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Unlike the present perfect, the past perfect can readily be used with an adverb specifying a past time frame for the occurrence. For example, it is incorrect to say * I have done it last Friday (the use of last Friday , specifying the past time, would entail the use of the simple past , I did it , rather than the present perfect).
The present perfect is often used also for completed events where English would use the simple past. For details see Italian grammar. Spanish uses haber ("have") as the auxiliary with all verbs. The "present perfect" form is called the pretérito perfecto and is used similarly to the English present
For all uses of specific perfect constructions, see the sections below on the present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, and conditional perfect. By using non-finite forms of the auxiliary have , perfect aspect can also be marked on infinitives (as in should have left and expect to have finished working ), and on participles and gerunds (as ...
The present perfect is a grammatical combination of the present tense and perfect aspect that is used to express a past event that has present consequences. [1] The term is used particularly in the context of English grammar to refer to forms like "I have finished".
Imperfect tense verbs represent a past process combined with so called imperfective aspect, that is, they often stand for an ongoing past action or state at a past point in time (see secondary present) or represent habitual actions (see Latin tenses with modality) (e.g. 'he was eating', 'he used to eat'). The perfect tense combines the meanings ...
Although English largely separates tense and aspect formally, its aspects (neutral, progressive, perfect, progressive perfect, and [in the past tense] habitual) do not correspond very closely to the distinction of perfective vs. imperfective that is found in most languages with aspect. Furthermore, the separation of tense and aspect in English ...
For past actions or states, the simple past is generally used: He went out an hour ago; Columbus knew the shape of the world. However, for completed actions for which no past time frame is implied or expressed, the present perfect is normally used: I have made the dinner (i.e. the dinner is now ready).
The past perfect progressive (sometimes referred to as the past perfect continuous) combines had (the simple past of have) with been (the past participle of be) and the present participle of the main verb: You had been waiting. It is used to refer to an ongoing action that continued up to the past time of reference.