present and past perfect tense

PRESENT PERFECT TENSEsubject + has / have + Verb in past participle + complement

(she,he,it)/ (they,we,you,I)

An action that started in the past and continues to

the present.

Example:

I have lived in this city for six months.

She has eaten a pizza in that restaurant.

They have taken a taxi to go to the mall.

Examples of the present perfect:

My mother has just gone to the store.

Janet has lived abroad for five years.

I haven’t seen the new movie yet.

Have you finished your homework?

It’s very common to use the contractions ‘ve and ‘s in the present

perfect:

I’ve been to Japan three times.

My mother’s just gone to the store.

Janet’s lived abroad for five years

PAST PERFECT TENSEsubject + had + Verb in past participle + complement

(she,he,it,they,we,you,I)

An action that happened before a time in the past

Example:

*When I arrived at the office this morning, I discovered that

I had left my computer on the night before.

* My mom had gone to the cinema and my dad had invited

her to have dinner in a great restaurant.

EXAMPLES

I had been to Japan twice by the time I was 10 years old.

When I woke up this morning, my husband had already eaten breakfast

It’s common to use the contraction ‘d in the past perfect:

I’d traveled to five different countries by the time I was 20 years old.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

subject + had + been +Verb –ing + C

I had been watching a terror movie in my friends’ house.

My parents had been taking two months vacations to travel to

Cusco

My cousin had been buying the last fashion jeans in an

american store.

The dog had been drinking milk in the Street.

The students had been playing soccer in the school yard.

PRACTICE