What Are Perfect Verb Tenses?

Perfect verb tenses are used to show that an action has been completed at some point in time. They are useful for talking about things that have happened in the past, are happening now, or will happen in the future, but with a focus on their completion.

There are three main perfect tenses:

  1. Present Perfect
  2. Past Perfect
  3. Future Perfect

Present Perfect Tense

Explanation: The present perfect tense describes an action that happened at some unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.

Form:

  • Have/Has + past participle
  • Example: “I have finished my homework.”

Key Rules:

  • Use “have” with “I”, “you”, “we”, and “they”.
  • Use “has” with “he”, “she”, and “it”.
  • The past participle of regular verbs ends in -ed (e.g., “played”, “watched”).
  • Irregular verbs have unique past participles (e.g., “gone”, “seen”).

Past Perfect Tense

Explanation: The past perfect tense describes an action that was completed before another action or time in the past.

Form:

  • Had + past participle
  • Example: “I had finished my homework before dinner.”

Key Rules:

  • Always use “had”, regardless of the subject.
  • The past participle form is the same as in the present perfect tense.

Future Perfect Tense

Explanation: The future perfect tense describes an action that will be completed before another point in the future.

Form:

  • Will have + past participle
  • Example: “I will have finished my homework by 8 PM.”

Key Rules:

  • Use “will have” with all subjects.
  • The past participle form is the same as in the present perfect tense.

Tips and Tricks

  • Time Expressions: Look for time expressions that can help you decide which perfect tense to use, such as “already”, “before”, “by the time”, and “since”.
  • Past Participle: Learn the past participles of irregular verbs because they don’t follow the regular -ed rule.
  • Practice Makes Perfect: Regularly practice forming and using these tenses in sentences to get more comfortable with them.

Questions and Answers

Easy Difficulty

  1. What is the form of the present perfect tense?
  • Answer: Have/has + past participle.
  1. How do you form the past perfect tense?
  • Answer: Had + past participle.
  1. Which tense describes an action completed before another past action?
  • Answer: Past perfect tense.
  1. Fill in the blank: “She _ (finish) her book.” (Present Perfect)
  • Answer: has finished.
  1. Fill in the blank: “They _ (see) that movie.” (Present Perfect)
  • Answer: have seen.
  1. How do you form the future perfect tense?
  • Answer: Will have + past participle.
  1. Fill in the blank: “He _ (write) the letter by tomorrow.” (Future Perfect)
  • Answer: will have written.
  1. Which tense is used for actions that will be completed before another future time?
  • Answer: Future perfect tense.
  1. Fill in the blank: “I _ (eat) breakfast before I went to school.” (Past Perfect)
  • Answer: had eaten.
  1. Fill in the blank: “By next year, they _ (complete) the project.” (Future Perfect)
    • Answer: will have completed.
  2. What is the past participle of “go”?
    • Answer: Gone.
  3. What is the past participle of “watch”?
    • Answer: Watched.
  4. Fill in the blank: “By the time he arrives, we _ (finish) the game.” (Future Perfect)
    • Answer: will have finished.
  5. What auxiliary verb is used in the present perfect tense with “he”?
    • Answer: Has.
  6. Fill in the blank: “She _ (live) in London for five years.” (Present Perfect)
    • Answer: has lived.
  7. Which tense describes an action completed before another action in the past?
    • Answer: Past perfect tense.
  8. Fill in the blank: “They _ (meet) their friends last weekend.” (Past Perfect)
    • Answer: had met.
  9. What auxiliary verbs are used in the present perfect tense?
    • Answer: Have and has.
  10. Fill in the blank: “By the end of the day, we _ (finish) the report.” (Future Perfect)
    • Answer: will have finished.
  11. What is the past participle of “find”?
    • Answer: Found.

Medium Difficulty

  1. Create a sentence using the present perfect tense with the verb “do”.
  • Answer: “I have done my homework.”
  1. How is the past perfect tense used to show an action completed before another past event?
  • Answer: It is used to indicate that one action was finished before another action in the past.
  1. Create a sentence using the future perfect tense with the verb “finish”.
  • Answer: “By next week, she will have finished the book.”
  1. Fill in the blank: “By the time we get there, the film _ (start).” (Future Perfect)
  • Answer: will have started.
  1. Fill in the blank: “He _ (never see) that movie before.” (Present Perfect)
  • Answer: has never seen.
  1. Explain the difference between “have” and “has” in the present perfect tense.
  • Answer: “Have” is used with I, you, we, and they. “Has” is used with he, she, and it.
  1. Create a sentence using the past perfect tense with “go”.
  • Answer: “They had gone to the store before it started raining.”
  1. What is the past participle of “begin”?
  • Answer: Begun.
  1. Fill in the blank: “She _ (be) to Paris several times.” (Present Perfect)
  • Answer: has been.
  1. Fill in the blank: “We _ (already eat) dinner before they arrived.” (Past Perfect)
    • Answer: had already eaten.
  2. Create a sentence using the past perfect tense with the verb “write”.
    • Answer: “He had written the letter before the meeting.”
  3. Fill in the blank: “By the time she arrives, I _ (finish) my work.” (Future Perfect)
    • Answer: will have finished.
  4. Create a sentence using the future perfect tense with “complete”.
    • Answer: “By next month, they will have completed the construction.”
  5. What is the past participle of “eat”?
    • Answer: Eaten.
  6. Fill in the blank: “They _ (just finish) their homework.” (Present Perfect)
    • Answer: have just finished.
  7. What tense is used to show that an action was completed before another action in the past?
    • Answer: Past perfect tense.
  8. Fill in the blank: “She _ (read) the book by the end of the week.” (Future Perfect)
    • Answer: will have read.
  9. Create a sentence using the present perfect tense with “see”.
    • Answer: “I have seen that movie before.”
  10. Fill in the blank: “They _ (already arrive) when we got there.” (Past Perfect)
    • Answer: had already arrived.
  11. What is the difference in form between the past perfect and the present perfect tenses?
    • Answer: The past perfect uses “had” + past participle, while the present perfect uses “have/has” + past participle.

High Difficulty

  1. Create a sentence using the present perfect tense to indicate an action that started in the past and continues to the present.
  • Answer: “I have lived here for ten years.”
  1. What is the past perfect tense form for the verb “write” and use it in a sentence?
  • Answer: Had written. “She had written the report before the deadline.”
  1. In which tense would you describe an action that was completed before a specific moment in the past? Provide an example.
  • Answer: Past perfect tense. Example: “He had left the house before it started raining.”
  1. Create a sentence using the future perfect tense to express an action that will be completed before another future action.
  • Answer: “By the time you arrive, I will have finished the project.”
  1. Explain how the past perfect tense can be used to clarify the sequence of events in a story.
  • Answer: The past perfect tense helps show which event happened first in the past, providing a clear sequence. For example, “By the time she called, I had already left.”