Question

When l looked / had looked everywhere for my car keys, l started/ had started to panic When he had finished / finished his dinner he sat down/ had sat down to watch TV It was/ had been a film l didn't see / hadn't seen before

Answer 1

When I looked everywhere for my car keys, I started to panic.
When he had finished his dinner he sat down to watch TV.
It was a film I hadn't seen before.

Answer 2

The correct choices depend on the intended meaning and context of the sentences. Here are the different possibilities:

1. When I looked everywhere for my car keys, I started to panic. [Past simple tense]

This implies that you looked for your car keys in the past and, as a result, you started to panic. The actions occurred sequentially.

2. When I had looked everywhere for my car keys, I started to panic. [Past perfect tense]

This implies that you searched for your car keys in the past, completed the action, and then started to panic. The past perfect tense is used to show the completion of the action before the panic began.

3. When he finished his dinner, he sat down to watch TV. [Past simple tense]

This sentence indicates that he finished eating his dinner and then sat down to watch TV. The actions occurred sequentially.

4. When he had finished his dinner, he sat down to watch TV. [Past perfect tense]

This implies that he finished eating his dinner, completed the action, and then sat down to watch TV. The past perfect tense is used to show the completion of the action before he sat down.

5. It was a film I didn't see before. [Past simple tense]

This sentence states that the film was something you had not seen in the past.

6. It had been a film I hadn't seen before. [Past perfect tense]

This implies that the film had already been viewed in the past and, at the time being referred to, you hadn't seen it yet. The past perfect tense is used to show that the action of not seeing the film occurred before the current moment.

Remember that the choice of tense depends on the context and the specific sequence of events you want to convey.