Form the perfect verb tenses

Key Notes:

Present Perfect Tense

Form: has/have + past participle

• Use: Shows an action that happened at an unspecified time or continues to the present.
• Examples:
  • She has finished her homework. 📚✅
  • I have seen that movie before. 🎬👀

Signal words: already, yet, just, ever, never, so far, recently

Past Perfect Tense

Form: had + past participle

• Use: Shows that an action was completed before another past action.
• Examples:
  • She had left before I arrived. 🏃‍♀️💨
  • They had eaten dinner when we reached. 🍽️🚗

Signal words: already, before, by the time, after

Future Perfect Tense

Form: will have + past participle

• Use: Shows that an action will be completed before a specific time in the future.
• Examples:
  • By next week, I will have finished the project. 📝📆
  • She will have left by the time you arrive. 🚗💨

Signal words: by, by the time, before, already

Quick Tips

• Always pair the correct form of “have” with the past participle.
• Past participle forms:
  • Regular verbs: add -ed → walk → walked 🚶‍♂️
  • Irregular verbs: use special forms → go → gone 🌍
• Timeline reminder:
  • Present Perfect → connects past to now ⏳➡️🕒
  • Past Perfect → before another past event ⏳⬅️
  • Future Perfect → finished before future point ⏳➡️🔮

Memory Trick

Think “HAVE-HAD-WILL HAVE”

• ✅ HAVE = present
• ✅ HAD = past
• ✅ WILL HAVE = future