B1–B2

By the Time, Before, Already

Practice the strongest past-perfect triggers: 'by the time', 'already', and 'before' for actions completed before a past deadline.

  1. By the time I arrived at the party, most of the guests ___.

    • had left
    • left
    • leave
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    had left

    Past perfect after 'by the time' — guests left before I arrived.

  2. She ___ home by ten o'clock.

    • had already gone
    • already went
    • already gone
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    had already gone

    Past perfect with 'by + time' for a completed earlier action — 'had already gone'.

  3. By Monday morning, she ___ the whole book.

    • had read
    • read
    • has read
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    had read

    Past perfect with 'by + time' for an action completed before that point.

  4. By the time the police arrived, the burglars ___.

    • had escaped
    • escaped
    • has escaped
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    had escaped

    Past perfect after 'by the time' — burglars escaped before the police got there.

  5. By the time Grace applied for the job, someone else ___ it.

    • had taken
    • took
    • takes
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    had taken

    Past perfect after 'by the time' — the position was taken before she applied.

  6. By midnight, he ___ his entire report.

    • had finished
    • finished
    • has finished
    Show answer

    had finished

    Past perfect with 'by + time' for a completed earlier action.

By the Time, Before, and Already

Three time expressions reliably signal that an earlier action needs the past perfect. 'By the time' sets a past deadline and asks what was already complete before it. 'Already' marks that something was finished earlier than expected. 'Before + past simple' can also introduce a much earlier sequence of events.

By the Time

By the time I arrived at the party, most of the guests had left.
By the time Grace applied for the job, someone else had taken it.

Already

She had already gone home by ten o'clock.
She wasn't hungry because she had already eaten.

Before

Before he finally found a job, he had had thirty interviews.

Common Mistakes

✗ By the time I arrived, most of the guests left. → ✓ ...most of the guests had left.
✗ She already went home by ten. → ✓ She had already gone home by ten. (past participle after 'had')
✗ By midnight, he finished his report. → ✓ By midnight, he had finished his report.

Last updated: · Satori Editorial

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