Grammar

English Simple Perfect Tenses

By Yung-Chen Chung
Present
Perfect
Tense
Past
Perfect
Tense
Past
Perfect
Tense
Quiz on the simple perfect tenses
Present Perfect Tense
have/has (not) + VERB-ed2
An action or emotion started in the past and has continued into the present.
Example ~ I have read that book.


A moment in the past
The present moment
Actions that are more long-term in nature are used more in the present perfect tense than in the present perfect continuous tense.

Example~
Wendy has made a lot of money since 2002.

An action is complete.

Example~ I have washed the dishes.
(The job is finished.)


An action has been done several times.
Example~ Joe has read this book few times.



Note: The time of an action is not specified.
Example~ The teacher has corrected it.

When specified, simple past is used.
Example~ The teacher corrected it last night.
Past Perfect Tense
had (not) + VERB-ed2
An action happened in the past before another action in the past.
Example~
Kevin had waited for an hour when he decided to leave.



Time 1
Time 2
The present moment
The past perfect tense is often used with by + a time.

Example~
By five o’clock Dr. Lee’s lecture had ended.
If it is not clear which action happened first,
it is necessary to use the past perfect.
Example~
When Dr. Lee had given her lecture, she sat down.
(She stood and gave her lecture; then she sat down.)
Compare the following sentence~
When Dr. Lee gave her lecture, she sat down.
(She was speaking and sitting at the same time.)



Future Perfect Tense
will (not) + have + VERBed2
An action starting in the past, present or future will be finished at some time in the future.
Example~ Mark already has his Masters,
and he will have gotten his Ph.D. before he’s 30.
The past
The present
moment
A Future time
The future perfect is often used with
by + a time,
before + a time
in + a time.

Example~
Mary will have gotten her new car in three weeks.
Practice
Choose the best answer
Question 1:
David _________ five books so far.
a.) publishes
b.) is publishing
c.) has published
d.) has been published
Click for the answer key:
(c)

Practice
Choose the best answer
Question 2:
_____ you ever _____ that man?
a.) Are; seeing
b.) Have; seen
c.) Were; seeing
d.) Did; see
Click for the answer key:
(b)
Practice
Choose the best answer
Question 1:
When I woke up this morning, my parents ______ already.
a.) leave
b.) had left
c.) were leaving
d.) left
Click for the answer key:
(b)
Practice
Choose the best answer
Question 2:
John _________ a panda before he moved to Si Chuan, China.
a.) had never seen
b.) has seen
c.) never saw
d.) never sees

Click for the answer key:
(a)
Practice
Choose the best answer
Question1:
She __________ enough Chinese to communicate before
she moves to Beijing.
a.) will learn
b.) learns
c.) is learning
d.) will have learned
Click for the answer key:
(d)
Practice
Choose the best answer
Question 2:
By the time I finish this course, I __________ ten tests.
a.) will take
b.) will have taken
c.) will be taking
d.) have taken

Click for the answer key:
(b)

Quiz
Complete the following sentences using the correct simple perfect tense
1.) By next Saturday you _____ (stay) with us for three weeks.
will have stayed

2.) Mrs. Wang _____ (teach) English for more than 20 years.
have taught

3.) It was he who _____ (give) us the piano.
had given

4.) They _____ already _____ (go) when we arrived.
had already gone

5.) We shall _____ (grow) old before we learn it really well.
have grown

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§128.6. English as a Second Language (ESL), Grade 4.
(30) Second language acquisition/writing.
(A) use basic capitalization and punctuation correctly such
as capitalizing names and first letters in sentences and
using periods, question marks, and exclamation points.
(E) employ increasingly complex grammatical structures in
writing.
(i)  demonstrate knowledge of verbs, tenses, and
auxiliaries, wh-words, and pronouns/antecedents;
(iii)  demonstrate knowledge of parts of speech;
(F) construct correct sentences, including a variety of
sentence types and styles.