Verb senses

Verb tenses (from Present Perfect)

Present Perfect

It is formed: Have + Past Participle

Ex. I have seen a film

It is used:

●​ For recent situations that began in the past and they have

effects in the present

Ex. I have just finished working

●​ For life experiences:

-​ For asking or saying if you have just done something

Ex. Have you ever watched Taxi Draver?

I have watched Taxi Driver already

I haven’t watched Taxi Driver

I have never watched Taxi Driver

- For doing a specification that, in your life, it is the first

experience about something

Ex. This is the first time I have tried sushi

This is the worst pie I’ve ever had

Simple Past VS Present Perfect

If you have a specific indication of time, you have to use the simple

Ex. I worked in New York in 1990

past

If you have a different indications of time, you have to use the

Present perfect Ex. I have worked in New York since 1990

In the first case, the action has begun and finished in a specific

moment of the past.

Instead, in the second case, the action hasn’t finished yet.

Passive form of Present Perfect

It is formed: Have + Been + Past Participle

Ex. I have been gone

Continuous form of Present Perfect

It is formed: Have + Been + B.I. + -ing

Ex. I have been going

It is used for actions while were in development when you are

speaking

Ex. I have been living in this house for years

It helps to understand that you are still resident

Past Perfect

It is formed: Had + Past Participle

1) It is used to express past action that happened before of an other past

action.

Ex. I went to the past office because I forgot that she had already sent

the letters last week

In this sentence, we have 2 levels of time: ‘went’ is the second action

that happened and ‘had sent’ is the oldest action.

Ex. By Monday, we had finished releasing the school play.

In this case, we have a specific time reference→ The action is finished

2) It is used to express an hypothetical idea about unreal or impossible

conditions and results in the past.

Ex. If I had made this mistake, I don’t think I would be allowed to do it

again

Forme Passive of Past Perfect

It is formed Had + Been + Past Participle

Ex. By the time I made an offer, the house had been sold

Form continuous of Past Perfect

It is formed Had + Been + B.I. + -ing

Ex. He had been driving for twenty years when he had his

first car accident

It is used to express extension of action in an expanded period of time

Ex. The children were exhausted because they had been playing all

morning

In this case, the past perfect helps to understand the long period while