The perfect tenses use a form of have plus a past participle, the third principal part from Irregular Verbs. Like the progressive tenses, they add a shade of time: an action finished before some point.
| Tense | Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | has / have + participle | from the past up to now, with no finished time named | I have read three books this month. |
| Past perfect | had + participle | before another past event | When we arrived, the movie had started. |
| Future perfect | will have + participle | finished before a future time | By June, she will have finished the quilt. |
Key idea
Have + past participle looks back: has eaten (up to now), had eaten (before another past time), will have eaten (before a future time).
Why it works
The perfect tenses keep events in order. “When we arrived, the movie started” means it began as we walked in. “When we arrived, the movie had started” means we missed the beginning.
Worked example: Finished time or not?
I (see) that movie yesterday. I (see) it twice.
- Yesterday names a finished time: simple past, saw.
- “Twice,” with no time named, counts up to now: present perfect, have seen.
Answer: I saw that movie yesterday. I have seen it twice.
Worked example: Two past events
By the time we reached the station, the train (leave).
- Two past events: we reached the station; the train left.
- The train left first, so it takes the past perfect.
Answer: … the train had left.
Worked example: Before a future time
By next Friday, I (finish) my project.
- The finishing will be done before a future point, next Friday.
- Use will have + finished.
Answer: By next Friday, I will have finished my project.
Common mistake
Putting a finished time with the present perfect (“I have seen it yesterday”): use the simple past, “I saw it yesterday.” And using the simple past where the past perfect shows which of two past events came first.