USING CORRECT VERB TENSESThe Perfect Tenses

Perfect Tenses

• The perfect tenses are formed with the helping verb have in some form followed by the past participle form of the second verb. When the present tense forms of have (has or have) are used, the present perfect tense is formed. When the past tense had is used, the past perfect tense is formed.

• Errors in action…• We regretted our choice ever since we bought that car.

• We have regretted our choice ever since we bought that car.

• When we bought the house last year, it was empty for ten years.

• When we bought the house last year, it had been empty for ten years.

Understanding the Perfect Tenses

• The past tense is used to refer to an event that is over and done with.• Elliot lived in Chicago for ten years. [He no longer lives there.]

• The present perfect tense is used to refer to an event that began at some point in the past and continues into the present time.• Elliot has lived in Chicago for ten years. [He still lives there.]

• The past perfect tense is used to indicate that a particular event in the past was completed before some more recent past event took place.• Elliot had lived in Chicago ten years before we met. [He lived

there then, unclear if he still does now.]

Identifying Errors

• Present Perfect Tip: Use the present perfect tense to emphasize that a past action has continued over a span of time up to the present moment.

Error: We regretted our choice ever since we bought that car.

Tip Applied: Past tense = regretted = We no longer regret the choice.Present perfect tense = have regretted = We still regret the choice.

Correction: We have regretted our choice ever since we bought that car.

Identifying Errors

• Past Perfect Tip: Use the past perfect tense to show that one event in the past was completed before a more recent event took place.

Error: When we bought the house last year, it was empty for ten years.

Tip Applied: Past tense = was = The house was empty (but when?).Past perfect tense = had been = The house was empty before we bought it.

Correction: When we bought the house last year, it had been empty for ten years.

1. I worked overtime for the past six months.

2. The company bought up empty houses since the beginning of the year.

3. The game began about an hour ago.

4. It snowed every day this winter since Christmas.

5. She climbed every peak over 14,000 feet in North America.

1. After the book became a big hit in Europe, American publishers were willing to take a chance on it.

2. We decided to cancel our trip because it snowed so much during the night.

3. I didn’t need to go through the line because I already paid for my ticket online.

4. We painted the walls and ripped out the old carpet.

5. After I finished assembling the bike, I found a leftover part.

The board met. They met every Monday this past year.The board has met every Monday this past year.

1. The whistle already sounded. This was before the ball went into the net.

2. We worked on our car. We worked since early this morning.

3. I just stepped into the shower. I did that when the phone rang.

4. Our team played together. They did that for three seasons now.

5. Fortunately, Elvis already left the building. He left before the reporters arrived.

The number of deaths resulting from traffic accidents declined

steadily over the past decade. In recent years, researchers cited a

number of different reasons: improved safety of vehicles, increased

use of seat belts and airbags, and fewer drunk drivers. Automobile

manufacturers were reluctant to even talk about safety until the

federal government began mandating standards in the 1980s. Over

the years, manufactures continued to resist installing even

inexpensive safety features. For example, manufacturers were very

slow to produce cars with daytime headlights, even though in recent

years many Canadian researchers demonstrated that this no-cost

item results in significantly fewer accidents. (6)

Actually, two large factors in reducing automobile accident deaths

over the last decade were changes in driver behavior. First, we

became much more consistent in routinely using seat belts for

ourselves and car seats for our children. Now, most of us would

never start the car until we first fastened the teat belts and buckled

the children in. It is appalling to think how common it was even a

few years ago to see children sanding up on the seats of cars. How

quickly that sight became a rarity. Second, in recent years there was

a general decline in the use of alcohol. As a result, alcohol-related

accidents, although still too common, became a lot less frequent

than they used to be. In the last few years, there was a real change in

society’s tolerance of drinking and driving. (7)

Apply What You Know

• On your own paper, write a paragraph about some aspect of automobile safety. Try to use a mixture of the past tense and the two perfect tenses.

• Use the Present Perfect and Past Perfect Tips to make sure that the tenses in your paragraph are correct.