eo compound tenses

Compound tenses
The compound tenses are a combination of present or pasttense (shown through an auxiliary verb) with continuous or perfectasPect. See also pp. 88-89.
l'm doing my homeworkatthe moment, so I con't come out. Ben has seen the camera that he wants. Shewas listening to the radio in the kitchen.
Sa n dra ha

compound tenses
)illhaswalked morethan 5oo milesfor charity.
Someone had tied up the dog

sr

to stop it wandering 0ff.

These are the main compound tenses:

present

continuous
iswaiting until

= prSl1t of be + -ing participle.

Jessica gets here.

Kerry

past continuous
M
a ri a

= past of be + -ing participle.

I

d i nvited all her fri ends.

was w atchi n g TV when J o cal ed. = present of h ave + -ed participle.

Thetense of theauxiliaryverb showswhetherthe compound verb is present tense,

I'm having dinner We've had a lovely

present perfect

atthe moment; I'll callyou back.

stay;thankyou.

Sam has seen a fau thingsthat he'd like. We've bought some better equipment.

orpast tense.
Wewere dancing around the living room and singing along. Mumhad gone out and Ieft us some snacks.

past perfect
She

= past of hdye + -ed participle.

had really believed their story! Roryhad had enough oftheir silly questions.

The choice of verb has.

theauxiliary and the participle shows what aspect the

A compound verb can also combine both the continuous and perfect aspects, using two auxiliary verbs and a main verb. This produces the

following combinations:

if it is the auxiliarybe and the-ing participle (the present participle), the aspect is continuous. My b rother is havin g a pa rty to mor row. Thekidswere running wildwhenwe got home.

present perfect continuous

prsflt of have+ pastparticipleof be+-ing participle.

For the

We've been

past two months, Zoe has been visiting us once a week. trying to finish that job since E1ster"

if it is the a uxiliary have and the -ed partici ple (the past participle) the aspect is perfect.