Sentences in the perfect present, past and future tense | English

Starter quiz

Which of these sentences are written in a progressive tense?
- We will be watching it tonight. ✓
- We watched it last night.
- She was hurrying towards the door. ✓
- She hurried towards the door.
Match the sentence to the tense it is written in.
- simple present
  
  ⇔
  
  He plays volleyball every week. ✓
- simple past
  
  ⇔
  
  He played volleyball yesterday. ✓
- progressive present
  
  ⇔
  
  He is playing volleyball this afternoon. ✓
- progressive past
  
  ⇔
  
  He was playing volleyball when it happened. ✓
What is an auxiliary verb?
- a 'helping' verb that is linked to the main verb in a sentence ✓
- a verb that shows that action happened in the past tense
- a verb that comes after the main verb
Which of these is written in the progressive future tense?
- The class was hoping to win the Attendance Award.
- Jun is enjoying the school residential.
- Miss Ofoedu will be arriving slightly late today. ✓
In a progressive tense, what form does the main verb take?
- '-ed' ending (played)
- '-ing' ending (playing) ✓
- '-s' ending (plays)
Which sentence shows the future progressive tense version of this simple present sentence: 'Andeep wants to win the match'.
- Andeep will want to win the match.
- Andeep will be wanting to win the match. ✓
- Andeep was wanting to win the match.
- Andeep is wanting to win the match.

Which of these sentences are written in a perfect tense?
- I ate my breakfast.
- I have eaten my breakfast. ✓
- The man is paying a fine.
- The man has paid a fine. ✓
What kind of auxiliary verb will always be found in a perfect tense sentence?
- an auxiliary verb based on 'to be'
- an auxiliary verb based on 'to do'
- an auxiliary verb based on 'to have' ✓
Match the sentence to the type of perfect tense used.
- perfect present
  
  ⇔
  
  Aisha has taken the best spot on the carpet. ✓
- perfect past
  
  ⇔
  
  Aisha had taken the best spot on the carpet. ✓
- perfect future
  
  ⇔
  
  Aisha will have taken the best spot on the carpet. ✓
Which sentence shows the correct perfect present tense version of this sentence: 'Since I was four, I practised origami.'
- Since I was four, I will have practised origami.
- Since I was four, I was practising origami.
- Since I was four, I have practised origami. ✓
Match the simple past tense verb to the correct past tense form of the verb which would be used in the perfect present tense.
- was
  
  ⇔
  
  been ✓
- sang
  
  ⇔
  
  sung ✓
- did
  
  ⇔
  
  done ✓
- drew
  
  ⇔
  
  drawn ✓
Choose the correct perfect present verb form to complete the gap: 'Jun (to live)__________ in the village for years'.
- lived
- was living
- has lived ✓
- will have lived

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The verb carries the tense of a sentence.
The perfect tense can denote present, past or future action.
The perfect tense is a tense that makes use of an auxiliary verb based on 'to have' and a main verb.
The auxiliary verb is followed by a past tense form of the main verb in the perfect tense.

Pupils may believe that any use of 'have' shows the perfect tense.

Remind children that 'have' can be used as a main verb as well as an auxiliary verb. For example, 'I have three pets' = main verb.

Verb - a being, a doing or a having word
Perfect tense - made using an auxiliary verb based on the infinitive ‘to have’ and a past tense form of the main verb
Auxiliary verb - the helping verb that is always paired with the main verb