Perfect and Progressive Tenses

Perfect and Progressive Tenses
1. Simple Tenses
 Present tense – action occurs at the present time
Example: John runs.
 Past tense – action occurred in the past
Example: John ran.
 Future tense – action will occur in the future
Example: John will run.
2. Perfect Tenses
Perfect Tenses are formed by adding an auxiliary (‘have’, ‘had’, ‘has’, ‘shall’ and ‘will’) to
the past participle form of the verb. If the sentence has compound verbs, it is not necessary to
repeat the auxiliary before the second verb.
 Present Perfect Tense – action is completed or is continuing at the time of speaking.

The tense is formed by including ‘have’ or ‘has’ with the past participle of the verb.
Examples:
John has spoken to the manager.
John has called and spoken to the manager. (This sentence has compound verbs, ‘has
called’ and ‘spoken’. The auxiliary ‘has’ is not repeated before ‘spoken’.)
 Past Perfect Tense – action that has been completed before some definite time in the
past. The tense is formed by including ‘had’ with the past tense of the verb.
Example:
Before the officer arrived, the thief had disappeared.
 Future Perfect Tense – action that will be completed at some definite time in the
future. The tense is formed by including ‘shall have’ or ‘will have’ with the past tense
of the verb.
Examples:
My friend will have departed before I arrive at the airport.
I shall have departed before my friend arrives at the airport.
Verb ‘call’ Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Tense – add Tense- add Tense- add ‘shall
‘have’ or ‘has’ ‘had’ have’ or ‘will
have’
First Person I have called I had called I shall have called
singular
Second Person You have called You had called you will have
Singular called
Third Person He/she/it has He/she/it had He/ she/it will have
Singular called called called
First Person We have called We had called We shall have
Plural called
Second Person You have called You had called You will have
Plural called
Third Person They have called They had called They will have
Plural called
Chart 1: Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect Tenses of the regular verb
‘call’.
The verb ‘be’ is not only the most important linking verb, it is also the most irregular verb in
the English Language. It should be committed to memory. Chart 2 lists the singular and
plural forms of the present, past and future tenses.
Verb ‘be’ Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

First Person I am I was I shall be
singular
Second Person You are You were You will be
Singular
Third Person He/she/it is He/she/it was He/ she/it will be
Singular
First Person We are We were We shall be
Plural
Second Person You are You were You will be
Plural
Third Person They are They were They will be
Plural
Chart 2: Present, Past, and Future Tenses of the verb ‘be’
Chart 3 lists the singular and plural forms of the Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future
Perfect Tenses of the irregular verb ‘be’.
Verb ‘be’ Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Tense Tense Tense
First Person I have been I had been I shall have been
singular
Second Person You have been You had been You will have
Singular been
Third Person He/she/it has He/she/it had He/ she/it will
Singular been been have been
First Person We have been We had been We shall have
Plural been
Second Person You have been You had been You will have
Plural been
Third Person They have been They had been They will have
Plural been
Chart 3: Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect Tenses of the verb ‘be’
Irregular verbs are verbs in which the past tense does not end in ‘ed’ but are formed in
various ways. The most common way is to change the vowel: for example, ‘ring’ and ‘rang’.
The future tense is formed by adding ‘shall’ or ‘will’ to the present tense.
Verb ‘ring’ Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Tense Tense Tense
First Person I have rung I had rung I shall have rung
singular
Second Person You have rung You had rung You will have
Singular rung
Third Person He/she/it has He/she/it had He/ she/it will
Singular rung rung have rung
First Person We have rung We had rung We shall have
Plural rung
Second Person You have rung You had rung You will have
Plural rung
Third Person They have rung They had rung They will have
Plural rung
Chart 4: Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and Future Perfect Tenses of the Irregular verb
‘ring’
3. Progressive Tenses
Progressive tenses are special verb tenses in which action is continuing. The progressive
tense is formed using a form of the verb ‘be’ with the present participle of the main verb.
When the verb ‘be’ and the words do, did, does have, had, has, shall, and will are used to
make the progressive tenses they are called auxiliary verbs.
 Present Progressive Tense – formed by including the present tense of ‘be’ with the
present participle of the verb.
Example:
I am going home soon. (‘Am’ is the first person singular, present tense of the verb ’be’.
‘Going’ is the present participle of the verb ‘go’. See Chart 2)
 Past Progressive Tense – formed by including the past tense of ‘be’ with the present
participle of the verb.
Example:
He was talking on the phone for over an hour. (‘Was’ is the third person singular past
tense of the verb ’be’. ‘Talking’ is the present participle of the verb ‘go’. See Chart 2)
 Future Progressive Tense – formed using the future tense of the verb ‘be’ and the
present participle of the verb.
Example:
They will be arriving before we do. (‘Will be” is the third person plural future tense of the
verb ‘be’. “Arriving’ is the present participle of the verb ‘arrive’. See Chart 2)
Verb ‘call’ Present Prog. Past Prog. Future Prog.

First Person I am calling I was calling I shall be calling
singular
Second Person You are calling You were calling You will be
Singular calling
Third Person He/she/it is He/she/it was He/ she/it will be
Singular calling calling calling
First Person We are calling We were calling We shall be
Plural calling
Second Person You are calling You were calling You will be
Plural calling
Third Person They are calling They were They will be
Plural calling calling
Chart 5: Progressive Tenses of the Regular Verb ‘call’
Verb ‘ring’ Present Prog. Past Prog. Future Prog.

First Person I am ringing I was ringing I shall be ringing
singular
Second Person You are ringing You were ringing You will be
Singular ringing
Third Person He/she/ it is He/she/ it was He/ she/it will be
Singular ringing ringing ringing
First Person We are ringing We were ringing We shall be
Plural ringing
Second Person You are ringing You were ringing You will be
Plural ringing
Third Person They are ringing They were They will be
Plural ringing ringing
Chart 6: Simple Progressive Tenses: Present, Past and Future Tenses of the Irregular
Verb ‘ring’
Note: There are no progressive tenses of the verb ‘be’. Forms of the verb ‘be’ are used as
auxiliary verbs along with the main verb in a sentence to make the progressive tenses.
Find the verbs in each sentence and enter them in the chart below the sentence.
Note: Verbs preceded by the word ‘to’ are not verbs. They are part of an infinitive phrase.
1. We have fed the birds faithfully all winter as you instructed us to do.
Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Perfect Perfect Progressive Progressive Progressive
2. You will be feeding the birds from now on because I will be leaving for New York in a
few days.

3. The bank manager had held a meeting for all employees at the branch.

4. The bank manager will be holding several more meetings to plan the implementation of
new data base software.

5. State politicians have fought for years to get a new bridge across the Mississippi in
Memphis, Tennessee.

6. Politicians were fighting for new legislation to protect the public.

7. By the time we arrive in Chicago, we will have travelled over 3000 miles.
8. The sun had not shone for several days in a row.

9. The reporter will be reviewing her information before submitting the article to the editor.

10. My students have read all the books on Ancient Rome located in the school library.

11. The sophomore students will be reading about current affairs in their history class during
this term.

12. The students have known about the author’s visit for weeks.

13. The author will have completed her book before I will meet her at the World Book Fair in
New York.

14. The fish were biting early this morning because conditions were ideal.

15. The University Men’s Choir has sung in and won many choral competitions.

16. John and Bill will be choosing their university courses with the help of a counsellor.
17. Bill had chosen several biology courses but has now changed his mind.

18. Jack will have finished his assignment before leaving for the football game.

19. I have bought second hand books for all of my sophomore courses.

20. You will be buying many more books before you finish college.

Perfect and Progressive Tenses
1. We have fed the birds faithfully all winter as you instructed us to do.
Answer – have fed – Present Perfect
2. You will be feeding the birds from now on because I will be leaving for New York in a
few days.
Answer – will be feeding – Future Progressive
Answer – will be leaving – Future Progressive
3. The bank manager had held a meeting for all employees at the branch.
Answer – had held – Past Perfect
4. The bank manager will be holding several more meetings to plan the implementation of
new data base software.
Answer – will be holding – Future Progressive

5. State politicians have fought for years to get a new bridge across the Mississippi in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Answer – have fought – Present Perfect
6. Politicians were fighting for new legislation to protect the public.
Answer – were fighting – Past Progressive
7. By the time we arrive in Chicago, we will have travelled over 3000 miles.
Answer –will have travelled – Future Perfect
8. The sun had not shone for several days in a row.
Answer – had shone – Past Perfect
9. The reporter will be reviewing her information before submitting the article to the editor.
Answer – will be reviewing – Future Progressive
10. My students have read all the books on Ancient Rome located in the school library.
Answer –have read – Present Perfect
11. The sophomore students will be reading about current affairs in their history class during
this term.
Answer – will be reading – Future Progressive
12. The students have known about the author’s visit for weeks.
Answer – have known – Present Perfect
13. The author will have completed her book before I will meet her at the World Book Fair in
New York.
Answer – will have completed – Present Progressive
14. The fish had been biting early this morning because conditions were ideal.
Answer – had been biting – Past Perfect
15. The University Men’s Choir has sung in and won many choral competitions.
Answer – has sung – Present Perfect
Answer – won – Present Perfect
16. John and Bill will be choosing their university courses with the help of a counselor.
Answer – will be choosing – Future Progressive
17. Bill had chosen several biology courses but has now changed his mind.
Answer – had chosen – Past Perfect
Answer – has changed – Present Perfect
18. Jack will have finished his assignment before leaving for the football game.
Answer – will have finished – Future Perfect
19. I have bought second hand books for all of my sophomore courses.
Answer –have bought – Present Perfect
20. You will be buying many more books before you finish college.
Answer – will be buying – Future Progressive

Perfect and Progressive Tenses

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

Perfect and Progressive Tenses

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Perfect and Progressive Tenses

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Perfect and Progressive Tenses

 Present tense – action occurs at the present time

Example: John runs.

 Past tense – action occurred in the past

Example: John ran.

 Future tense – action will occur in the future

Example: John will run.

 Present Perfect Tense – action is completed or is continuing at the time of speaking.

John has spoken to the manager.

Before the officer arrived, the thief had disappeared.

I shall have departed before my friend arrives at the airport.

Verb ‘call’ Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Verb ‘be’ Present Tense Past Tense Future Tense

Chart 2: Present, Past, and Future Tenses of the verb ‘be’

Verb ‘be’ Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Verb ‘ring’ Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect

Verb ‘call’ Present Prog. Past Prog. Future Prog.

Chart 5: Progressive Tenses of the Regular Verb ‘call’

Verb ‘ring’ Present Prog. Past Prog. Future Prog.

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

6. Politicians were fighting for new legislation to protect the public.

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

8. The sun had not shone for several days in a row.

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future

Present Past Perfect Future Present Past Future