The Perfect Form. The Present Perfect. The Past Perfect. The Future Perfect. The Future Perfect in the Past.

Past Perfect Tense

I had sung

The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the "past in the past".

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		conjugated in simple past tense		past participle
		had		V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	had		finished	my work.
+	You	had		stopped	before me.
-	She	had	not	gone	to school.
-	We	had	not	left.
?	Had	you		arrived?
?	Had	they		eaten	dinner?

When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I had	I'd
you had	you'd
he had she had it had	he'd she'd it'd
we had	we'd
they had	they'd

The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:

• We had
  or
• We would

But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:

• We had arrived (past participle)
• We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:

• The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

The train had left when we arrived.
past	present	future
Train leaves in past at 9am.
9 9.15
We arrive in past at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

• I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.
• They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
• I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.
• "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived."
  "Really? Where had she gone?"

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect tense				present perfect tense
had | done | > |					have | done | > |
past	now	future		past	now	future

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:

• "You are too late. The train has left."

Later, you tell your friends:

• "We were too late. The train had left."

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:

Look at these examples:

• He told us that the train had left.
• I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
• He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
• I wondered if I had been there before.
• I asked them why they had not finished.

Present Perfect Tense

I have sung

The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.

The structure of the present perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		have		past participle

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	have		seen	ET.
+	You	have		eaten	mine.
-	She	has	not	been	to Rome.
-	We	have	not	played	football.
?	Have	you		finished?
?	Have	they		done	it?

Contractions with the present perfect tense

When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write. 

I have	I've
You have	You've
He has She has It has John has The car has	He's She's It's John's The car's
We have	We've
They have	They've

Here are some examples:

• I've finished my work.
• John's seen ET.
• They've gone home.

How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with thepresent. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:

1. experience
2. change
3. continuing situation

1. Present perfect tense for experience

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:

I have seen ET. He has lived in Bangkok. Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar.
past	present	future
!!!
The action or state was in the past.	In my head, I have a memory now.

Connection with past: the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about the event; I have experience of it.

2. Present perfect tense for change

We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:

I have bought a car.
past	present	future
-	+
Last week I didn't have a car.	Now I have a car.

John has broken his leg.
past	present	future
+	-
Yesterday John had a good leg.	Now he has a bad leg.

Has the price gone up?
past	present	future
+	-
Was the price $1.50 yesterday?	Is the price $1.70 today?

The police have arrested the killer.
past	present	future
-	+
Yesterday the killer was free.	Now he is in prison.

Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past.

Americans do not use the present perfect tense so much as British speakers. Americans often use the past tense instead. An American might say "Did you have lunch?", where a British person would say "Have you had lunch?"

3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is astate (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

I have worked here since June. He has been ill for 2 days. How long have you known Tara?
past	present	future
The situation started in the past.	It continues up to now.	(It will probably continue into the future.)

Connection with past: the situation started in the past.
Connection with present: the situation continues in the present.

Exercises:

Exercise 1

Future Perfect Tense

I will have sung

The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?

The structure of the future perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		past participle
		will		have		V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	will		have	finished	by 10am.
+	You	will		have	forgotten	me by then.
-	She	will	not	have	gone	to school.
-	We	will	not	have	left.
?	Will	you		have	arrived?
?	Will	they		have	received	it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:

I will have	I'll have	I'll've
you will have	you'll have	you'll've
he will have she will have it will have	he'll have she'll have it'll have	he'll've she'll've it'll've
we will have	we'll have	we'll've
they will have	they'll have	they'll've

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is thepast in the future. For example:

• The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.

The train will have left when you arrive.
past	present	future
		Train leaves in future at 9am.
9 9.15
		You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

• You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
• They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
• "Mary won't be at home when you arrive."
  "Really? Where will she have gone?"

What is future-perfect-in-past tense?

Definition 

Future-perfect-in-past tense is an absolute-relative tense that involves three points in time in the past. The tense refers to a time that is in the future, relative to another point in the past, but is in the past relative to a point in its future. All these points in time are in the past relative to the moment of utterance.

Example (English)
John left for the front; by the time he should return, the field would have been burnt to stubble.

The burning of the field is in the future relative to John’s leaving, but is in the past relative to his returning. All these events are in the past relative to the moment of utterance.

Exercises

Elementary

Exercise1

Put the verbs into the correct form (future perfect simple).

Exercise 2

Past Perfect - Simple Past (Statements) - Exercise. Put the verb in brackets into Past Simple or Past Perfect.

Exercise 3

Write the participle form (3rd form) of the regular verbs. Note the exceptions in spelling when adding ‚ed‘.

Exercise 4

Write negative sentences in present perfect simple.

Exercise 5

Write sentences in present perfect simple. Place 'never' before the main verb.

Exercise 6

Write the verbs in Past Perfect Simple.

Exercise 7

Choose the correct present perfect sentence.

Exercise 8

Insert the past perfect into a text.

Exercise 9

Do the exercises below on the past perfect simple and continuous

Exercise 10

Change the verb into the correct form, then press "Check" to check your answers.

Intermediate

Exercise 1

Make the positive or negative past perfect simple

Exercise 2

Complete the questions in Past Perfect Simple.

Exercise 3

Put the words in brackets into the future perfect simple

tenses with the following time references

Exercise 4

Choose the correct variant (the Past Simple Tense\ The Past Perfect Tense)

Exercise 5

Put the verbs into the correct tense (the Past Simple Tense\ The Past Perfect Tense).

Exercise 6

Choose the correst form (the Past Simple Tense\ The Past Perfect Tense)

Exercise 7

Write sentences in present perfect simple.Write questions in present perfect simple. Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.

Exercise 8

(Ex.1) Put the verb in brackets into Past Simple or Past Perfect.

Exercise 9

Additional Grammar and Vocabulary Exercises

Exercise 10

Do we usually use the Present Perfect or the Past Simple

Advanced

Exercise 1

Future Perfect Exercise

Exercise 2

Put the verb in brackets into Past Simple or Past Perfect.

Exercise 3

Fill in the correct form: past simple or past perfect simple

Exercise 4

Choose Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous

Exercise 5

Choose Present Perfect or Present Continuous

Exercise 6

Do we use for or since with the following time references? Decide if you need for or since with these time expressions.

Exercise 7

Future Perfect with Simple Present

Exercise 8

Choose either the present perfect or the past simple to go into each sentence.

Exercise 9

Present Perfect vs. Past Perfect Quiz

Exercise 10

Complete the sentences with the Present Perfect Progressive / simple OR the Past Perfect Progressive /simple

TEST

KEYS