The perfect tense

The perfect tense

The perfect is another word for the present perfect. You use this tense to tell what has already happened or what has a result in the present.

 

How do you make the perfect tense?

1. Use an auxiliary verb:

• Usually have or are.

2. Add the past participle of the main verb.

 

Making the participle

1. Start with ge-.

2. Take the stem of the verb.

3. Add -t or -d to the end:

• -t if the last letter of the stem is in “'t kofschip” (t, k, f, s, ch, p).

• -d for all other letters.

 

Lines:

• Verb to work:

1. Stem: work

2. Past participle: worked

3. Perfect: I have worked.

• Play verb:

1. Tribe: play

2. Participle: played

3. Perfect: I have played.

 

Auxiliary verbs: To have or to be?

1.Use have for most verbs:

1. I have eaten.

2. We cycled.

2. Use are for:

1. Verbs of movement: I went.

2. Verbs of change: She has become.

3. Exceptions such as: I have been.

 

When do you use the perfect tense?

• To tell what has already happened:

1. I read a book.

2. He played football.

• To talk about what you have done and what is important for now:

1. We have worked hard.

2. She went home.

 

Irregular verbs

With some verbs the past participle is different. You learn this by heart, for example:

• I have seen (verb “to see”)

• He has gone (verb “to go”)

• We have written (verb “to write”)

 

In the table below you will see some examples: