Perfect Tenses (Past and Present)

October 24, 2016 at 4:13 pm | Posted in Present Perfect Tenses, Songs and verb tenses, Uncategorized, Verb Tenses | Leave a comment

Perfect tenses made easy!!

Present perfect tenses

are subdivided into: 

• Present Perfect Simple 

• Present Perfect Continuous (or Progressive)

 Let’s look at the first one:

Present Perfect Simple is used to in different situations, for example:

• to speak about an unspecified time in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• You can use it to speak about actions or events related to the present time.

• You often give emphasis to the present result of those actions.

• Actions that have been just completed.

• You can use it with words like  yet, still, already, for, since, just…

• Look at the examples below.

 

To help you revise Present Perfect, go through the Powerpoint you’ve  seen in class.

Computer Age_Present perfect

 

Now let’s take a look at

Present Perfect Continuous

It’s about an action that has been going on for some time and has some impact on the present.

It puts emphasis on the duration or course of that action (not the result).

Try to work out the difference by completing these exercises:

Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous 1

Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous 2

Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous 3

 

Now listen to another song that uses this perfect continuous tense.

 

Try to identify the mistakes in this first stanza. How many can you identify?

Early, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep
Thinking about the things that we could be
But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been crying hard,
Said, no more chasing dollars
We’ll be hunting stars, yeah we’ll be hunting stars

How many extra words are there?

I see in this life like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line fine
And my face now is flashing signs
Seek it out and you shall find me

Now what’s missing?

_________, but I’m not that _________
Young, but I’m not that _________
I don’t think the world is ______
I’m just doing what we’re _______
I feel something so right
Doing the ________ thing
I feel something so _________
Doing the right thing
I could lie, couldn’t I, could lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

A little help:   Told      Bold      Wrong         Sold       Old

This exercise was based on material from https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/counting_stars__onerepublic/actions-preintermediate-a2/60959

Past Perfect vs Past Perfect Continuous

Now let’s pay attention to the past perfect tenses.

Like the present, these are are subdivided into:

• Past Perfect
• Past Perfect Continuous (or Progressive)

 

Focusing on the Past Perfect

Formation:   had + past participle 

 

Use: This verb tense is often used to speak about an action that took place before another event in the past.

With the past perfect it is clear which action took place first…

 

… or the reason why something happened in the past.

 

Look at this timeline: Two actions took place in the past, but not at the same time. So you can show very clearly how things happened.

 

• Sam had cooked dinner when Carol got home.

• After Sam had cooked dinner, Carol got home.

• By the time Carol got home, Sam  had already cooked dinner.

 

Time expressions like when, until before, after, by the time, by then are often used with the Past Perfect.

 

Past Perfect Continuous

This tense tells us what had been taking place before a certain action /event in the past.

 

Formation:   HAD  BEEN + GERUND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The same time expressions (when, until before, after, by the time, by then)  can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous.

 

• He had been driving for 2 hours before his car broke down.
• He had been driving for 2 hours when his car broke down.
• By the time his car broke down he had been driving for 2 hours.

 

Check the presentation we used in class. I may help you.

past-perfect-tenses

 

 

Now see if you can use  these tenses accurately. Use the following links:

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-perfect-exercise-1.html

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/past_perfect_simple_past.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Perfect Tenses

May 16, 2012 at 4:10 pm | Posted in Present Perfect Tenses, Songs and verb tenses, Uncategorized, Verb Tenses | Leave a comment

Present Perfect tenses made easy!!

Present perfect tenses are subdivided in:

• Present Perfect Simple 
• Present Perfect Continuous (or Progressive)

 Let’s look at the first one:

Present Perfect Simple is used to in different situations, for example:

• to speak about an unspecified time in the past.

 

 

 

 

 

 

• You can use it to speak about actions or events related to the present time.

• You often give emphasis to the present result of those actions.

• Actions that have been just completed.

• You can use it with words like  yet, still, already, for, since, just…

• Look at the examples below.

 

To help you revise Present Perfect, go through the Powerpoint you’ve  seen in class.

Computer Age_Present perfect

 

Now let’s take a look at

Present Perfect Continuous

It’s about an action that has been going on for some time and has some impact on the present.

It puts emphasis on the duration or course of that action (not the result).

Try to work out the difference by completing these exercises:

Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous 1

Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous 2

Present Perfect Simple vs Continuous 3

 

Now listen to another song that uses this perfect continuous tense.

 

Try to identify the mistakes in this first stanza. How many can you identify?

Early, I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep
Thinking about the things that we could be
But baby, I’ve been, I’ve been crying hard,
Said, no more chasing dollars
We’ll be hunting stars, yeah we’ll be hunting stars

How many extra words are there?

I see in this life like a swinging vine
Swing my heart across the line fine
And my face now is flashing signs
Seek it out and you shall find me

Now what’s missing?

_________, but I’m not that _________
Young, but I’m not that _________
I don’t think the world is ______
I’m just doing what we’re _______
I feel something so right
Doing the ________ thing
I feel something so _________
Doing the right thing
I could lie, couldn’t I, could lie
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

A little help:   Told      Bold      Wrong         Sold       Old

This exercise was based on material from https://en.islcollective.com/resources/printables/worksheets_doc_docx/counting_stars__onerepublic/actions-preintermediate-a2/60959