Present Perfect

We form the present perfect with have / has + past participle. Regular past participles end in -ed in the positive form. Many verbs have an irregular past participle.

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I / you / we / they’ve finished / won	I / you / we / they haven’t finished / won	Have I / you / we / they finished / won?
he / she / it’s finished / won	he / she / it hasn’t finished / won	Has he / she / it finished / won?

We use Present perfect to talk about the past and present together. The past action or situation is connected to the present in various ways.

1 The state or action continues from the past to the present.

I’ve known her for many years. (=I still know her)

2 The results of the past action are important in the present.

He’s lost his key.

3 The time reference in the sentence includes the present.

He’s lost his key this week. (=this week isn’t finished)

4 When we mean ‘in my whole life’ we do not give a specific time.

I’ve been to Spain lots of times. (=in my whole life)

Present Perfect is used wit the following time expression:

how long, for (duration), since , lately, recently, already, yet, just, always, ever,

never, so far.

Present Perfect Continuous

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I / you / we / they’ve finished / won	I / you / we / they haven’t finished / won	Have I / you / we / they finished / won
he / she / it’s finished / won	he / she / it hasn’t finished / won	Has he / she / it finished / won?

1 We use the Present Perfect Continuous to put emphasis on the duration of an

action which started in the past and continues up to the present, especially with

time expressions such as for, since, all morning/day/week etc.

She has been doing her homework since 6 o’clock.

2 For an action which started and finished in the past and lasted for some

time. The result of the action is visible in the present.

He is dirty. He has been playing football.

3 To express anger, annoyance and irritation:

Who has been reading my business papers?

The Present Perfect Continuous is used with the following time expressions:

How long, for, since, lately, recently.

Past forms The past forms of be

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I / he / she / it was late	I / he / she / it wasn’t (=was not) late	Was I / he / she / it late?
we / you / they were late	we / you / they weren’t (= were not) late	Were we / you / they late?

Past Simple

Regular Past Simple forms end in -ed in the positive form (work – worked,

start – started, translate – translated, etc.)

But in many verbs have an irregular past forms (break – broke, forget –

forgot, leave – left, see – saw, take – took, win – won, etc.)

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I / you / he / she / it / we / they started	I / you / he / she / it / we / they didn’t (=did not) start	Did I / you / he / she / it / we / they started?
I / you / he / she / it / we / they won	I / you / he / she / it / we / they didn’t (= did not) win	Did I / you / he / she / it / we / they win?

1 We use the Past Simple for an action which happened at a definite time in

the past. The time is stated, already known or implied.

They spent their holidays in Switzerland last winter.

2. For actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past.

First he read the message. Then he called his boss.

3 For past habits or states which are now finished. In such cases we can also

use the expression used to.

People travelled / used to travel by carriage in those days.

The Past Simple is used with the following time expressions: yesterday, last

night/week/month/year/Monday, etc., two days ago, then, when, How long

ago...?, in 1961, etc.

Past continuous

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I / he / she / it was travelling	I / he / she / it wasn’t travelling	Was I / he / she / it travelling?
we / you / they were travelling	we / you / they weren’t travelling	Were we / you / they travelling?

The Past Continuous is used:

1 For an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not

mention when the action started or finished.

At eight o’clock last night I was watching TV.

2 For an action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.

We use the Past Continuous for the action in progress (longer action) and

the Past Simple for the action which interrupted it (shorter action).

We were walking in the park when it started to rain.

3 To describe the atmosphere, the setting, etc. in the introduction to a story.

One beautiful morning Ben was riding through the forest. The sun was

shining and the birds were singing.

The Past Continuous is used with the following time expressions: when,

while, as, all day/night/morning, etc.

Past Perfect

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I / you / he / she / it / we/ they’d (=had) finished	I / you / he / she / it / we/ / they hadn’t finished	Had I / you / he / she / it / we / they finished?

1 We use the Past Perfect for an action which happened before another past

action or before a stated time in the past.

When I arrived, the meeting had already started.

2 For an action which finished in the past and whose result was visible in the

past.

He was happy. He had signed an important contract.

Note: The Past Perfect is the past equivalent of the Present Perfect.

He had fixed an old armchair. It looked brand new.

3 We do not normally use the Past Perfect when the sequence of events in

the past is clear.

I had a shower and went to bed.

The Past perfect is used with the following time expression: before, after,

already, for, since, just, till/until, when, by, by the time, never, etc.

Past Perfect Continuous

Positive form	Negative form	Question form
I/you/he/she/it/we/they’d (=had) been working	I/you/he/she/it/we/they hadn’t been working	Had I/you/he/she/it/we/ they been working?

1 We use the Past Perfect Continuous to put emphasis on the duration of an

action which started and finished in the past before another past action or a stated time in the past, usually with since and for.

He had been working for the company for twenty years before he retired.

2 For an action which lasted for some time in the past and whose result was

visible in the past.

He was very tired. He had been writing a report all night.

Note: The Past perfect continuous is the past equivalent of the Present Perfect Continuous.

He had been waiting for hours, so he was bored.

The Past Perfect Continuous is used with the following time expressions:

for, since, how long, before, until, etc.