The imperfect use of Past Perfect

I got them all right except #6. But we did drink it before we realized... They both [had looked] (look) right to me!

I had all of them correct except number 3. It might have been because of the missing comma, it confused me. 

Kiss,

Gacela

Yes, I'm saying that people are using past perfect in place of simple past. For example: My mother had gone to the store instead of my mother went to the store.
In my opinion, it's safer to use the simple past. We should remember to KISS, not over-complicate.
(I hate to admit it, but I got two wrong, myself. I have a tendency to answer questions too quickly. In my defense, I don't understand number 10 at all. It didn't make a bit of sense to me. I guess whoever wrote the test didn't use a proofreader.)

I had baked beans for dinner, but Father brought home pizza instead.

10 is an attempt at humor.  When people speak they don't always include all of their thoughts. Thinking: "I snuck into the house after my mother had gone to store," but in answer to the question: "Did your mother go to the store?" the respondent might say: "My mother had gone to the store" while still thinking, but not offering the information: "before I snuck into the house."  Something like that. Apparent bad grammar like verb mismatch in speaking is sometimes incompletely expressed thoughts.  On the other hand, the correct form of so-called irregular verbs does not always come to mind while speaking.  I was stuck the other day trying to come up with the past tense of forgo while thinking it could not possibly be forwent so I said "had forgone" because it did not sound as ridiculous only to realize the person to whom I was speaking did not even know what forgo, forwent, forgone means. So many people think what a wonderful thing that language evolves not understanding that it is because too many people are ignorant or at least softly unknowledgable of what the language is.

It is primarily a spelling issue between the two words which is not helped by Webster's jumbling all the spellings and meanings into one entry. Forgo and forego are two different words with two different spellings and two different meanings. I have never used, or heard or seen used forego except in the expression foregone conclusion. I was thinking he went without a week's vacation "to forgo a week's vacation" in the past tense: "he forgoed that vacation" --no-- "he forwent that vacation" --huh?-- so I said "he had forgone that vacation", but also in that context I cannot have meant "to forego" = "to go before" but the best I could hope was the person listening might understand  he had forgotten to take his vacation and have the same effect without conveying the same meaning, and it worked. However, when I corrected myself, mostly speaking to myself, "he forwent..." I got nothing but a blank stare from a college grad.

He forwent foregoing the vacation schedule means he went without going ahead of the vacation schedule which put him forgoing his vacation until he was suppose to take his vacation on schedule. At least, with the two different spellings for two words that have different meanings, it is possible to derive correct meaning from the written form, but in speaking, it sounds like a double negative "to forgo forgoing" - to keep to the schedule which is still what I mean!

I did have occasion to use this knowledge once in a review. I suppose I overdid it, since it appears to be acceptable to use the two interchangeably. I enjoyed reading the article, until I go to the ending and read the quote.

Hector: I am unarm’d; forgoe this vantage, Greek.
Achilles: Strike, fellows, strike; this is the man I seek.

Damn! I hate that Achilles. I always rooted for Hector. He was the one who was wronged. Stupid, impulsive, arrogant brother, and stupid, hot-headed, vengeful opponent. He didn't have a chance.

Oh, fun! Are we channeling Homer now? I'll play:

Homer would be far more concerned with your inability to communicate imaginatively than in criticizing someone's interest in the civilization from which he wrote. Your use of "screwy ass backwards" is uninspired and would bore a poet of his merit. Yesterday he and I discussed the fragmentation of language, and he actually used the phrase "screwy ass backwards" within a lesson, explaining to me, "This is the sort of limp, unremarkable stock phraseology which is replacing real poetry. Look for empty phrases like this one when you critique an argument: they are evidence of an empty pen well." Of course, he said this to me in ancient Greek, and rhymed it, and the story involved an ancient rivalry with someone's brother which transformed all of western history, but the lesson was located within the ancient frame and is still, to my way of thinking, quite relevant.

He doesn't realize he's from the past, though. If he read about World War One he'd wonder how such an event could POSSIBLY illuminate his poetry. And certainly the goings-on in the States today would have no bearing on his epic. I wouldn't dare suggest this to him, though. Every great poet likes to think that his work is only relevant in its own era. And the wisest thinkers omit all past affairs from their assessment of current events.

I made a 100! The English teacher should. Yeah, #10 was nuts. I'm sure the verb should have been studied. I hear people use the past perfect incorrectly ALL the time. Drives me nuts.