Narrative Tenses: Past Perfect vs Past Simple (C1)

By the time the doctor arrived at the cottage, the patient ___ enough to walk to the door.

He woke up at six, made a strong coffee and ___ the morning paper at the kitchen table.

Her eyes were puffy and red because she ___ on and off all morning.

He told the police calmly that he ___ the cat out into the garden well before lunch.

When we got to the boardroom at quarter past ten, the meeting ___ already.

She picked up her bag from the chair, ___ goodbye to the receptionist, and walked straight out.

It was the first time I ___ skydiving, and my legs wouldn't stop shaking on the way back down.

The witness recognised the suspect immediately, because she ___ him queueing at the bank a few hours earlier.

He looked up from the document, ___ his watch deliberately, and then sighed loudly.

By the time I finally finished proofreading the email, my laptop battery ___ completely flat.

I walked into the empty flat, ___ on the lights, and put my keys on the kitchen counter.

She was astonished to find that, in the few minutes she had stepped away, someone ___ her bag from the seat.

The kettle whistled sharply. Tom got up from his armchair, ___ it off, and poured the tea slowly.

I ___ him for nearly fifteen years until I literally bumped into him in the queue at Heathrow.

By 1995, the small family firm ___ into fifteen countries across three continents.