PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
Table of Contents
Present Perfect Tense indicates the completion of an action that is recently completed. This tense shows that action starts in the past but complete by now. That means actions start in the past but currently, it has completed. it used to talk about the situations that have been taken place. That is why it is called the perfect tense. In perfect tense, we use the third form of the verb to show certain actions. Past perfect tense use had + past participle (the third form of the verb) to specific actions and behaviors. If you talk about its future state, we shall use shall have and will have. Now Let, s start this tense for deep understanding.
STRUCTURE OF PERFECT TENSE
There are some rules to be followed to make sentences through this tense. These rules should be followed to make a clear understanding. Here we will discuss some examples;
He has written the book (work has finished now)
He has not written the exam. (Negative form)
Has he written the book (Interrogative form)
Has he not written the book (interrogative and negative form)
They have gone to school
She has cooked the meal
They have finished the work
Above all sentences belong to the present perfect tense. There is one thing you should notice, that is the third form of the verb uses in each sentence. In previous tenses such as present indefinite and present continuous tense, we used first form and first form + ing. If you did not read these posts, you can read them here. Present indefinite, present continuous tense. These will give you a clear understanding of all tense.
Now look at the structure of the present perfect tense and consult the following table we start with the above examples.
| Subject | Helping verb | The third form of the verb | Object |
| He | has | written | book |
| They | have | gone | school |
| She | has | cooked | meal |
| They | have | finished | work |
| He | has | came | home |
WARNING
We will use ( have ) only with plural pronouns and countable pronouns such as They, and Those. Remember do not use have with singular pronouns. Only (Has) will be used with singular pronouns. Now countable Nouns are those which can be count. For example. Milk cannot be counted while men can be counted. So always use (has) only with HE, SHE, and IT.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
In the past perfect tense, we should use had instead of has and have. Had will be used irrespective of singular and plural pronouns. So let,s know about it through some examples.
He had written the book (work has finished in past)
They had gone to school
She had cooked the meal
They had finished the work
MORE USE OF PAST PERFECT TENSE
Past perfect tense shows the completion of an action in the past. It is also used to express an activity that is completed before another activity. Take some examples,
He had gone before I came.
He had taken his share before they came
The above two sentences show that work has been completed before the other one. Because when they came he has already taken his share.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
Perfect tense also used in the future form. Under this category, some rules must be followed for getting deep knowledge regarding the future perfect tense. In this tense, will have and shall have, will be used. REMEMBER never ever use shall has or will has. There is no such concept exists of shall and will has in the English language. So be very careful before using them. Now we teach you through some examples.
I shall have completed my work by 12th September
I shall have slept before you come
They will have bought tickets before the train comes.
He will have washed the clothes by morning.
We did not use will has in the above examples. So you should have to follow the same rules for making future perfect tense. Further, its negative and interrogative structure is the same as we use it in the above present perfect tense example. For you, we are giving a table of the perfect tense. It is better to calculate it.
TABLE FOR PERFECT TENSE
| Present Perfect Tense | Past Perfect Tense | Future Perfect Tense |
| He has written the book | He had written the book | He shall have written the book |
| They have done their job | They had done their job | They shall have done their job |
| She has cooked the meal | She had cooked the meal before they came | They shall have cooked the meal before they came |
| Children have gone to school | Children had gone to school | Children shall have gone to school |