Business Writing
Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp.
Training and Organizational Development
Human Resources Department
Module 2
WORKING WITH WORDS
Module 2
Lesson 6
Tenses of Verbs
The Perfect Tenses
Grammar
A.
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B.
C.
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Tenses of Verbs
Simple tenses
Continuous/ Progressive tenses
Perfect tenses
Subject –Verb Agreement
Voices of Verb (Transitive Verb)
Active Voice
Passive Voice
TENSES of VERBS
TENSES of VERBS
Grammar rules details of language
syntax. Like spelling issues,
grammar violations in a business
document can reflect negatively on
a professional or a company. Care
should be taken that all business
documents are grammatically
correct.
TENSES of VERBS
There are two grammar issues most writers
have trouble with - tenses of verb and
subject-verb agreement. This part of
Module 2 will deal with discussion of
tenses of verb.
Modern English has two sets of tenses- the
simple tenses and the perfect tenses. Each
set has a corresponding continuous or
progressive tenses.
Simple tenses:
Present tense, Past
Grammar
tense and Future tense
Progressive tenses: Present
progressive, Past Progressive and
Future Progressive
Perfect Tenses: Present Perfect,
Past Perfect and Future Perfect
Module 2
Lesson 6
The Perfect Tenses
The Perfect Tenses
The Perfect tenses are grammatical
tenses that express action already
completed or completely done with
respect to the present or to the past
or to the future
• Present Perfect tense
• Past Perfect tense
• Future Perfect tense
Module 2
Lesson 6A
The Present Perfect Tense
Module 2
Lesson 6A-1
The Present Perfect Tense
Definition: The Present Perfect tense is
used to indicate an action that happened
or a state that was completed or
completely done at an unspecified time
with respect to the present. This tense
should not be used with specific time
expressions such as yesterday,
tomorrow, a year ago, when I was a child,
when I lived in Bacolod.
The Present Perfect Tense
Format of Present Perfect tense:
• has + past participle form of the verb – used with
third person singular pronouns, all singular nouns
and collective nouns considered as a unit.
oThe sun has turned reddish. It ( the sun) has
attracted a lot of attention from the scientific
community.
oMelanie C. has won international fame as a
member of an all girls’ band: the Spice Girls.
oAn all-Filipino dance group, the Junior New
System has gained the judges’ nod with their
shadow performance.
The Present Perfect Tense
• Have + past participle form of the verb – used
with first and second person singular pronouns (I
and you ), all plural personal pronouns , all plural
nouns and collective nouns taken individually.
o I have been a rover for a long time
o You have stayed a faithful friend to me.
o They have won the judges’ admiration.
o The trees have grown green vibrant leaves.
o Three generations have lived in the
ancestral home.
The Present Perfect Tense
Conditions for the Use of Present Perfect Tense:
The Present Perfect Tense
Conditions in the use of Present Perfect Tense:
• action that happened at an unspecified time
before now.
oLinda has visited Sonia in the hospital several
times during the latter’s confinement.
oI have never eaten a baby octopus yet.
• action or state that changed over time
oThe Miss Tres band has gotten rid one of their
members.
o The water at the dam has fallen to an almost
bedrock level.
The Present Perfect Tense
• action describing an experience
o Rose and Noelle have spent their summer
vacation backpacking in Europe.
o An 80-year old man has climbed Mt.
Kanlaon recently.
• action to describe an accomplishment
o Cara has completed her master’s degree in
just 14 months.
o Four high school boys have built a solar car.
The Present Perfect Tense
• an uncompleted action being expected
o I have not started researching for my thesis
yet. (Pls. take note:”not” is not included)
o The rain has not stopped since this
morning.
• actions or events that began in the past and
continued to the present.
o My mother has already taught for forty
years.
o The boys have not yet accomplished what
they have set out to do.
The Present Perfect Tense
• actions or events in the past having an
effect on the present moment.
o Gabby has had a car accident. He still
bears marks and bruises on his body.
o I will not be joining you for dinner. I have
already eaten.
The Present Perfect Tense
Adverb indicators used with Present Perfect
tense:
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
already
at last
yet
ever
never
still
recently
just
many times
in the last week/month/ year
for (how long)
this week/ this month/ this year
so far, up to now
since last week /month/ year/ 1981 etc.
The Present Perfect Tense
.
The Present Perfect Tense
Write the correct form of the enclosed verb in the
Present Perfect Tense
1. The company (buy) ______ service cars for its
managers.
2. The directors already (choose) ______ new
models.
3. Our department head (have) ________ his
assigned car since last week.
4. He (go) _____ to the office using his new car for
several days already.
The Present Perfect Tense
5. The Filipino people (experience) _______
many calamities.
6. These calamities (show) _____ the world
the fortitude and resilience of our people.
7. Children not (lose) ______ their zest for
life and hope for a better future.
8. They always (find) _____ a rainbow
behind dark clouds.
The Present Perfect Tense
9. Many victims of Hiroshima bombing (seek)
_______ cures for diseases that (afflict)
10. _______ them.
Note: Adverb indicators are usually found
between the helping verb and the main
verb.
The Present Perfect Tense
If you got a score of 4 or less in the practice
exercises, please review the notes on
Present Perfect tense before taking the
quiz.
Please look over the uploaded “Learning
about Verbs” notes in Quia and check
whether there are other facts you need to
include in your Cheat Sheet.
The Present Perfect Tense
Write the correct form of the enclosed verb in the
Present Perfect Tense
1. The company (buy) has bought service cars for
its managers.
2. The directors (already choose) have already
chosen new models.
3. Our department head (have) has had his
assigned car since last week.
4. He (go) has gone to the office using his new car
for several days already.
The Present Perfect Tense
5. The Filipino people (experience) have
experienced many calamities.
6. These calamities (show) have shown the
world the fortitude and resilience of our
people.
7. Children not (lose) have not lost their zest
for life and hope for a better future.
8. They always ( find) have always found a
rainbow behind dark clouds.
The Present Perfect Tense
9. Many victims of Hiroshima bombing (seek)
have sought cures for diseases that
10. (afflict) have afflicted them.
Module 2, Lesson 6A: The Present
Perfect Tense Quiz
1. Please proceed to www. Quia.com/web
2. On the space provided, enter your log in
name and your password.
3. Under “Quiz”, please select Lesson 6A, Quiz 1
4. Follow the instructions in the quiz.
5. Follow these same steps when you go to
succeeding quizzes after every lesson.
End of Lesson 6A