er, dass er die Tür nicht abgeschlossen hatte.]

25. We ______ dinner at 8 p.m. because the guests were late.
a) hadn't had
b) didn't have
[Wir hatten um 20 Uhr kein Abendessen, weil die Gäste zu spät waren.]

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Past Simple vs Past Perfect – Negative Sentences