Writing sentences in the perfect present tense | English

Starter quiz

What two kinds of word are always found in a progressive tense sentence?
- A verb with an -ing suffix. ✓
- A verb with an -s suffix.
- An auxiliary verb based on the infinitive 'to be'. ✓
- A verb with an -ly suffix.
Match the keywords to their examples.
- Suffix
  
  ⇔
  
  -ing ✓
- Auxiliary verb
  
  ⇔
  
  were ✓
- Infinitive
  
  ⇔
  
  to play ✓
Tick all the sentences that use a progressive tense.
- They are standing with us. ✓
- We were coping well with the situation. ✓
- She will be winning this match by any means possible. ✓
- She wins every match.
- I ran through the park.
Match each progressive tense to the example sentences.
- Progressive present
  
  ⇔
  
  She is trying her best. ✓
- Progressive past
  
  ⇔
  
  She was trying her best. ✓
- Progressive future
  
  ⇔
  
  She will be trying her best. ✓
Tick the sentences written in the progressive past tense throughout.
- She was trying her best and he was wasting time. ✓
- Sofia is growing more confident, but Sam is feeling unsure.
- When we were watching, he was behaving beautifully. ✓
Tick the sentences that are correctly formed in the progressive tense.
- When Jun was talking, Lucas was giggling. ✓
- When Jun was talking, Lucas is giggling.
- We will be swimming while Dad is sitting by the pool. ✓
- We will be swimming while Dad was sitting by the pool.

Which of the following would always be found in a perfect tense sentence?
- A main verb with an -ing suffix.
- A past tense form of a main verb. ✓
- An auxiliary verb based on the infinitive 'to be'.
- An auxiliary verb based on the infinitive 'to have'. ✓
Match the sentences to the perfect tense used.
- Perfect past
  
  ⇔
  
  Sam had eaten already. ✓
- Perfect present
  
  ⇔
  
  Sam has eaten already. ✓
- Perfect future
  
  ⇔
  
  Sam will have eaten already. ✓
Which of these sentences use the perfect present tense?
- We walked down Sam's street yesterday.
- We have walked down Sam's street every day this week. ✓
- She has spoken French since she was born. ✓
- She spoke French when she was little.
Tick the sentence that uses the perfect present tense correctly.
- Since I was two, I lived on this street.
- Since I was two, I has lived on this street.
- Since I was two, I have lived on this street. ✓
Match the simple past tense verb to the correct past tense form of the verb that would be used in the perfect present tense.
- was
  
  ⇔
  
  been ✓
- drew
  
  ⇔
  
  drawn ✓
- knew
  
  ⇔
  
  known ✓
- spoke
  
  ⇔
  
  spoken ✓
Choose the correct perfect present verb form to complete the gap: "Alex (to stand) ______ in the queue for hours."
- stood
- was stood
- has stood ✓
- will have stood

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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 from the infinitive 'to have' with the main verb.
The auxiliary verb is followed by the past participle of the main verb in the perfect tense.

Pupils may confuse the progressive and perfect tenses as both use an auxiliary verb.

Emphasise that the progressive uses 'being' auxiliary verbs and the perfect uses 'having' auxiliary verbs.