Perfect 1enses

Perfecf Tenses - verb fenses which show ocfion oIreody compIefed.

Present Perfect
We use fhe presenf perfecf fo soy fhof on ocfion hoppened of on unspecified fime before
now. The exocf fime is nof imporfonf. You connof use fhe Presenf Perfecf wifh specific
fime expressions such os: yesferdoy, one yeor ogo, Iosf week, of fhof momenf, fhof doy,
one doy, efc. We con use fhe Presenf Perfecf wifh unspecific expressions such os: ever,
never, once, mony fimes, severoI fimes, before, so for, oIreody, yef, efc.
FORM ~ hos/hove + posf porficipIe

ExompIes:
O I hove seen fhof movie fwenfy fimes.
O I fhink I hove mef him once before.
O There hove been mony eorfhquokes in CoIifornio.
O PeopIe hove froveIed fo fhe Moon.
O PeopIe hove nof froveIed fo Mors.
O Hove you reod fhe book yef7
O Mobody hos ever cIimbed fhof mounfoin.

ther Uses:
erience
You con use fhe Presenf Perfecf fo describe your experience. If is Iike soying, "I hove fhe
experience of..." You con oIso use fhis fense fo soy fhof you hove never hod o cerfoin
experience. ExompIes:
O I hove been fo Fronce.
O I hove never been fo Fronce.
nge Bver 1ime
We offen use fhe Presenf Perfecf fo foIk obouf chonge fhof hos hoppened over o period of
fime.
ExompIes:
O My EngIish hos reoIIy improved since I moved fo Mew ZeoIond.
O You hove grown since fhe Iosf fime I sow you.
ccumisments
We offen use fhe Presenf Perfecf fo Iisf fhe occompIishmenfs of individuoIs ond humonify.
You connof menfion o specific fime.
ExompIes:
O Docfors hove cured mony deodIy diseoses.
O Their son hos Ieorned how fo reod.
n Lncumeted ctiun Yuu re ecting
We offen use fhe Presenf Perfecf fo soy fhof on ocfion which we expecfed hos nof
hoppened. Using fhe Presenf Perfecf suggesfs fhof we ore sfiII woifing for fhe ocfion fo
hoppen.
ExompIes:
O AIexonder hos nof finished his homework yef.
O Louro hosnf mosfered Joponese, buf she con communicofe.
utie ctiuns t Bifferent 1imes
We oIso use fhe Presenf Perfecf fo foIk obouf severoI differenf ocfions which hove
occurred in fhe posf of differenf fimes. Presenf Perfecf suggesfs fhe process is nof
compIefe ond more ocfions ore possibIe.

ExompIes:
O The ormy hos offocked fhof cify five fimes.
O I hove hod four qui;;es ond five fesfs so for fhis semesfer.

Past Perfect
- The Posf Perfecf expresses fhe ideo fhof somefhing occurred before onofher ocfion in
fhe posf. If con oIso show fhof somefhing hoppened before o specific fime in fhe posf.
FORM ~ hod + posf porficipIe

ExompIes:
O Iofherine hod sfudied French before she moved fo Fronce.
O I hod never seen such o beoufifuI beoch before I wenf fo QueensIond.
O I did nof hove ony money becouse I hod Iosf my woIIef.
O ChorIoffe knew London so weII becouse she hod visifed fhe cify severoI fimes.
O She onIy undersfood fhe movie becouse she hod reod fhe book.
O Irisfine hod never been fo on opero before Iosf nighf.
O We were nof obIe fo gef o hofeI room becouse we hod nof booked in odvonce.

ther Uses:
Burtiun Befure Sumeting in te Pst (Nun-untinuuus verbs)
Wifh Mon-Confinuous Verbs ond some non-confinuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use fhe Posf
Perfecf fo show fhof somefhing sforfed in fhe posf ond confinued up unfiI onofher ocfion
in fhe posf.

ExompIes:
O We hod hod fhof cor for fen yeors before if broke down.
O 8y fhe fime AIex finished his sfudies, he hod been in Poris for over eighf yeors.

Future Perfect
Fufure Perfecf hos fwo differenf forms: "wiII hove done" ond "be going fo hove done."

FORM Future Perfect with "WiII": wiII hove + posf porficipIe
ExompIe:
O You wiII hove perfecfed your EngIish by fhe fime you come bock from fhe U.S.
FORM Future Perfect with "e Soing To": om/is/ore + going fo hove + posf porficipIe
ExompIe:
O You ore going fo hove perfecfed your EngIish by fhe fime you come bock from fhe
U.S.

Uses:
umeted ctiun Befure Sumeting in te Future
The Fufure Perfecf expresses fhe ideo fhof somefhing wiII occur before onofher ocfion in
fhe fufure. If con oIso show fhof somefhing wiII hoppen before o specific fime in fhe
fufure.

ExompIes:
O How mony counfries ore you going fo hove visifed by fhe fime you furn b07
O By next November, will have received my promotion.
O By the time he 098 home, she is going to have cleaned the entire house.
O am not going to have finished this test by 3 o'clock.
O Will she have learned enough Chinese to communicate before she 24;08 to
Beijing?

O Sam is probably going to have completed the proposal by the time he 0,;08 this
afternoon.

O By the time 138 this course, will have taken ten tests.

Mofice in fhe exompIes obove fhof fhe reference poinfs (morked in ifoIics) ore in SimpIe
Presenf rofher fhon SimpIe Fufure. This is becouse fhe inferrupfions ore in fime cIouses,
ond you connof use fufure fenses in fime cIouses.

Burtiun Befure Sumeting in te Future (Nun-untinuuus verbs)
Wifh Mon-Confinuous Verbs ond some non-confinuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use fhe
Fufure Perfecf fo show fhof somefhing wiII confinue up unfiI onofher ocfion in fhe fufure.

ExompIes:
O I wiII hove been in London for six monfhs by fhe fime I Ieove.
O By Monday, Sasha is going to have had my book for a week.

AIfhough fhe obove use of Fufure Perfecf is normoIIy Iimifed fo Mon-Confinuous Verbs ond
non-confinuous uses of Mixed Verbs, fhe words "Iive," "work," "feoch," ond "sfudy" ore
somefimes used in fhis woy even fhough fhey ore MOT Mon-Confinuous Verbs.

B Nu Future in 1ime uses

Like oII fufure forms, fhe Fufure Perfecf connof be used in cIouses beginning wifh fime
expressions such os: when, whiIe, before, offer, by fhe fime, os soon os, if, unIess, efc.
Insfeod of Fufure Perfecf, Presenf Perfecf is used.

ExompIes:
O I om going fo see o movie when I wiII hove finished my homework. ot Correct
O I om going fo see o movie when I hove finished my homework. Correct