Perfect Tenses

Perfect tenses consist of a form of have + the past participle.

  1. Present Perfect Tense ( has/have + past participle ) is used for ...

    • an action that began in the past and is still going on in the present

      Past
      Present
          

      - Jean has walked to school since kindergarten.
      - She has walked to school for years.
      - She has never taken a cab to school before.

      Note: The present perfect is often used with "for" (period of time) and "since" (point in time).

    • an action that began in the past and is completed at the time of speaking/writing

      Past
      Present

      - Jean has stopped walking to school.


    Present Perfect versus Simple Past - the differences


  2. Past Perfect Tense ( had + past participle ) is used for ...

    Past

    • an action already completed by the time of another past action

      - Jean flagged down a cab after she had walked several minutes in the rain.
      - After she had walked for several minutes in the rain, Jean flagged down a cab.

      Note: Two actions happened in the past; ask yourself, "Which action happened first?"
      Use the past perfect for the first action (in time).

    • an action already completed at some specific past time

      - By 8:30, Jean had walked two miles.


  3. Future Perfect Tense ( will/shall + have + past participle ) is used for ...

    an action that will be completed before or by a certain future time.
    Future
        

    - Jean will have reached school by 9:00 a.m.


The perfect tenses have progressive forms to express the length of time an action is, was, or will be in progress.

Present perfect continuous:    I have been marching all morning (and I'm still marching now).   
Past perfect continuous: I had been marching before I fainted.
Future perfect continuous: I will have been marching for five hours by one o'clock.


Perfect Tenses Quiz