We now covered most of the tenses.  We left out the perfect tense.  Let us now examine the perfect.

 

The present perfect

 

Q. It is noon. What has John already done?

A. John has already attended English class.

Note: 'already' refers to an indefinite time in the near past.

Q. It is noon. What hasn't John done yet?

A. John has not eaten lunch yet.

 

Note: 'yet' refers to an indefinite time in the near past.

 

Q. It is 6:30.  What has John just done?

A. John has just gotten up.

 

Note: 'just' refers to an indefinite time in the near past.

 

The past perfect

 

Q. What had John already done by noon yesterday?

A. John had already attended English class by noon yesterday.

 

Q. What hadn't John done by noon yesterday?

A. John had not eaten lunch by noon yesterday.

 

Making Sense of the Perfect:

 

We use the present perfect tense when the action of the sentence began in the past and  continues into the present.

Example 1:    John has worked in the United States since 1984.

 

This example above tells us that John started to work in the United States in 1984 and is still working now. 

Example 2:    John has always loved the hotel business.

 

This sentence above tells us that John started to love the hotel business sometime ago    and he still loves it now. 

Example 3:   John has never worked in a large hotel.

 

This sentence tells us that John did not work in a large hotel in the past and is not working in a large hotel now.

We also use the present perfect to refer to an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past. When we talk about an action that happened in the past but we do not give a specific time as to when the action happened.

 

Example 1:  Mr. Johnson has received Maria's letter.

 

Here the action of receiving Maria's letter took place in the past, but the sentence does not specify when in the past. 

Example 2:   Mr. Johnson has not answered the letter yet.

 

Again, here the sentence does not specify any time. Yet refers to an indefinite time in the near past. 

Example 3:   The company has already filled the position.

 

The sentence above indicates that the company filled the position in the past but does not tell us when the action of filling the position took place.

 

More Clarification:

 

To explain this in more detail, let us compare and contrast the present simple to the present perfect.

 

Consider the following: 

 

                       I have a car.

                       I have had my car for two years.

 

                       I am married.

                       I have been married since July.

 

Notice that the simple present in the sentences I have a car and I am married refers only to the present.  The other sentences in the perfect show continuation from the past to the present. note the use of the words: for and since.  These two words always show continuation from the past to the present.

Fill each blank with the missing word:

1- He has been in the United States ------ 1992.

2- He has been sick ----- Monday.

3- She has worked at the same job ------ 10 years.

4- We ------ known each other for many years.

 

Well, how did we do so far?  The missing words should be: 

1- since

2- since

3- for

4- have    

 

The present Perfect Progressive:

 

With some verbs such as live, work, study, teach, and wear, we can use either the present perfect or the present perfect continuous tense with actions that began in the past and continue to the present.  There is very little difference in meaning.

John has been living in the United States for many years.

John has lived in the United States for many years.

The meaning is the same in both sentences.  

 

Note that we do not use the perfect continuous form with non-action verbs.

 

Example:  He has had a lot of hotel experience since he came to the United States.

 

We do not say:  He has been having a lot of hotel experience.

Here are some examples of non-action verbs:

 

The Past Perfect:

 

Now that we understand the present perfect, the past perfect will not be difficult to comprehend.  Let us decide on the meaning of the word perfect.  The word perfect in plain English means complete.  So, when we say past perfect, we mean that the action was completed in the past.

Consider the following:

 

John got up at 6:30 yesterday. He made breakfast at 7:30. He went to school at 8:00. He attended English class at 9:00. He ate lunch at 12:30.

 

(1) John had eaten breakfast (at 7:30) before he went to school 9at 8:00).

 

(2) John had  attended English class before he ate lunch.

 

So, the past perfect is used when the sentence includes two actions in the past one of which happened before the other.

 

Consider the following:

 

I drove my sister to the airport yesterday.  Her flight was scheduled at 2:00.  We arrived at 2:15.

 

This would be: By the time we arrived at the airport, the plane had left already. (The plane left at 2:00, but we arrived at 2:15)

 

The action leaving happened before the action arriving.  

 

Let us practice:

 

(1) I ate breakfast at 7:00.  I read the newspaper at 8:00.

     I ------- breakfast before I read the newspaper.

 

(2) Maria went to school at 9:00. She went to the bank at 10:00.

     Maria ------- to school before she went to the bank.

(3) Juan studied English in Mexico in 1995. Juan came to the United States in 1996.

      Juan ----------- English in Mexico before he came to the United States.  

 

Surely your answers were as follows:

(1) Had eaten

(2) Had gone

(3) Had studied

 

Now let us examine the rule:

 

You certainly recall when we talked about verb to have in the previous lesson.  We said that verb to have is used as an auxiliary or helping verb that gives a specific meaning to the verb that follows.  It actually creates the perfect tense.

 

We said: " The verb to have is used as an auxiliary to help other verbs create the perfect tense, for example, “I have studied English for five years;” or “I have visited Vietnam.”

 

So, the formula for the perfect tense is:

To have + verb in the past participle

We have lived here for five years.

She has worked here for five years.

They had lived here five years before they moved to Europe.

 

More practice:

 

Fill in each blank with the correct form of the verb in parentheses to form the perfect tense.

(1) You ---------(see) his resume.

(2) Mr. Johnson ---------- (get) a letter from Mary.

(3) There ------ (be) many applicants for the job.

(4) Juan -------- (not/include) his age on his resume.

(5) I ------- (read) Juan's resume.

 

Now compare your responses to the following:

(1)  Have seen

(2)  Has gotten

(3)  Have been

(4)  Has not included

(5)  Have read 

 

How did we do? I am sure we did very well. 

 

Now let us try this set of questions:

 

(1)  Last night I -------- (eat) dinner before I completed my homework.

(2)  I wanted to buy a television from the electronic store yesterday. By the time I arrived at the store, it ------

(close) already.

(3)  I --------- (live) in England, before I came to the United States.

(4)  She --------- (take) money from the bank before she went to the dealer to buy her car.

(5)  Most students ----------(study) English before they enrolled in this course.

  

Now compare your responses to the following:

(1)  Had eaten

(2)  Had closed

(3)  Had lived

(4)  Had taken

(5)  Had studied

 

 How did we do? I am sure we did very well. 

 

Now review the lesson again and be prepared for the next lesson when we examine the future perfect.  Be sure to check the links I have provided, review the Frequently Asked Questions section and work on the quiz.

 

Happy Learning

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

 

Q.   Why do we have to use the present perfect?

 

A.   Well, the present perfect is an important tense in the English language. We use it when we want to give the impression that an action started in the past and continues through the present. The present perfect reduces three sentences into one.

 

Consider the following:

 

(1) Maria came to the United States in 1990.

(2) She lives in the United States now.

(3) She will most likely be in the United States in near future.

 

Well, the three sentences above can be made into one that will provide the same meaning: Maria has lived in the United States since 1990.

 

Another good reason why we use the present perfect is when we are reporting an action that happened in the past, but we do not specify time.

 

Consider the following:

 

What is the difference between the following two sentences?

(1) I visited Mexico in 1995.

(2) I have visited Mexico.

 Well, the first sentence indicates when I visited Mexico, but the second one does not.  It would be incorrect to say:

     I have visited Mexico in 1995.

So, the present perfect is an important tense.

Q.   Why do we use verb 'have' sometimes twice in one sentence, for example, I had had a car in London before I came to the United States?

 

A.   This is a good question because verb to have could be confusing to learners of English as a foreign language. Well, certainly you recall in lesson two we examined verb to have as a potentially troublesome verb.  The reason for such confusion is that verb to have has two meanings and two different functions. First, verb to have has a meaning on its own which indicate ownership.  For example, I have a car; she has a house; or we have a farm.  Also verb to have functions as a helping auxiliary without a meaning of its own. For example I have lived in California for 10 years.  Verb have here is merely a helping one; it helps verb to live in creating the present perfect meaning.

 

Well, now that we know that, let us try to put the two verbs together.  For example, let us make a sentence in the perfect tense meaning that I bought a car two years ago, and I still have that car.

 

Well, here it is:  I have had a car for two years.

The first "have" is the auxiliary

The second "have" is the main verb, which refers to ownership.

 

Q.   What is the difference between the present perfect and the present perfect continuous?

 

A.   The difference is not significant.  However, let us look at the following situation:

Assume that you are waiting for your friend in a coffee shop.  Your friend had told you to wait for him at 6:00.  Now it is 8:00 and your friend is not there. Now you are not very happy because of the long wait. You call your friend on the telephone, and he answers the phone.  Now, which of the following two sentences you are most likely to say:

(1) I have waited for you for two hours; or,

(2) I have been waiting for you for two hours.

 

What was your choice? If you have selected the second sentence, you are absolutely right.  The second sentence gives the feeling of the wait because of its continuous form.

 

So it is safe to say that the perfect progressive form is used to emphasize continuity, yet the meaning is the same.

 

Q.   What is the purpose of the past perfect?

 

A.   The past perfect tense is used when we have two actions in a sentence, both actions are in the past, but one happened before the other.  The action that took place first is in the past perfect. For example: I had drunk coffee before I went to school; it was raining this morning.  By the time I arrived at work, the rain had stopped already.

 

Q.   The past participle in English is difficult. Do I have to memorize all the irregular verbs?

 

A.   No, do not memorize. Try to pay attention to such verbs when you hear them.  

 

 Eventually, you will learn them.

 

Now try this exercise:

 

1- They ------- dinner.

a) Have ate

b) Have eaten  

c) Ate

 

2- I stopped studying at 11:00 last night.  At 11:00,   ------ for three hours.

a) Have been studying

b) Studied 

c) Had been studying 

 

3- Juan came here in 1996 from Mexico.  He ---------- English in Mexico before he moved to the US.

a) Studied 

b) Have studied 

c) Had studied 

 

4- The library -------- since last Wednesday.

a) Was closed

b) Closed 

c) Has been closed 

 

5- Maria ------- the bus before the accident took place.

a) Has gotten off 

b) Was getting off 

c)  Had gotten off 

 

6- We --------- trouble with our shower for a week.

a) Had

b) Have had 

c) Had had

 

7- Michael is not hungry.  He -------.

a) Had already eaten

b) Has already eaten

c) Eats 

External Links: 

http://www.pacificnet.net/~sperling/quiz/past2.html 

http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/ 

http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/ 

http://www.lang.uiuc.edu/r-li5/esl/