THE PERFECT TENSES WEEK 2, UNITS 7-16 & APPENDIX 1 & 2

REVIEW! Write sentence using the following tenses. Make sure it is correct in context. Present simple (verb or verb+s) Present continuous (“be” verb+ing) Past simple tense (usually verb+ed) Past continuous tense (“was/were” verb+ing)

WHAT ARE PERFECT TENSES? Perfect tenses have a form of “have” and a verb

PRESENT PERFECT How to make it: Subject + form of have + pp (past participle)* Example: I’ve forgotten his name. The police have arrested the two robbers. When to use it: There is always a connection with the present time. Recent events. A period of time that continues from the past until now. It indicates that something is not finished. *See Appendix 1 for irregular forms.

PRESENT PERFECT Tom has just arrived. When is Julie leaving? She’s already gone. Has it stopped raining yet?

PRESENT PERFECT Have you ever eaten caviar? No, I’ve never eaten caviar. I’ve drunk four cups of coffee today. I’ve lived in Dalian for seven months. It’s the first time Sam has driven a car.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS How to make it: Subject + form of have + “been” + verb-ing Examples: It has been raining. He has been watching television all day. When to use it: An action has recently stopped or just stopped. Think of it as present continuous… but it has just finished.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS VS PRESENT PERFECT Generally, the present perfect continuous is used for ongoing actions and the present perfect is used for completed actions. Text example: Anna’s clothes are covered in paint. She has been painting the ceiling. (And she is still painting it) The ceiling is now completely blue. Anna has painted the ceiling. Note- in the second example you could actually use simple past… this would be ok also.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU…? Another way to use past perfect is the construction “How long have you been…?” Examples: How long have you been in school? How long have you been learning English? How long have you been living in Dalian? How long have you known your best friend?

PRESENT PERFECT VS SIMPLE PAST How do you know which to use? Occasionally it doesn’t matter but remember… Present perfect is for actions that are not finished Simple past is for finished actions. Compare: I’ve had three cups of coffee today. I drank three cups yesterday.

PAST PERFECT How to make it: Subject + had + pp It’s the same as present perfect but with “had” Examples: If I had known this would happen, I never would have gone there. She was very worried about the flight because she had never flown before. When to use it: When something had happened before some time in the past.

PAST PERFECT

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS How to make it: Subject + had + been + verb+ing Examples: He had been walking for half an hour when it began to rain. I was tired when I arrived home. I had been working all day. When to use it: When something happened just before a particular time in the past.

PAST PERFECT “He had been driving for three hours when he fell asleep.”