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Perfect Tenses

1. We use the Present Perfect to indicate that something in the past is
connected to something in the present.

The child has learned fractions.

The child knows fractions now.
The child had a lesson in fractions in the past.
(Fractions are parts of a number: one half--½, one quarter--¼.)

Jian-Hui: Have you seen Gone with the Wind, Eileen?
Eileen: Yes, I have. I liked it very much.

Eileen has seen the movie and is familiar with it.
She did not say WHEN she saw it.

2. We use the Present Perfect with a repeated activity before now.

Example                                                     Explanation

I have taken the TOEFL test three times.	I took the test three times before right now. I am not necessarily taking the test now.
This is the third time I have taken the TOEFL.	I am taking the test now.  I also took it twice in the past.

3. We use the Present Perfect with "for" or "since" for an activity or action that starts in the past and continues into the present.

Example                                                     Explanation

Ahmed has lived in Cairo for six years.	He still lives there. We know how long he's lived there.
It's been raining for six days.	It's still raining. We know how long it's been raining.

Example                                                     Explanation

I've been staying at the Hilton since Tuesday.	I stayed there last night and every night since Tuesday. We know when he arrived.
The temperature has been above 30° C since June 1.	It's still very hot. We know when the heat wave began.

The words for and since indicate that an action is unfinished.
Use for to express a period of time.
Use since to indicate the start of an action or activity.

Past Perfect

4.  When we speak in the past perfect, we are talking about at least two
events in the past.

The door on the freezer had been open for 24 hours when we discovered it. All the food had gone bad.

When Juan arrived at the party, I had already gone home.

These two examples indicate that one event in the past occurred before the other.

Note: the bold-face type indicates the Past Perfect. Use the Past Perfect to indicate the action that happened first.

5. We also use the Past Perfect to indicate actions that happen repeatedly in the past.

He had been to Cairo several times before he was appointed Public Affairs Officer at the Cairo post.

This is something that happened several times in the past before a different, more recent, action happened.

Past Perfect Progressive

6. When we speak in the past perfect progressive, we emphasize the duration of an event.

The man had been waiting to see a doctor for two hours.

Walter had been taking Spanish lessons since he was in high school, so he should have been pretty good.

7. The past perfect progressive also may express an activity in progress for a reason in the past.

Sandra was exhausted because she'd been running to catch the bus.

The children were dirty because they'd been playing in the mud.

Sometimes we use the Past Perfect Progressive for minor detective work!

I came home and saw that the pillows were on the floor; so I knew that my dog, Homer, had been lying on the sofa.

Mrs. Brown saw cookie crumbs on the counter; so she knew that her husband had been snacking.

Forming the Perfect Tenses

To form the Present Perfect, you need the past participle form of the verb preceded by have or has. For regular verbs, this is the simple form plus -ed. Click here to find a very complete list of the past participles of irregular verbs.

Regular Verbs:	Irregular Verbs:
I have walked to work this week.	I have eaten at this restaurant many times.
Eva has learned the periodic table of elements.	He's flown American Airlines every time he's gone to Rome.
Aditya had reminded me twice before I finally fixed the washing machine.	They had met each other three years before college.

Practice #1 Practice #2 List of Lessons

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