B. Foundations of Language · Foundations: Grammar, Sentences and Punctuation

Verb Tenses for Accurate Timelines: Perfect and Progressive

B3.2About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can name and form the twelve verb tenses.
I can use the past perfect to show which past event happened first.
I can choose between the simple past and the present perfect.
I can keep tenses consistent and shift them only when the time really changes, including using the present tense to write about literature.

Words to know

tense
The form of a verb that shows when an action happens: past, present or future.

progressive
A tense that shows an action in progress, using a form of be + -ing: was skating, is skating.

perfect
A tense that shows an action completed before a certain time, using have/has/had + past participle: had skated.

past participle
The verb form used with have/has/had: skated, eaten, gone, written.

literary present
Using the present tense to describe what happens in a book, film or poem: In the novel, the narrator moves to Thunder Bay.

What happened first?

When we got to the platform, the train left.
When we got to the platform, the train had left.

In sentence 1, we arrive and then the train leaves (maybe we could still wave to it). In sentence 2, the train was already gone before we arrived. One helping verb, had, changes the timeline.

In Grade 6 you learned to keep verb tenses consistent. In Grade 8 you'll use all twelve tenses to show exactly when things happen.

	Past	Present	Future
Simple	I skated	I skate	I will skate
Progressive (in progress)	I was skating	I am skating	I will be skating
Perfect (completed before)	I had skated	I have skated	I will have skated
Perfect progressive (ongoing up to a point)	I had been skating	I have been skating	I will have been skating

The twelve tenses of skate. Rows show the aspect; columns show the time.

When to use the perfect tenses

**Past perfect (had + past participle): for the earlier** of two past events.

By the time we arrived, the game had started.

**Present perfect (have/has + past participle): for a past action connected to now**, or one at an unstated time.

I have lived in Sudbury since 2022. (I still live there.)
Have you ever seen the northern lights?

Don't use the present perfect with a finished time like yesterday, last year or in 2020:

❌ I have seen that movie yesterday. ✅ I saw that movie yesterday.

**Future perfect (will have + past participle): for something that will be finished before** a future time.

By the end of June, I will have finished elementary school.

Perfect progressive: for an action that continued up to a point.

We had been waiting for an hour when the bus finally came.

The game started first (earlier past), so it takes the past perfect. Then we arrived (later past). Now is the present.

Top: the waiting continued up to the moment the bus came (past perfect progressive). Bottom: finishing happens before a future deadline (future perfect).

Shift tense only when the time shifts

Keep one main tense in a piece of writing. Change it only when the time really changes.

✅ Last summer we visited Manitoulin Island. We still talk about it. (The talking happens now, so the shift is logical.)
❌ We paddled to the island, and then we eat lunch. (Both happened in the past.)

Writing about literature

When you write about what happens in a story, use the present tense. The events "happen" every time someone reads the book.

In the story, the narrator finds an old map and decides to follow it.

Worked example

Let's choose the tense that shows the order

Choose: Ms. Kaur collected the tests after everyone (finished / had finished).

Two past events: collecting and finishing.
Which happened first? Everyone finished, then she collected the tests.
With after, the order is already clear, so the simple past is fine. The past perfect is also correct and stresses that finishing was complete.

Both finished and had finished are correct here, because after shows the order. The past perfect is needed when no time word shows the order: Ms. Kaur collected the tests. Everyone had finished.

Worked example

Let's fix a book response

Fix the tenses: In the novel, Maya moves to Rankin Inlet with her family. At first she missed her friends, but she learned to love the North.

This is writing about literature, so the main tense should be present.
moves is present. ✅
missed and learned shift to the past without a reason. Change them to present.

In the novel, Maya moves to Rankin Inlet with her family. At first she misses her friends, but she learns to love the North. (This is an invented example novel.)

Tricky past participles

Some verbs have irregular past participles. Use them after have/has/had:

go → went → have gone (not have went)
see → saw → have seen (not have saw)
write → wrote → have written
swim → swam → have swum
freeze → froze → have frozen

Just for fun

The past, the present and the future walked into a room.

It was tense.

Hands-on activity

Family timeline

You need: a long strip of paper (or several sheets taped together), a pencil and a family member to interview.

Draw a line across the strip. Mark NOW near the right end and a point for a future goal (for example, finish Grade 8) after it.
Interview a family member about three past events in their life (a move, a first job, learning to drive). Mark them on the line in order.
Write one sentence for each tense family using your timeline:

past perfect: Before Grandma moved to Ontario, she had worked as a nurse.
present perfect: She has lived in Brampton for twenty years.
future perfect: By the end of next June, I will have finished Grade 8.
perfect progressive: She had been studying English for a year when she arrived.

Read your sentences to your family member. Do they describe the timeline accurately?

What to look for: the past perfect is always used for the earlier of two past events.

Your turn

Name the tense: They will have left by noon.

Name the tense: I have been practising piano for two hours.

Choose: When I got home, my brother (ate / had eaten) all the cookies. (He ate them before I got home.)

Fix: I have visited Halifax last year.

Fix: We have went to that park before.

Write in the literary present: In the story, the boy found a wolf pup and hid it in the barn.

Complete with the future perfect: By the end of the month, we ___ (raise) $500 for the shelter.

More practice: warm-up

What helping verb makes the past perfect?

Past participle of write?

Name the tense: She is reading.

Name the tense: We had finished.

Fill in the present perfect: I ___ (know) her since kindergarten.

More practice: on your own

Explain the difference: (a) I lived in Kingston for five years. (b) I have lived in Kingston for five years.

Fix the unneeded tense shift: The fans cheered loudly, and the players wave back.

Combine using the past perfect progressive: We waited for an hour. Then the snowplough came.

Rewrite using the past perfect to show the order. Begin with When we arrived: The game started. Then we arrived.

Is this tense shift correct? My grandfather grew up in Moose Factory, and he still visits every summer.

Challenge

Write one sentence that correctly uses both the past perfect and the simple past to tell a story moment.

A student writes a book review: The main character, Sam, is brave. In chapter 3, he rescued his sister from the river. Should rescued be changed? Explain.

Which verb is better in formal writing, and why? Yesterday I realized that I (left / had left) my homework at school.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which sentence uses the past perfect?

Which sentence is correct?

When we reached the station, the train ___. (It left before we got there.)

Which tense is will have been working?

Which sentence uses the literary present correctly?

Which past participle is correct?

For parents and teachers

What this lesson is about: using all twelve tenses accurately, especially the perfect tenses (past, present, future) that show which event happened first, plus the literary present for writing about books.

How to help at home:

Listen for have went, have saw and I seen in everyday speech and model the correct form without fuss.
When your child writes a book response, check that they use the present tense for story events.
Talk through your own timelines aloud: "By the time I got to work, the meeting had started."

Common difficulties:

Present perfect with a finished time (I have seen it yesterday). Many English learners also find this tricky, because some other languages use a similar form differently.
Overusing had for every past event. Use the past perfect only when you need to show that one past event came before another.
Shifting between past and present in a story by accident.