Other English Verb Tenses

To speak about the past

USE:

•When an activity happened at an Examples:

unspecified time in the past (before
the present) - They have already seen that movie.
- We have visited New York City many
•When an activity has been repeated
times.
several times before now - I have just eaten.
•When an activity was very recently - I have studied Spanish for many years
completed before now
•When an activity is not completed in
the past
Indicators
Ever Never How long…?
So far Already Yet
Just Recently For
since Still
Present Perfect Continuous
•This tense is used to describe actions that
have been continuously in progress before
now. These actions are not completed.
•Example: I have been waiting here for the
last two hours.
•Form: have or has + been + verbing
Present perfect simple or continuous?
How do we know? Pay attention to the emphasis of the action.

Which emphasises the duration of the action?

1. He has been waiting since two o’clock.

2. I have just received your message.
3. They’ve been writing to each other for years.
Past Perfect
•This tense is not used a lot. It can often be used
interchangeably with the simple past because these tenses
do not differ much in meaning. The past perfect tense
refers to activities that happened before a specific time in
the past.
•Example, He had visited her many times before she died.
•Form: had + past participle
Indicators: Before, After, Because