Spoken English Course – Level 3 (Intermediate)
Module 3: Perfect Tenses – Real-Life Usage
1. What Are Perfect Tenses?
Perfect tenses are used to talk about actions that are completed
or have a connection with another time.
- Present Perfect → past action with present result
- Past Perfect → action completed before another past action
- Future Perfect → action completed before a future time
2. Present Perfect Tense
Structure:
Subject + has / have + Verb (3rd form)
| Sentence Type |
Example |
| Affirmative |
I have completed my homework. |
| Negative |
I have not completed my homework. |
| Interrogative |
Have you completed your homework? |
Uses of Present Perfect
- Action completed recently
👉 I have just finished my class.
- Life experience
👉 I have visited Delhi.
- Result in present
👉 I have lost my keys.
Speaking Practice:
Speak 5 sentences starting with:
"I have..." / "She has..."
3. Past Perfect Tense
Structure:
Subject + had + Verb (3rd form)
| Sentence |
Example |
| Affirmative |
I had finished my work before dinner. |
| Negative |
I had not finished my work before dinner. |
| Interrogative |
Had you finished your work before dinner? |
Usage
- Two actions in the past – earlier action uses past perfect
| Earlier Action |
Later Action |
| I had reached the station |
before the train arrived. |
Speaking Drill:
Make 5 sentences using:
"had + verb"
4. Future Perfect Tense
Structure:
Subject + will have + Verb (3rd form)
| Sentence |
Example |
| Affirmative |
I will have completed the course by June. |
| Negative |
I will not have completed the course by June. |
| Interrogative |
Will you have completed the course by June? |
Usage
- Action completed before a future time
Speaking Task:
Speak 3 sentences about your future goals using "will have".
5. Comparison of Perfect Tenses
| Tense |
Time Reference |
Example |
| Present Perfect |
Past → Present |
I have learned English. |
| Past Perfect |
Past → Past |
I had learned English before college. |
| Future Perfect |
Future Completion |
I will have learned English by next year. |
6. Common Mistakes
- ❌ I have went to market
✅ I have gone to market
- ❌ I had complete my work
✅ I had completed my work
7. Practice Exercises
Fill in the blanks:
1. I ______ (have/has) finished my lunch.
2. She ______ completed the work before evening.
3. We will ______ finished the syllabus by March.
Speaking Activity:
Speak for 2 minutes about your achievements using perfect tenses.
8. Module Outcome
- Clear understanding of all perfect tenses
- Correct sentence structure
- Confident spoken usage
- Improved grammatical accuracy
