PERFECT TENSE

Perfect Tenses

The perfect tenses include:

• Present Perfect ("I have chosen")
• Past Perfect ("I had chosen")
• Future Perfect ("I will have chosen")

Think of them as the "complete tenses" as they describe a finished activity.

The perfect tenses are formed using the perfect aspect.

 

The perfect aspect  is the combination of conjugated auxiliary verb "to have" and  active verb's past participle. The verb to have detemines whether a sentence has a present (have/has seen), past (had seen) or future (will have seen) meaning.

Basic form

Subject + HAS/HAVE + Verb (past participle form)

Quick examples

• I have read this book.
• The man has gone away.
• John has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.

The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at anindefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

 

 

Use

1.    Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now

2.    Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment

3.    Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

Use 1: Indefinite time before now

Use the Present Perfect to talk about actions that happened at some point in the past. It does not matter when exactly they happened.

• I have already had a breakfast.
• He has been to England.

Remember

You should not use this tense with time expressions like yesterday, a week ago, last year, etc.

• I have seen it yesterday.
• We have gone to Paris last year.

Use 2: Effect on the present moment

We also use this tense to when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

• He has finished his work. (so he can now rest)
• I have already eaten the dinner. (so I'm not hungry)
• He has had a car accident. (that's why he is in the hospital)

 

Explanation

 

In this cartoon, you can see a mother asking her son: "Markus, what's happened". Marcus replies: "I have been struck by a bolt of lightning".

• Why is the Present Perfect tense used in this example? Click on the button labled as "event 1". You can see that Marcus was struck lightning bolt. Now click on the other button. The use of Present Continuous is correct here because the action has an effect on the present moment (it explains why he looks this way).

Use 3: Continuation in the present

 

We often use the Present Perfect when we want to emphasize that an event continues in the present.

• Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
• Patrick has achieved a lot in his life.

For and Since

 

Since and For are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect.

We use For with a period of time, for example:

• I have lived here for 20 years.

When talking about a starting point, we use Since, for example:

 

Form

 

To form a sentence in the Present Perfect, you need:

1. The proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb "to have".
2. The Past Participle of your verb.

1. Auxiliary Verb "to have"

We conjugate the auxiliary verb "to have" the same way we would conjugate the normal verb "to have".

 

 

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I have	We have
Second	You have	You have
Third	He/she/it has	They have

 

As you can see, the third person singular is irregular.

More examples:

• She has never seen my brother.
• Neither Mike nor Tom has ever driven a truck.

2. The Past Participle

 

The past participle of a verb is a verb form that appears with the perfect tenses. The past participle can be either regular or irregular.

• The regular verbs are formed by adding -ed to the verb:

•  

Verb	Past Participle
talk	talked
explain	explained
use	used
deliver	delivered
include	included
achieve	achieved

• The formation of the irregular verbs does not follow one rule. Therefore, they should be memorized.

•  

 

Verb	Past Participle	Learn more
be	been	be
become	become	become
see	seen	see
go	gone	go
eat	eaten	eat
grow	grown	grow

Basic form

 

 

Subject + HAD + Verb (past participle form)

 

Quick examples

• I had written the letter before you came home.
• If she had studied hard, she would have passed the English language exam.
• I wish I had been brave enough.
• Mary looked as if she had not slept for 48 hours.

We use the Past Perfect tense to emphasize that an action in the past finished before another action in the past started. This tense is also used in reported speech, third conditional sentences, or to show dissatisfaction with the past.

Use

1. Completed action before another action in the past
2. Third conditional sentences
3. Reported speech
4. Dissatisfaction with the past

Use 1: A completed action before another action in the past

The first use of this tense is to emphasize that one action in the past happened before another action in the past.

• I had finished my homework before I went playing football.
• John had never been to London before we went there last year.

Good to know

People (especially native speakers) do not use the Past Perfect in above sentences very often. For example, they will say:

• After I washed my car, I went to fill up.

Rather than:

• After I had washed my car, I went to fill up.

This is because "after" and "before" tell the listener which action happened first. Still, keep in mind that it is better to use the Past Perfect, especially in written English or when writing exams.

 

My son Julius had never seen a camel before we went together to the zoo in summer 1990.

 

Basic form

Subject + WILL HAVE + Verb (past participle form)

Quick examples

• I will have graduated from university by May.
• Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20 years by the next month.
• The train will have left by now.

We use the Future Perfect tense to talk about actions that will be finished before some point in the future. We also use this tense to express situations that will last for a specified period of time at a definite moment in the future. The last use is to express certainty that an action was completed.

Use

1. Completion before a specified point in the future
2. Actions or situations that will last in the future (for a specified time)
3. Certainty that an action was completed

Use 1: Completion before a specified point in the future

The first use of this tense is to talk about future actions that will be finished before some specified point in the future.

• Before they come, we will have cleaned up the house.
• John will have eaten the whole cake, by the time the birthday party starts!

Use 2: Duration in the Future

Another use of this tense is to talk about actions will last after a given point in the future.

• By the next year, I will have known Monica for 30 years.
• Patrick will have lived in Hong Kong for 20 years by 2012.

 

 

Common Time Expressions

Time expressions that are commonly used with the Future Perfect:

• By
• By the time
• Before
• By tomorrow/7 o'clock/next month
• Until/till

Use 3: Certainty About the Near Past

The last use is to express conviction that something happened in the near past.

• The train will have left by now. We have to look for another way to get there. (I'm sure the train has left)
• The guests will have arrived at the hotel by now. (I'm sure the guests have arrived at the hotel)

Form

Contracted forms

WILL = 'LL

Example: She'll have finished = she will have finished

WILL + NOT = WON'T

Example: She won't have finished = she will not have finished

Important

The Future Perfect appears in two forms: "will" form and "going to" form which can be used interchangably.

Example:

• "She will have finished" means "she is going to have finished"

Positive Sentences 

Example

 

 

Questions 

 

 

 

 Negative Sentences