5. Samar had set the table when the phone rang. First action Second action The two columns printed beside this exercise on page 125, in which you write your answer.

First action: had set the table. Second action: the phone rang. Samar laid out the plates and glasses. After that, the phone rang. Samar had set the table → happened FIRST the phone rang → happened SECOND Here is the whole table, filled in: Sentence First action Second action The crowd had dispersed when we reached the market. had dispersed reached the market Shivangi had finished the portrait when I called her. had finished the portrait called her When you rang the doorbell, I had switched off the TV. had switched off the TV rang the doorbell When we reached the cinema hall, the movie had ended. had ended reached the cinema hall Samar had set the table when the phone rang. had set the table the phone rang Check it yourself: Every “first action” in the last column but one has the word had in it. Every “second action” is a plain past-tense verb — reached, called, rang, ended . If your answers do not look like that, look again.

NCERT Solutions for Class 5th English Chapter 10 Past perfect tense — Let us Learn

Book page 125–126 Updated on2026-09-19

Q1.

Read the following sentence. Ananya had completed her schooling before she joined the factory. … Identify the first action and the second action in the given sentences. 1. The crowd had dispersed when we reached the market.

First action	Second action
had dispersed	reached the market

The two columns printed beside this exercise on page 125. The book has already filled in this first row as the example.

Answer

First action: had dispersed. Second action: reached the market. This row is already filled in for you in the book.

What the past perfect tense is, in one line: when two things happened in the past, the one that happened first is written with had + the third form of the verb.

In this sentence, the crowd went away before we got there. So the crowd going away is the first action, and it is written as had dispersed. Our reaching the market is the second action, and it is written in the simple past — reached.

Action	Which came first?	Form used
had dispersed	First	past perfect (had + dispersed)
reached the market	Second	simple past (reached)

A note about the Rule printed on page 125. The book prints “Rule: Subject + has/have + Verb + Object”. That line is for the present perfect (I have eaten). For the past perfect — the tense this page is teaching — the rule is Subject + had + third form of the verb (+ object): Ananya had completed her schooling. Notice that the book’s own example uses had, and so does every sentence in the table. So use had.

How to find the first action every time: Look for the word had. Wherever had + verb appears, that action happened first — no matter where it sits in the sentence. The other action, in the simple past, came after it.

Q2.

2. Shivangi had finished the portrait when I called her.

First action	Second action

The two columns printed beside this exercise on page 125, in which you write your answer.

Answer

First action: had finished (the portrait). Second action: called her.

Shivangi finished her painting, and only after that did I call her. The word had shows you which one came first.

Shivangi had finished the portrait → happened FIRST
when I called her → happened SECOND

Meaning check: By the time the phone rang, the picture was already complete. That is what the past perfect is telling us.

Q3.

3. When you rang the doorbell, I had switched off the TV.

First action	Second action

The two columns printed beside this exercise on page 125, in which you write your answer.

Answer

First action: had switched off the TV. Second action: rang the doorbell.

Be careful here. The doorbell is written first in the sentence, but it did not happen first. The TV was already off before the bell rang, and we know that because of the word had.

I had switched off the TV → happened FIRST
you rang the doorbell → happened SECOND

The important idea: The order of the actions is decided by the meaning, not by which one is printed first. This is exactly what the Note to the Teacher on page 126 says. So do not just pick the first one you read — look for had.

Q4.

4. When we reached the cinema hall, the movie had ended.

First action	Second action

The two columns printed beside this exercise on page 125, in which you write your answer.

Answer

First action: had ended (the movie). Second action: reached the cinema hall.

The film was already over when we got there. Poor us — we missed it.

the movie had ended → happened FIRST
we reached the cinema hall → happened SECOND

Same trap as the last one: “When we reached the cinema hall” is printed first, but it happened second. Follow the word had.

Q5.

5. Samar had set the table when the phone rang.

First action	Second action

The two columns printed beside this exercise on page 125, in which you write your answer.

Answer

First action: had set the table. Second action: the phone rang.

Samar laid out the plates and glasses. After that, the phone rang.

Samar had set the table → happened FIRST
the phone rang → happened SECOND

Here is the whole table, filled in:

Sentence	First action	Second action
The crowd had dispersed when we reached the market.	had dispersed	reached the market
Shivangi had finished the portrait when I called her.	had finished the portrait	called her
When you rang the doorbell, I had switched off the TV.	had switched off the TV	rang the doorbell
When we reached the cinema hall, the movie had ended.	had ended	reached the cinema hall
Samar had set the table when the phone rang.	had set the table	the phone rang

Check it yourself: Every “first action” in the last column but one has the word had in it. Every “second action” is a plain past-tense verb — reached, called, rang, ended. If your answers do not look like that, look again.

Q6.

(Page 126) Write more sentences like the ones given previously with the help of your teacher and classmates.

Answer

How to build your own sentence — three steps:

Think of two things that happened in the past, one after the other.
Write the one that happened first using had + the third form of the verb (had gone, had eaten, had finished, had left).
Write the other one in the simple past (went, ate, finished, left), and join the two with when, before or after.

Sample answer — eight sentences of my own:

My sentence	First action	Second action
Ravi had heated the glass before Ananya drew the new design.	had heated the glass	drew the new design
The bus had left when we reached the bus stop.	had left	reached the bus stop
My mother had cooked the food before the guests arrived.	had cooked the food	the guests arrived
When the bell rang, I had finished my paper.	had finished my paper	the bell rang
The rain had stopped when we came out of school.	had stopped	came out of school
Grandmother had lit the diyas before the sun set.	had lit the diyas	the sun set
I had packed my bag when my friend called me.	had packed my bag	my friend called me
The shopkeeper had sold all the bangles before Diwali came.	had sold all the bangles	Diwali came

Third forms you will need often: go → gone · eat → eaten · write → written · see → seen · do → done · take → taken · give → given · leave → left · buy → bought · make → made · finish → finished · reach → reached.

Why the tense is useful: Without it we would have to say “First the bus left. Then we reached the stop.” The past perfect lets us say both in one neat sentence, and it makes the order clear at once.

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