After detailing the Simple Tense of the verb, we now go to perfect tenses. Perfect Tense is another set of verb tenses. Perfect tenses are actions already completed. As the word implies, perfect means "completely done" or "made complete". So what's the difference between simple and perfect tenses? The perfect tense is used when the time of an action is not specified, while the Simple tense is used when the details of the time or place of action are given. For perfect tenses, we have the Present Perfect Tense, Past Perfect Tense, and Future Perfect Tense.
It is important to know the regular and irregular verbs with their equivalent past participle in constructing a sentence with perfect tense.
Present Perfect Tense > this is an action completed concerning the present. It is used to express an action that has just or already happened, how often the action has happened, or to emphasize a past action's result or consequence.
Forms: he /she /it /singular subject noun = has + past participle of the verb ;
I /you /we /they /plural subject noun = have + past participle of the verb
Examples:
1) She has blown her hair already.
2) It has happened twice.
3) Pete has discussed a new lesson.
4) I have just bought a new cellphone.
5) We have gone here many times.
6) The basketball players have shown their best in that game.
Past Perfect Tense > this is an action completed concerning the past. It is used to show an action that has happened before another action happened in the past.
Forms: subject(s) = had + past participle of the verb
Examples:
1) They had won the game when he fell.
2) He had studied the layout before he arrived at the meeting.
3) The children were sad since she had left the convent.
4) The men build this dam because the plants had been dying from drought.
* the italicized words are the actions in the past, while the underlined words are the actions completely done in the past before another action.
* conjunctions such as when, before, and since, because are also used to show action in the past perfect tense.
Future Perfect Tense > this is an action completed concerning the future. It is used to show that an action will have been completed at some time in the future.
Forms: subject(s) = will /shall + have + past participle of the verb
Examples:
1) You shall have arrived by 5:00 in the morning.
2) He will have been here for three weeks to finish the work.
3) Joy and Kate will have known each other this coming week.
4) Won't they have stayed here tomorrow night?
*won't = will not
