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Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect: English Grammar Rules

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Present Perfect Simple

Used to describe actions that happened in the past and whose exact time is not specified.

To form the present perfect, use the auxiliary verb "to have" in the present and the past participle of the verb. For regular verbs, the past participle is the simple past form, ending in -ed.

  • Affirmative: Subject + auxiliary verb (to have) + past participle…
  • Negative: Subject + auxiliary verb (to have) + "not" + past participle…
  • Interrogative: Auxiliary verb (to have) + subject + past participle…?

Present Perfect Continuous

Used:

  • To describe activities that started in the past and are still continuing in the present.
  • With actions that started in the past and may have already finished.
  • With actions that have just concluded and whose result is evident.

As in the present perfect, we use the auxiliary verb "to have" along with "been" (the past participle of the verb "to be") and the -ing form of the verb.

  • Affirmative: Subject + auxiliary verb (to have) + "been" + -ing form.
  • Negative: Subject + auxiliary verb (to have) + "not" + "been" + -ing form.
  • Interrogative: Auxiliary verb (to have) + subject + "been" + -ing form?

Past Perfect

Used:

  • To talk about a past action that happened before another action (also in the past).
  • In third conditional sentences.
  • With the adverb just to express actions that had just happened.
  • With until, till, before, as soon as, after to emphasize that a past action was completely finished before another one began.
  • With the expression It was the first/second time.

As with the present perfect, the past perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb "to have" and the past participle. The auxiliary verb is in the past tense.

  • Affirmative: Subject + "had" + past participle…
  • Negative: Subject + "had" + "not" + past participle…
  • Interrogative: "Had" + subject + past participle…?

Vocabulary

  • Army = ejército
  • Armistice = armisticio (acto de fuego)
  • Ceasefire = alto el fuego
  • Conflict = conflicto
  • Hostile = hostil
  • Non-violent = no violento
  • Refugee = refugiado
  • Surrender = rendirse
  • Terrorism = terrorismo
  • Peace treaty = tratado de paz
  • (Civil) war = guerra (civil)
  • Weapons = armas
  • BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation
  • WHO = World Health Organization
  • UNICEF = United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
  • NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • UN = United Nations
  • NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization

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