Present Perfect
To form the Present Perfect Tense we use has or have with the past participle form of the verb. Most past participles end in -ed (worked, studied, etc.). Irregular verbs have special past participles that must be memorized. (went, spoken, seen, etc.)
We use Present Perfect Tense:
to express an action that began in the past and continues in the present (often with sinceand for).
Example: David has worked in Spain since 1996.
with adverbs such as ever, already,never, recently, lately, yet, always, etc.
Example: Jane has already recieved her birthday presents.
to express an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past (the exact time when it happened is not important)
Example: We have moved into a new house.
to talk about a repeated action in the past with unspecified time of completion (with so far, many times, since, for the last year,for hours, for a week, several times, etc.)
Example: He has been in New York many times.
to talk about a very recently completed action
Example: We have just finished our lunch.
we often use Present Perfect after a superlatives
Example: This is the most delicious food I have ever eaten.
we also use Present Perfect with the expressions "This is the first time...", "It's the first time...", etc.
Example: It's the first time I've ever eaten Chinese food
sometimes Present Perfect is used to emphasise on the completion of the act in the time clause (with time words such as when,until, after, before, as soon as)
Example: You can go out as soon as you have finished your homework.
Exercise
1.Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form:
Exercise 2.Translate into English:
Exercise 3.Make up the sentences using the Present Perfect:
Exercise 4.Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form:
Test 3 (Present Perfect)
1. Choose the correct answer:
2. Make up the sentences using the Present Perfect:
3. Translate into English:
Past Perfect
To form the Past Perfect Tense we use had with the past participle form of the verb. Most past participles end in -ed (painted, arrived, visited, etc.). Irregular verbs have special past participles that must be memorized. (told, said, spoken, eaten, etc.)
We use Past Perfect Tense:
to say that something had already happened before another action or specific time in the past (often with adverbs like already, until, already... by, before, after,just; if either before or after is used Past Simple may be used instead Past Perfect)
Example: When Linda arrived her husband had left.
the action which occurs previously in time is expressed in the past perfect tense, and the action which occurs later is expressed in the past tense
Example: After I had cooked (cooked) the dinner I watched TV.
in reported speech after verbs like told,asked, said, wanted, wondered, explained
Example: Your parents wanted to know what you had doneyesterday.
to show regret about the past
Example: I wish we had stayed at another hotel.
in third conditional, also called conditional type 3 (if + past perfect in the 'if' clause,perfect conditional in the main clause). This is a structure we use to talk about unreal conditions in the past.
Example: If the children had been good their mother would have taken them to the zoo.
with conjunctions like no sooner ... thanor hardly/barely ... when
Example: Hardly had he finished working, when his girlfriend arrived.
a state that started in the past, and continued up to some time in the past
Example: He had worked there for two years before he got fired.
Exercise 1.Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form:
Exercise 2.Translate into English:
Exercise 3.Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets and the Past Perfect as in the example:
Exercise 4.Make up the sentences using the Past Perfect Tense:
