by Dr. Radut

The perfect Tense

The perfect tense is a grammatical tense that describes an action that has been completed in the past. It is formed using the present tense of the auxiliary verb "have" and the past participle of the main verb. For example, "I have eaten" is in the present perfect tense, indicating that the action of eating has been completed in the past, but the time of completion is not specified. The past perfect tense, on the other hand, refers to an action that was completed before another action in the past. It is formed using the past tense of the auxiliary verb "have" and the past participle of the main verb, for example "I had eaten" indicate action completed before other past action

Types of Perfect Tense

There are three main types of perfect tenses in English grammar:

  1. Present Perfect: This tense is used to describe an action that was completed at some unspecified time in the past, or an action that began in the past and continues up to the present. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "have" in the present tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. For example: "I have eaten breakfast."

  2. Past Perfect: This tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "had" in the past tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. For example: "I had finished my homework before I went to bed."

  3. Future Perfect: This tense is used to describe an action that will be completed at some point in the future before another action takes place. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "will have" in the future tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb. For example: "I will have completed the project by next Friday."

Note that perfect tenses are only used in English, and in all other languages the way they are formed, functions and usage can vary.

Examples for Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Tense:

  1. "I have studied for my exam all week."
  2. "They have lived in this city for 15 years."
  3. "She has been working at that company for 3 months."
  4. "He has finished his project before the deadline."
  5. "We have seen that movie twice."
  6. "They have visited 5 countries this year."
  7. "I have been feeling sick for the past two days."
  8. "She has received her degree from the university."
  9. "He has been playing the guitar for 5 years."
  10. "We have completed our training for the marathon."

Past Perfect Tense:

  1. "I had already eaten lunch when you called."
  2. "She had finished her work before she left the office."
  3. "They had studied the material before the exam."
  4. "He had written the letter before he posted it."
  5. "We had seen the movie before we read the book."
  6. "She had completed her degree before she started her job."
  7. "I had been living in this city for 10 years before I moved."
  8. "He had been playing the guitar for 2 years before he joined the band."
  9. "We had finished our homework before we watched the movie."
  10. "They had visited 3 countries before they came to ours"

Future Perfect Tense:

  1. "I will have graduated from college by this time next year."
  2. "He will have finished his training by next month."
  3. "They will have completed the project before the deadline."
  4. "She will have been working at that company for 5 years by next month."
  5. "We will have visited all 50 states by the end of the year."
  6. "I will have been living in this city for 20 years by 2025."
  7. "He will have been playing the guitar for 10 years by next year."
  8. "They will have finished their training before they participate in the competition"
  9. "She will have received her degree by the time she starts her new job."
  10. "We will have finished our book by next week."

Quiz : Perfect Tenses

ere is a simple quiz on the perfect tenses in English:

  1. Which of the following sentences is in the present perfect tense? a) I have been studying for my exam all week. b) I studied for my exam all week. c) I will study for my exam all week.

  2. Which of the following sentences is in the past perfect tense? a) I had finished my homework before I went to bed. b) I finished my homework before I went to bed. c) I will finish my homework before I go to bed.

  3. Which of the following sentences is in the future perfect tense? a) I will have graduated from college by this time next year. b) I graduated from college last year. c) I am graduating from college this year.

  4. Complete the sentence: "By the time they arrive, we __________ dinner." a) Will have finished b) Have finished c) Will finish

  5. Complete the sentence: "Before the concert starts, I ___________ my guitar." a) Will tune b) Will have tuned c) Have tuned

  6. Complete the sentence: "I __________ tennis for 5 years before I joined the team" a) Have played b) Had played c) Will have played

  7. Complete the sentence: "I __________ sick for the past 2 days." a) Will have been feeling b) Have been feeling c) Will feel

  8. Complete the sentence: "He __________ the project by next Friday." a) Will finish b) Will have finished c) Has finished

  9. Complete the sentence: "We __________ the movie twice." a) Will have seen b) Have seen c) Will see

  10. Complete the sentence: "They __________ 5 countries this year." a) Will have visited b) Have visited c) Will visit

Answers: 1)a 2)a 3)a 4)b 5)b 6)b 7)b 8)b 9)b 10)b

Before You Leave  :Perfect Tense Memory

here is a memory card with the formation of the perfect tenses in English:

  1. Present Perfect Tense:  "have" + past participle of the main verb Example: "I have eaten breakfast."
  2. Past Perfect Tense: "had" + past participle of the main verb
  3. Example: "I had finished my homework before I went to bed."
  4. Future Perfect Tense: "will have" + past participle of the main verb Example: "I will have completed the project by next Friday."