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Perfect tenses
Simple tenses in the perfect aspect are used to convey specific nuances related to the timing and completion of actions. Here's a summary of the key characteristics of these tenses:
Present Perfect Simple
- Affirmative (A): "He has spoken."
- Negative (N): "He has not spoken."
- Interrogative (Q): "Has he spoken?"
- Usage:
- Putting emphasis on the result of an action that has relevance to the present.
- Describing actions that are still ongoing or stopped recently.
- Indicating a finished action that has an influence on the present.
- Referring to actions that have occurred once, never, or several times before the moment of speaking.
- Time Indicators: already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now.
Past Perfect Simple
- Affirmative (A): "He had spoken."
- Negative (N): "He had not spoken."
- Interrogative (Q): "Had he spoken?"
- Usage:
- Describing actions taking place before a certain time in the past.
- Sometimes interchangeable with the past perfect progressive but emphasizes the fact rather than the duration.
- Time Indicators: already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day.
- Conditional Type: Used for conditional sentences of Type III (e.g., "If I had talked, ...").
Future Perfect Simple
- Affirmative (A): "He will have spoken."
- Negative (N): "He will not have spoken."
- Interrogative (Q): "Will he have spoken?"
- Usage:
- Describing a future action that will be completed before another action or by a specific time.
- Expressing certainty regarding actions in the recent past.
- Time Indicators: by the time, by, in 2015, in two hours' time.
Conditional Perfect Simple:
- Affirmative (A): "He would have spoken."
- Negative (N): "He would not have spoken."
- Interrogative (Q): "Would he have spoken?"
- Usage:
- Referring to actions that might have taken place in the past, typically in hypothetical or unreal conditions.
- Conditional Type: Used for conditional sentences of Type III (e.g., "If I had seen that, I would have helped.").
These perfect simple tenses allow us to provide specific details about actions in relation to time, highlighting their completion, influence on the present, or their position in the past and future.
Overview
Here's an overview of the different perfect tenses and their typical uses:
| Present Perfect Simple | A: He has spoken. N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken? |
putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking |
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now |
| Past Perfect Simple | A: He had spoken. N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken? |
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration) |
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, …) |
| Future Perfect | A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q:Will he have spoken? |
Describe a future action before another action, the duration of an action in the future, certainty in the recent past, | by the time, by, in 2015, in two hours's time |
| Future Perfect/ II Simple | A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken? |
action that will be finished at a certain time in the future | by Monday, in a week |
| Conditional Perfect/ II Simple | A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? |
action that might have taken place in the past | if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.) |