PERFECT TENSES

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
PA S T P E R F E C T S I M P L E
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION

• We use both the present perfect simple

(have or has + past participle) and the present
perfect continuous (have or has + been + -
ing form) to talk about past actions or states
which are still connected to the present.
 PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE
The present perfect simple usually focuses on the result of the activity in
some way
Focuses on the result
You've cleaned the bathroom! It looks
lovely!
Says 'how many'
She's read ten books this summer.
Describes a completed action
I've written you an email. 
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Focuses on the activity
I've been gardening. It's so nice out there.
Says 'how long'
She's been reading that book all day.
Describes an activity which may continue
I've been writing emails.
When we can see evidence of recent activity
The grass looks wet. Has it been raining?
I know, I'm really red. I've been running!
 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOTH
• We use both of these tenses for finished and unfinished actions.

The present perfect simple can be used to talk about unfinished actions
that started in the past and are still true in the present. It's often used with
stative verbs:
I've known John for three years.
• The present perfect continuous can also be used to talk about unfinished
actions that started in the past and are still true in the present.
She's been living here for three years.
DIFFERENCE IN MEANING
1. The present perfect continuous can be used to emphasise the length of time
that has passed. The present perfect simple is generally neutral:

They've been waiting for hours! (This emphasises the length of time).
They've waited for hours. (This doesn't emphasise the length of time).

2. On the other hand, the present perfect simple is often used when we're talking
about how much or how many. This isn't possible with the present perfect
continuous:

She's drunk three cups of coffee this morning.

She's drunk at least a litre of coffee today.
(NOT: she's been drinking three cups of coffee this morning).
 DIFFERENCE IN MEANING
3. The present perfect continuous often focuses on the action
itself, while the present perfect simple focuses on the fact that the
action is completed:
I've been reading the book you recommended. (I'm enjoying it,
but I'm not finished).
I've read the book you recommended. (I've finished it, so we
can talk about it).
• We use 'yet' and 'already' with the present perfect simple:
Have you read the book yet?
She's finished her work already.
DIFFERENCE IN MEANING

4. the present perfect continuous can be used to

emphasize that something is temporary:
She's been running a lot recently. (She doesn't
usually do this).
Usually I study at home, but I've been studying in the
library for the last week.
 PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
Subject had +Verb(V3) Rest of Sentence
(Past Participle)

I / You / We / had met him before he

They became famous
He / She / It
had lived here for three
years by the time
we met
 PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
1. A finished action before a second point in the past.
When we arrived, the film had started (= first the film started, then we
arrived).
• We usually use the past perfect to make it clear which action
happened first. Maybe we are already talking about something in the
past and we want to mention something else that is further back in
time. This is often used to explain or give a reason for something in
the past.
I'd eaten dinner so I wasn't hungry.
It had snowed in the night, so the bus didn't arrive.
 PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
2. Something that started in the past and continued up to another
action or time in the past. The past perfect tells us 'how long',
just like the present perfect, but this time the action continues up
to a point in the past rather than the present.
When he graduated, he had been in London for six years. (=
He arrived in London six years before he graduated and lived
there until he graduated, or even longer.)
On the 20th of July, I'd worked here for three months
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
3. To talk about unreal or imaginary things in the past. In the same
way that we use the past simple to talk about unreal or imaginary
things in the present, we use the past perfect (one step back in
time) to talk about unreal things in the past. This is common in the
third conditional and after wish. 
If I had known you were ill, I would have visited you.
She would have passed the exam if she had studied harder.
I wish I hadn't gone to bed so late!