3-1 Present Perfect

(a) (a) Mrs. Oh has been a teacher since The present perfect is often used with
2002 . since and for to talk about situations
that began in the pa st and continue up
< 2002

now
(b) I have been in this city since last
to now.
( May.
i\ - In (a): = being a teacher
s it u a t io n
(c) W e have been here since nine t im e f r a m e = from 2 0 0 2 up to now
u p to now o’clock.

(d) Rita knows Rob. T hey met two Notice the use of since vs. for in the
months ago. She ha s k n o w n him examples:
for two months. I met him three
years ago. I have k n o w n him for since + a specific po in t in time (e.g.,
three years. 2002, last May, nine o ’clock)
for + a length o f time (e.g., two
(e) I have k n o w n Rob since I was in
months, three years)
high school.

In (e): since + a time clause (i.e., a

subject and verb may follow since).*

(f) (f) — Have you ever seen snow? T he present perfect can talk about
— No, I h a v e n ’t. I ’ve never seen events that have (or haven't) happened
snow. But Anna has seen before now. The exact time of the
S
•a snow. event is unspecified.

(g) Have you fin is h e d your The adverbs ever, never, yet, still, and
hom ework ye?? I still h a v e n ’t already are often used with the present
fin is h e d mine. Jack has already perfect.
fin is h e d his.
In (f): = seeing snow
ev en t
= from the beginning of
t im e f r a m e
their lives up to now

In (g): = doing homework

ev en t
= from the time the people
t im e f r a m e
started up to now

( h) (h) W e have h a d three tests so far T he present perfect can also express
this term. an event that has occurred repeatedly
from a po in t in the p a st up to the
(i) I V e m e t many people since I
present time. The event m ay happen
O cam e here.
tD again.
C
‘5
c
'Eh In (h): = taking tests
r e pe a t e d ev e n t
o = from the beginning of the
t im e f r a m e
term up to now

x-x- In (i): = meeting people

r e pe a t e d ev e n t
t im e f r a m e = from the time I cam e here
up to now

c o n t r a c t io n s : Have and has are usually contracted

with personal pronouns in informal
(j) I ’ve been there. You’ve been there. W e’ve been there.
writing, as in (j).
T hey’ve been there.
n o t e : He's there. H e ’s = He is
H e ’s been there. S h e ’s been there. I t ’s been interesting.
H e ’s been there. H e ’s = He has

*Se e C h a r t 18-2, p . 3 8 8 , fo r m or e in fo r m a tio n a b o u t tim e clau ses.

38 CHAPTER 3
Exercise 4. Looking at grammar. (Chart 3-1)
Com p lete th e sen ten ces w ith since or for.

1. Th er e has b een snow on th e grou n d ___________ N ew Year’s Day.

2. Th e w eath er has b een cold a lon g tim e.

3. M aria has stu d ied En glish less th an a year.

4. M r. and M rs. Ro b er ts have been togeth er th ey w ere in college.

5. Th ey have know n each oth er m ore th an fifty years.

6. We h aven ’t seen Aziz last m on th .

7. I ’ve had a cold over a w eek.

8. I h aven ’t h eard from m y sister th e begin n in g o f M arch .

Exercise 5. Let’s talk. (Chart 3-1)

Com p lete th e sen ten ces w ith any ap p rop riate tim e exp ression . Work in p airs, in sm all grou p s,
or as a class.

1. Tod ay is ____ t h e 14th o f Ju n e____ I bou gh t this b o o k ______ tw o w eeks_____ ago.

I have h ad this book sin ce _____t h e first o f Ju n e------------------------------
I have h ad th is book f o r _____tw o w eeks---------------------------------------

2. I m o v e d t o t h is cit y _______________________________________________ .

I h a v e b e e n in t h is c it y s in c e _______________________________________________ .

I h a v e b e e n h e r e fo r _______________________________________________ .

3. I t is t h e y e a r _______________________________________________.

I s t a r t e d g o in g t o s c h o o l in t h e y e a r _______________________________________________ .

I ’v e b e e n a s t u d e n t f o r ________________________________________________.

I ’v e b e e n a s t u d e n t s in c e _______________________________________________..

4. I first m et ou r teach er ________________________________________ .

I ’v e k n o w n h e r / h im f o r _______________________________________________.

I ’v e k n o w n h e r / h im s in c e _______________________________________________ .

5. I h a v e (a!an) _____________________________t h a t I b o u g h t ______________________________________a g o .

I h a v e h a d it s in c e _______________________________________________.

I h a v e h a d it fo r _______________________________________________.

Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses 39

 Exercise 13. Looking at grammar. (Charts 2 6 and 3-3)
C om p lete th e sen ten ces. U se th e sim p le p ast or th e p resen t p erfect form o f th e verbs in
p aren th eses.

1. Fatim a is from a h ot, arid p art o f h er cou ntry. Sh e (see, never) _______________________
_____________________________ snow.

2. La st Jan u ary, I (see) ________________________ snow for th e first tim e in m y life.

3. La st n igh t m y frien d an d I (hav e) ________________________ som e free tim e, so we (go)

________________________ to a show.

4. Sin ce classes began , I (hav e, not) _____________________________ m u ch free tim e. M y

classes keep m e really busy.

5. M in g Won (be) ____________________________in this class for th ree m on th s. H is En glish is

gettin g b etter and better. H e p lans to take this class u ntil th e end o f May.

6. M rs. Perez (be) __________________________ in ou r class for th ree m on th s, bu t th en she left

sch ool to get a job.

7. Late-break in g new s! A m ajor earth qu ake (occur, just) __________________________________

in sou th ern Californ ia. It (occur) ________________________ at 9:25 A .M . Pacific Stan d ard
Tim e.

8. I ad m it th at I (get*) _____________________________ old er sin ce I last (see) _______________

you , bu t w ith any lu ck at all, I (get, also) _______________________________________ wiser.

9. A: Are you takin g Ch em istry 101 this sem ester?

B: N o, I (t ake, already **) _____________________________________________it. I (t ake)

________________________ it last sem ester. Th is sem ester I ’m in 102.

10. Greg Ad am s? Yes, I know h im . I (know ) ________________________ h im sin ce college.

11. Jo e N o r th p assed away? I ’m sorry to h ear th at. I (kn ow ) ________________________ him

w ell w hen we w ere in college togeth er.

‘C o m pa r e :
(a) I h a v e g o tte n O R h a v e g o t fou r letters so f a r this w eek. In th is sen ten ce, hav e gotten / hav e got is p r esen t p er fect, ( n o t e :
G ot is u sed as th e p ast p a r ticip le o f get in b o th A m er ica n En g lish an d Br itish En g lish . Gotten o ccu r s on ly in A m er ica n
En g lish .)
(b ) I h a v e g o t a problem . In th is sen ten ce, hav e got is n o t p r esen t p er fect. I ’v e got a problem = I hav e a problem . T h e
exp r essio n hav e got m ean s “ h av e” an d is co m m o n in in fo r m a l sp ok en En g lish . Its m ea n in g is p r esen t; it h as n o p ast form .

**Ty p ica lly , th e p r esen t p er fect is u sed in sen ten ces w ith already , y et , an d ju st , b u t in som e situ ation s th e sim p le p ast is also
co m m on ly u sed w ith th ese ad verbs in in fo r m a l En g lish , esp ecially A m er ica n En g lish , w ith n o d ifferen ce in m ean in g.

CHAPTER 3
 (a) Sam arrived at 10:00. T he past perfect expresses an
Ann left at 9:30. activity that was com plete before
c In other words, Ann h a d already le ft another activity or time in the
6
I cd
C/3 when Sam arrived. past.

(b) By the time Sam got there, Ann h a d already left. In (a): 1st: Ann left.
2nd: Sam arrived.

Adverb clauses with by the time are frequently used with

the past perfect in the main clause, as in (b ).*

(c) Sam h a d le ft before Ann got there. If either before or after is used in the sentence, the past
(d) Sam le ft before Ann got there. perfect is often not necessary because the time
relationship is already clear. T he simple past may be
(e) A fter the guests h a d left, I went to bed.
used, as in (d) and (f).
(f) A fter the guests left, I went to bed.
not e: (c) and (d) have the same meaning;
(e) and (f) have the sam e meaning.

(g) A ctual spoken words: I lo s t my keys. The past perfect is commonly used in reported s p e e c h .**
If the actual spoken words use the simple past, the past
(h) R eported words: Jenny said that she h a d lo s t her
perfect is often used in reporting those words, as in (h).
keys.
Comm on reporting verbs include tell (someone), say, find
out, learn, and discover.

(i) Written: Bill felt great that evening. Earlier in the day, T he past perfect is often found in more formal writing such
Annie h a d c a u g h t one fish, and he h a d c a u g h t as fiction.
three. They h a d h a d a delicious picnic near the lake
In (i), the fiction writer uses the simple past to say that an
and then h a d g o n e swimming again. It h a d been a
event happened {B ill felt great), and then uses the past
nearly perfect vacation day.
perfect to explain what had happened before that event.

( j) I ’d finished. You’d finished. Had is often contracted with personal pronouns in

We’d finished. T hey’d finished. informal writing.

S he 'd finished. H e ’d finished. note: I ’d finished. I ’d = I had

I t ’d finished. I ’d like to go. I ’d = I would

*F o r m or e in fo r m a tio n a b o u t by the time, see C h a r t 17-2, p. 368.

**F o r m o r e in fo r m a tio n a b o u t verb form u sage in r ep or ted sp eech , see C h a r t 12-7, p. 261.

50 CHAPTER 3
Exercise 23. Looking at grammar. (Charts 2-6 and 3 5)
U se th e sim p le p ast or th e p ast p erfect form o f th e verbs in p aren th eses to com p lete the
sen ten ces. In som e cases, eith er ten se is correct.

1. Sam ir (be) w as / had been a n ew sp ap er rep orter before h e (becom e)

becam e a bu sin essm an .

2 . I (feel) a little b etter after I (take)

th e m ed icin e.

3. I w as late. Th e teach er (give, already) ____________ a qu iz w h en I

(get) __________________________________ to class.

4. It was rain in g h ard , bu t by th e tim e class (be) _____ over, th e

rain (stop) _____________________________ .

5. M illion s o f years ago, d in osau rs (roam ) _____________________ th e earth , bu t th ey

(becom e) ________ ________________ extin ct by th e tim e p eop le first (appear)

6 . I (see, never) __________________________________ any o f P ica sso’s p ain tin gs before I (visit)

__________________________________ the art m u seu m .

7. A fter w ork, I w en t to Rosa ’s office to give h er a rid e h om e, bu t I cou ld n ’t find h er. Sh e

(leav e) w ith som eon e else.

8 . I got read y to p ay th e bill, bu t w hen I (look) ________________________ in m y p ock et, I

d iscovered th at I (leave) ________________________ m y w allet at h om e. W ith som e

em barrassm en t, I told my friend that I ( forget) _____________________________ m y w allet.

Sh e kind ly (offer) .________________________ to pay my p art o f the bill for m e.

Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses 51

 9. Yesterd ay at a m eetin g, I (see) ________________________ Rick Collin s, an old frien d o f

m in e. I (see, not) _____________________________ h im in years. At first, I (recognize, not)

__________________________________ h im becau se h e (lose) ____________________________

a great d eal o f w eight.

10. In 1980, m y p aren ts (em igrate) ______________________________ to th e U n ited States from

C h in a. Th ey (travel, never) __________________________________ ou tsid e o f Ch in a and

w ere, o f cou rse, excited by th e ch allen ge o f relocatin g to a foreign cou n try. Even tu ally,

th ey (settle) ________________________ in Californ ia. M y sister and I w ere b orn th ere and

(grow) ________________________ up th ere. La st year, I (go) _________________________ to

Ch in a for th e first tim e to stu d y at Beijin g University. I (w ant, alw ays) __________________

to visit Ch in a and learn m ore abou t m y ow n

fam ily backgrou n d . M y d ream s finally cam e tru e.

Exercise 24. Looking at grammar. (Chart 3-5)

U n d erlin e th e p ast p erfect verbs. W h ich o f th e p assages is typ ical o f fiction w ritin g? W h ich o f
th e p assages is typ ical o f sp oken En glish ? W h at are th e d ifferen ces in verb form u sage?

1. Th e th ief sim p ly w alked in. M rs. G a rcia had forgotten to lock th e d oor. H er son ’s sch ool
had called to say th at he w as ill, so she had ru sh ed ou t th e d oor w ith ou t th in kin g to lock it.

2. H ey, Anna! D id you hear? A th ief got in to M rs. G a r cia ’s h ou se. Yeah. Sh e forgot to lock
th e d oor. Th e sch ool called and told h er th at h er son was sick, so she ru sh ed ou t th e d oor
w ith ou t lockin g it.

3. Som etim e in 1995, M r. Parvaz took a lon g, h ard look at his life. H e had had th e sam e job
for alm ost th ree d ecad es. H is d ear w ife had p assed away. H is ch ild ren had grow n and
m oved away. So he qu it his job , p acked everyth in g h e ow n ed , and m oved to Lon d on . Th a t
was th e begin n in g o f his ad ventu re.

u Exercise 25. Warm-up: listening. (Chart 3-6)

Listen for red u ced sp eech in th ese sen ten ces. H ow is h a d p ron ou n ced ?

Track 22 ^'m sorrY we m issed the m eetin g. We had forgotten abou t it.
2. Th e m ovie had alread y begu n by th e tim e we got th ere.
3. I cou ld n ’t ch an ge m y sch ed u le. I h ad alread y p lan n ed m y day.
4. I got h om e late. M y room m ate h ad alread y gon e to bed .

52 CHAPTER 3