Question

How do you form the perfect tense structure of sentences?

Answer 1

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The perfect tense is the tense used to indicate a completed
action. Verbs in this tense can be of three types:

1. `color(blue)"Past"` perfect,
2. `color(red)"Present"` perfect, and
3. `color(green)"Future"` perfect.

Explanation:

`color(white)(qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm)`
Here's how you can form them:

1. `color(blue)"Past"` perfect : Had + past participle
   Eg - The lecture had finished by the time I reached the hall.

2. `color(red)"Present"` perfect : Have/has + past participle
   Eg - I have seen Harry Potter countless times.

3. `color(green)"Future"` perfect : Will have + past participle
   Eg - I will have finished writing this summary by 9 pm.

In addition, there is also the perfect continuous tense:

1. `color(blue)"Past"` perfect continuous : Had + been + present participle
   Eg - I had been waiting for you twenty minutes, when he came over.
2. `color(red)"Present"` perfect continuous : Have/has + been + present participle
   Eg - I have been reading this book since three days.
3. `color(green)"Future"` perfect continuous : Will have + been + present continuous
   Eg : When I graduate, I will have been studying for two years.

The highlighted parts indicate the perfect / perfect continuous verbs.