When do I use the Perfect Tenses?
By Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)
UNFINISHED PAST
How long....? *
Since (e.g. "She's been here since 9am.")
For + time *
for ages * (e.g. "I haven't seen Fred for ages.")
always (e.g. "Have you always lived here?")
....all my life. (e.g. I've lived here all my life.")
(...) so far... (e.g. "They haven't played very well so far.")
today/this week/this month/this summer/this year/this century/this term (e.g. "It's been very hot this summer.")
this morning/this afternoon/this evening #
*Present perfect or simple past?
"How long have you lived here?"
"I've lived here for 2 years."
(= I live here now).
"How long did you live here?"
"I lived here for 2 years."
(= I don't live here now).
# The present perfect is used when the time mentioned is current now. E.g. I've been to the bank this morning (It is still the morning and not the afternoon).
Otherwise, the past simple is used e.g. "I went to the bank this morning." (It's now the afternoon and the morning is finished).
LIFE EXPERIENCE
Have you ever (been to \ done sth)...? (e.g. "Have you ever eaten Thai food?")
never....done sth. before. (e.g. "I've never seen this word before!")
never....in someone's life.**
It's the (superlative) that I've ever seen/done sth. (e.g. "This is the best film I've ever seen!")
This is the first time.... (e.g. "Is this the first time you've played this game?")
**Present perfect or simple past?
"I've written two plays."
(Perhaps I'll write more).
"Shakespeare wrote over 30 plays."
(He cannot write any more).
PRESENT RESULT
Have you heard that....? (news e.g. Have you heard that Fred has been promoted?")
I feel (+Adj.) now, because.... (reason e.g. I feel tired because I've been working hard.")
You look different! What....? (reason e.g. "What have you done to your hair?")
As you can see.... (past event causing sth. e.g. In a presentation: "As you can see, our profits have risen considerably." )
yet (questions and negatives e.g. "Has he finished yet?" "He hasn't told me yet.")
already (affirmatives e.g. "Can you feed the cat?" "I've already fed her." and in questions to show surprise e.g. "Have you finished already?!")
in / over the past few days (e.g. He's been here several times in the last few days)
recently (e.g. "We've been very busy recently.")
lately (e.g. "Have you seen Fred lately?")
Present perfect or simple past?
"Peter has injured his ankle."
(His ankle is still bad).
"Peter injured his ankle."
(We assume the problem is a just thing of the past - it happened some time ago).
Note! "She's gone to the USA."
(She is in the USA now)
"She's been to the USA."
(She went to the USA recently but is here now).
Therefore, we DO NOT usually use 'HAVE GONE' in the first or second person ('I', 'YOU' & 'WE')
E.g. "I've been to New York twice." / "Have you ever been to France?" / "We haven't been to the cinema for ages."
When writing, you must ask yourself two questions:
1. Do we know exactly when the action or situation happened?
YES ® PAST TENSE.
NO ® PRES. PERF.
2. Is the action or situation still happening now?
YES ® PRES. PERF.
NO ® PAST TENSE.
Note! These are general guidelines, there are lots of exceptions!
CONJUNCTIONS OF TIME
(After, As soon as, Before, By the time, Once, till, When, Unless, Until)
Look at these sentences:
After....she finished, they left / she had finished, they left.
As soon as...we arrived she said "hello". / I had done it, I sent it to her.
She wouldn't sign the contract before....she had seen it. / seeing it.
By the time that...he gets here it'll be too late. / he's finished we'll have gone home.
Once...it's finished we can present it. / Once she had found the answer she'd never forget it.
We'll wait till....he comes / he has done everything that he wanted to.
When....he arrives we'll go / he has arrived we'll go.
I won't give it to you until....you say "sorry" / have finished eating.
They wouldn't go unless....they had seen it was safe / she came with them.
If the time mentioned is in the present or future - the present perfect shows that the first action MUST BE COMPLETED before the second action begins, otherwise the present simple can be used.
E.g. When I have finished the report, we can go home. (The report must be finished first)
I'll lend this book to you as soon as I have finished it. (I want to finish reading it first)
When referring to past time, the past perfect shows that the first action MUST BE COMPLETED before the second action begins, otherwise the past simple can be used.
E.g. It was only after he had seen her that he realised how beautiful it was.
(He must see her first)
She couldn't arrange the meeting before she had got the message.
(It was only possible to arrange the meeting after she received the message)
If it is not important to show that the first action was completed before the second action began then the present simple or past simple is used.
E.g. "After we finish, we'll go home." or "After we finished, we went home."
When / While / Whenever / As soon as / by the time / As
are conjunctions and must be followed by a clause (with a verb).
For example: When Peter arrived, we had lunch.
Until / after / before / since
Can either be used as conjunctions and be followed by a clause or as prepositions and be followed by a noun.
For example: I stayed at the party until it ended / the end.
After his mother died, he moved to Australia.
After the death of his mother, he moved to Australia.
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