II. USING THE PERFECT TENSE FOR TIME
1. Introduction
1.1 Making Connections
The Perfect Tense connects an earlier time, action or situation with a later time, action or situation. In the Present Perfect Tense, the later time is 'now'.
Examples
Beginning Time or Action
I have played guitar since 2012 (earlier time).
I have played guitar since I began lessons two years ago (earlier action).
I have driven this car since my old one began to have problems (earlier situation).
Ending Time, Action or Situation
She really plays guitar well (later situation).
She has studied it for five years.
She had studied chemistry for three years and graduated in 2009 (later time).
He is under a lot of stress. He has had both health problems and financial problems (later situation).
I have worked on this project for three months.
I have been to Paris three times over the last five years.
1.2 Past, Present and Future
Actions in the Perfect Tense can happen in the past, present or future.
Examples
I had eaten some bad food when I got sick.
I have eaten some bad food. Now I am sick.
I will have finished my flight by 10:00 p.m. tomorrow.
1.3 Everything in Between
The Perfect Tense can include everything that happened in between the two points of time or action.
This could be a continuous action, a series of actions, or a changing situation over time.
Examples
I have been to Paris three times over the last five years.
1.4 How Long?
The Perfect Tense is used to identify how long an action has taken place OR to identify the starting point of an action that is reported later.
We use 'since' to talk about when the action started. We use 'for' to talk about how long the action has been happening. In some cases, the action may have occurred forever into the past- or at least until the time that we were born. In this case, we use the time words 'always' or 'never'.
Examples
I have lived in Chicago since 1995.
I have lived in San Francisco for 10 years.
1.5 Action Stops
The action does not continue beyond the later time, action or situation, or we are not reporting on that. The time is limited. The Perfect Continuous Tense is used for action that continues past the time it is reported.
Example
I have ridden my bike for 3 hours. (I may continue, but at the time of speaking, three hours of bicycle riding have been completed)
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