Past Perfect
50 speaking questions and prompts
Answer in full sentences. Use the past perfect (had + a past participle) to describe the earlier action or situation.
Plans and expectations
Plans and expectations
10 questions
- Tell us about a plan you had made that you changed after someone gave you a better idea.
- What had you expected from a book, show, or game that turned out differently when you tried it?
- Think of an activity that looked easy until you tried it. What had you expected to be able to do?
- What had stopped you from trying something before another person made it seem possible?
- Describe something you had disliked before a later experience changed your opinion.
- What had you heard about a person before you met them?
- Before you made a difficult choice, which options had you ruled out?
- Describe the plans you had made for a project before you realized they were too ambitious.
- What had you assumed about a subject before a lesson or new piece of information made you see it differently?
- What had you almost given up on before you found a way to do it?
People and connections
People and connections
12 questions
- What had you warned someone about before your advice helped them avoid the problem?
- Tell us about a rule you had made for yourself before you ignored it and something went wrong.
- Tell us about a suggestion you had made that someone used much later.
- Where had you regularly seen someone before you finally spoke to them?
- What had someone done to include you before you felt at ease in a new group?
- What had someone mentioned before you chose a gift that suited them?
- When you showed someone a place you liked, what had you told them about it before they saw it?
- Had you thought someone was joking before you realized they were serious?
- Someone else asked the question you were afraid to ask. Had you assumed you were the only one confused?
- What had you promised before keeping it became harder than expected?
- Tell us about a comment that sounded critical until the speaker explained it. What had you thought they meant?
- Tell me about a time you apologized for something you had said too quickly.
Learning and practice
Learning and practice
6 questions
- Tell us about something you had practiced before you showed it to other people.
- An earlier failed attempt helped with a later task. What had you learned from the failure?
- You felt ready for a task, but something surprised you. What had you not practiced?
- What had you done by hand before you found an easier way to do it?
- Tell us about something you had learned for fun before it helped you solve a practical problem.
- When someone gave you a useful correction, what had you thought you were doing correctly?
Objects and discoveries
Objects and discoveries
3 questions
- Tell us about a repair that took several attempts. What had you tried before it worked?
- What had you left in a bag or jacket pocket that you found when you used it again?
- When you opened an old notebook, what idea had you written down and then forgotten?
Messages and memories
Messages and memories
6 questions
- When you finished a story or movie, what had happened near the beginning that made the ending make sense?
- When instructions did not work for you, what step had you missed?
- When an old photo changed your memory of a day, what had you remembered incorrectly?
- When you reread something you had written about your future, what had you expected your life to be like?
- When someone reminded you of a shared event, what part had you forgotten?
- Had you used an emoji in a message before you learned that it meant something different to someone else?
Places and changes
Places and changes
5 questions
- How had a section of your town or city changed when you saw it again after a long time?
- When you compared a familiar place with an old photo, what had changed?
- Before you explored a place you had often passed, what had you thought was inside?
- Which route had you taken before you found a shortcut?
- How had you imagined a place before you saw it in real life?
Books, music, and media
Books, music, and media
2 questions
- What had you heard about a book before you decided to borrow or buy it?
- Which scene had you pictured differently when you watched a movie after reading the book?
Choices and surprises
Choices and surprises
6 questions
- What had you thought a symbol meant before you learned its actual meaning?
- Had you said yes to a request before you knew how much time it would take?
- Did someone agree right away after you had prepared an argument?
- What had you already said yes to when a better offer arrived?
- Did a compliment make you return to practicing a skill you had stopped using?
- Which chance had you passed up before you realized you wanted it?