Meeting 8 Dr. Yohannes Telaumbanua, S.Hum., M.

Pd

26 October – 1 November 2020

Topic: Using Present Perfect Tense vs. Past Perfect Tense

Study the teaching/learning images below!

When to use it?

Sentences’ Patterns

Common Present Perfect Tense Markers

Already, For,
Yet, Before,
Ever, In my life,
Never, So far,
Just, Up until now,
Since, First time, two, three, severeal times, etc.
 POSITIVE QUESTION
POSITIVE (+) NEGATIVE (-) (?)

I have not (haven’t) seen the

I have seen the affairs
affairs Have I seen the affairs?

You have seen the You have not (haven’t) seen the Have you seen the
affairs affairs affairs?

He has not (hasn’t) seen the

He has seen the affairs
affairs Has he seen the affairs?

She has seen the She has not (hasn’t) seen the Has she seen the
affairs affairs affairs?

It has seen the affairs It has not (hasn’t) seen the affairs Has it seen the affairs?

We have seen the We have not (haven’t) seen the Have we seen the
affairs affairs affairs?

You have seen the You have not (haven’t) seen the Have you seen the
affairs affairs affairs?

They have seen the They have not (haven’t) seen the Have they seen the
affairs affairs affairs?

We use other question words (Who, What, Why , etc.) in present perfect tense.

Question Words (who, what, why, etc.) + have + subject + V3

Examples:

 What have they done?

 Why has she said like that?
 Where have you seen my wallet?

USE OF PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

1. Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action that happened at an unspecified

time in the past and the impact of the event is now continuing (Finished Actions:

Past Event and Present Result).

Examples:

 She has lost her wallet ( She can’t find it )

 We can’t reach Paul by phone. Have you seen him?
  Tom isn’t at school. I think he has gone to the theater.
 My sister has broken her arm. Her arm is still broken.

2. Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action that ended recently. We often use

words like “just” or “recently” for the events taking place a very short time before

now (Recent Completed Actions).

Examples:
 I have just finished my project.
 My mother has just cleaned the house.
 We have recently eaten dinner.

3. Present Perfect Tense is used to talk about unfinished actions or states or habits that

started in the past and continue to the present. In such sentences, it is emphasized

that how long the action has continued. So we usually use ‘since’ or ‘for’ to express

“how long”. We often use stative verbs / non-continuous verbs / mixed verbs in

such sentences) (Unfinished Actions or Duration from Past until Now).

Examples:
 The student has studied maths for three months.
 I have lived in Paris for five years.
 My son has been sick since Monday.
 He has worked in Berlin since he graduated from the university.
 She haven’t been calm since the accident.
 Teachers have thought this subject for hours.
 They have had many cars since I can remember.

4. Present Perfect Tense is used to express repeated actions in an unspecified time

between the past and now (Repeated or Multiple Actions at Different Times)

Examples:
 We have watched that movie three times.
 I have seen David several times.
 She have had six exams so far this semester.
 They have called him four times this month.

5. Present Perfect Tense is used when we talk about life experiences (Life Experiences)

Examples:
 I have been to England in my life.
 Have you ever eaten Sushi before?
 We have never tried to invent something new.
 6. Present Perfect Tense is used when we talk about accomplishments

(Accomplishments)

Examples:
 My father has spoken five languages.
 Scientists have found a new way to get cancer cells to self-destruct.
 Man has walked on the Moon.

7. Present Perfect Tense is used when we talk about changes that has occurred over

periods of time (Changes Over Time)

Examples:
 Our english has improved a lot when we moved to England.
 Her behavior and attitudes have changed a lot since you last saw her.
 I have become more interested in medical issues.

Attention 1:
1. “Present Perfect Tense” is used with “an unfinished time word ( this week, today,

etc. )“. The period of time is still continuing.

Examples:
 We haven’t called him this week.
 I have eaten lots of plumps today.
 They have had several tests this month.

2. “Present Perfect Tense” is not used with “a finished time word ( yesterday, last week,

etc. )“. In such sentences, we use “Simple Past Tense”

Examples:
 I haven’t seen you yesterday. ( wrong )
I didn’t see you yesterday. ( correct )
 We have finished the project last week. ( wrong )
We finished the project last week. ( correct )
 He has bought a new house last year. ( wrong )
They bought a new house last year. ( correct )
Attention 2:
We often use the present perfect with some time adverbials ( adverbs of time ). Some of them

are mentioned here.

1. “SINCE” is used with a point ( previous point ) in time in the past.

Examples:
 Since last week / month / year / summer, etc
 Since one o’clock / two o’clock / six o’clock, etc.
 Since Sunday, Monday, Friday, etc.
 Since April, June, January, etc. (She has been there since last summer)
 Since 1950, 1999, 2017, etc
 Since they moved / we talked to him, etc.

2. “FOR” is used with a period of time in the past, present or future.

Examples:
 For one minute / ten minutes, etc.
 For two hours / five hours, etc. (She has been there for 5 hours)
 For a day, four days, six days, etc.
 For three weeks, seven weeks, etc.
 For two months, three months, etc.
 For five years, ten years, etc.
 For hours, more than a week, ages, a couple of months, etc.

3. “ALREADY” is used to emphasise that something was completed before

something else happened. It is also used to show surprise about things that have

happened or will have happened earlier than we expected. It usually comes

between the auxiliary verb ( have or has ) and the main verb. (We use “already”

in affirmative (positive) sentences and questions but not usually in negative

sentences)

Examples:
 She has already come.
 The plane has already landed.
 I have already done it.
 Have you already written to John?
 Has the train already left?
4. “YET” is used to refer to a time which starts in the past and continues up to the

present. It usually comes at the end of a sentence (We use “yet” mostly

in negative sentences and questions but not usually in positive sentences).

Examples:
 It hasn’t stopped snowing yet.
 They haven’t opened it yet.
 Have they arrived yet?
 Has she driven her new car yet?

5. “JUST” is used to refer to a short time before the moment of speaking. It usually

comes between the auxiliary verb ( have or has ) and the main verb (We use “just”

in affirmative ( positive ) sentences and questions)

Examples:

 We have just decided to sell our car.

 The plane has just arrived.
 Have they just left?

6. “EVER” is used to refer to at any time. It usually comes between the auxiliary

verb ( have or has ) and the main verb (We use “ever” mostly in questions)

Examples:
 Have you ever met her?
 Have you ever cooked cheesecake?
 Have you ever heard this sound?

7. “NEVER” is used to refer to not at any time. It usually comes between the

auxiliary verb ( have or has ) and the main verb (We use “never” in negative

sentences (negative meaningful)).

Examples:
 I have never been to America.
 We have never heard anything so stupid.
 She has never flown in a plane before.
Past Perfect Tense
Study the Infographic for the Past Perfect Tense

The the Infographic for the Past Perfect Tense describes a completed activity in the past. It is

used to emphasize that an action was completed before another action took place. For example:

 (+) John had baked a cake before you arrived.

( -) John had NOT baked a cake before you arrived

(?) Had John baked a cake before you arrived?

(+) Yes, he has (baked)

(-) No, he has not (baked)

 (+) They had painted the fence before I had a chance to speak to them.

( -) They had NOT painted the fence before I had a chance to speak to them.

(?) Had they painted the fence before I had a chance to speak to them?

(+) Yes, they have (painted)

(?) No, they NOT have (painted)

Detailed explanations of the Past Perfect Tense
Here are some more examples of the past perfect tense (shaded):

1. Silverfinger had taken the pill before the team reached him.

(First: He took the pill. Next: The team reached him)

2. I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.

(First: I called the police. Next: I investigated the noise)

3. The weather changed, but the team had planned its next move.

(First: The team planned. Next: The weather changed)

These 3 activities describe a completed activities in the past before another action took

place.

Sentences’ Structures
Other Examples of the formation of the Past Perfect Tense

Affirmative sentences:
 I Had visited UK.
 We had visited UK.
 She had Visited UK.
 They had Visited UK.

Negative sentences:
 I Had not visited UK.
 We had not visited UK.
 She had not Visited UK.
 They had not Visited UK.

Questions in the Past Perfect:

 Had they visited UK?
 Had he visited UK?
 Had they visited Uk?

Usage of the Past Perfect tense

Signal words
Certain signal words may be an indication to you which is the appropriate tense. In Past

Perfect Tense, they are often use the following signal words.

 never  just
 once  by
 already

Present Perfct Tense Exercise 1

Put in the verbs in brackets into the gaps. Use Present Perfect. Mind the signal words (if
given).

1. The students a flight to Vienna. (to book)

2. The cat a mouse. (just/to catch)

3. Jack and Brian this picture. (just/to draw)

4. He his friends. (already/to invite)

5. Julia a table with three columns. (just/to make)

6. My friends the geography test. (to pass)

7. I the rabbits. (just/to feed)

8. The baby hedgehogs the water. You need to get more. (already/to

drink)

9. The teacher the keys, so he can't open the door. (to lose)

10. We the worksheets. (already/to download)

Past Perfct Tense Exercise 2

1. I ______ my book. (had found / have find)

2. I _____ a promise. (had made / had make)

3. We _______ too far. (had go / had gone)

4. They __________ with a football. (had not played / had not play)

5. ____ we _____ in that shopping mall before we came here. (had, shopped / had,

shop)

6. ______ you come to the party before I _____ ? (had come / had came)

7. She ___________ home. (had nor gone / had not go)

8. They were in shock because they_______ about it before.

(had never thought / had never think )

9. She __________ French before he move to France. (hadn’t studied / hadn’t studies)

10. Tania _______ the piano until last night. (had never played / had never play)

Listening Activities (LA)

Kindly take the time of yours to watch and carefully and attentively listen to the following

video’s links of Using Present Perfect Tense and Past Perfect Tense and then write your

own summary which gives you the main points, not the details. These two videos are extremely

helpful to complete your understanding of the basic concept of the Using Present Perfect

Tense and Past Perfect Tense. Here are the online links.

LA 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGw2-p2WuJk

LA 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjj5-KnpdIQ
Online Resources
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/present_perfect_statements2.htm.
https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/past_perfect_tense.htm.
https://englishstudypage.com/grammar/present-perfect-tense/.
https://visitpare.com/pojok-bahasa/present-perfect/.
https://aboutenglishlanguage.com/past-perfect-tense/.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.studiobelajar.com%2Fwp-
content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F12%2Frumus-present-perfect-
tense.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studiobelajar.com%2Fpresent-perfect-
tense%2F&tbnid=8BUTnlTUmA8uUM&vet=12ahUKEwjIrbvIr8zsAhVa2nMBHedJDY8Q
MygiegUIARCdAg..i&docid=rkDA_il95f6jPM&w=377&h=220&q=Present%20Perfect%20
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grc=8BUTnlTUmA8uUM&imgdii=Vs8hOz5C2LuQDM.
https://www.yaclass.at/p/english-language/unterstufe/tenses-17803/past-perfect-past-perfect-
continuous-20084/re-4710679d-428d-4a2d-b241-982fd93b3d95.
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.twinkl.co.uk%2Ftw1n%
2Fimage%2Fprivate%2Ft_630%2Fimage_repo%2F76%2Fee%2Ft2-e-1545-present-perfect-
tense-dice-activity-
_ver_1.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twinkl.com.au%2Fresource%2Ft2-e-1545-
present-perfect-tense-dice-activity&tbnid=T1_2-
F8_BtbhTM&vet=12ahUKEwjIrbvIr8zsAhVa2nMBHedJDY8QMygjegUIARCfAg..i&docid
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2ahUKEwjIrbvIr8zsAhVa2nMBHedJDY8QMygjegUIARCfAg.