Quotes:
Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. - Henry David Thoreau
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. - Oscar Wilde
Related topics:
The present participle used to form the continuous aspect
Past continuous
Present continuous
Future continuous
The forms of the infinitive
The forms of the participle
The perfect aspect
HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
The perfect aspect is expressed with the auxiliary have and the past participle form of the verb. Depending on the time of the action, we use one of the following forms of have: the past (had), present (have, has), modal + infinitive (e.g. will have) or -ing (having).
The perfect aspect focuses on the completion of an event. It expresses that the action had, has or will have been completed by a specific point in time. This point in time may be defined by a time expression (by 5 o'clock) or a clause (by the time you get home, when I arrived).
Examples of the perfect aspect:
I
've lived
here for ten years.
(from 10 years ago until now)
By 5 o'clock, he
had finished
the letter.
(at some time before 5 o'clock)
When I arrived, they
had
already
left
.
(at some time before I arrived)
Have
you
seen
my new bike?
(at any time up to now)
I
will have done
the ironing by the time you get home.
(between now and when you get home)
He
might have missed
the train.
(at some time before now)
Having taken
the wrong turn, he ended up in a dangerous neighbourhood.
(he turned before he found himself in a dangerous neighbourhood)
Quotes:
I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. - Thomas Edison
Related topics:
The past participle used to form the perfect aspect
Past perfect
Present perfect
Future perfect
The forms of the infinitive
The forms of the gerund
The forms of the participle
The perfect continuous aspect
HAVE + BEEN + VERB-ING
The perfect continuous is not considered as an aspect in itself; it is rather the combination of the perfect and continuous aspects.
It is expressed with the auxiliaries have and been (the third form of be) and the (present participle) -ing form of the verb. Depending on the time of the action, we use one of the following forms of have: the past (had), present (have, has) or modal + infinitive (e.g. will have).
The perfect continuous expresses that the action had, has or will have been in progress for some time at a specific point in time. This point in time may be defined by a time expression (at 5 o'clock) or a clause (when she gets home).
Examples of the perfect continuous:
I
've been waiting
for this moment all my life.
(from when I was born until now)
He
's been ironing
his shirts.
(from some time in the past until now)
By 2005, George
had been living
in Scotland for 20 years. (from 1985 to 2005)
When Mary gets home, Kevin
will have been sleeping
for hours. (Kevin's sleep lasting from some point in time before Mary gets home until she gets home)
I
wouldn't have been
sitting there if I hadn't had to. (from some time in the past until a later time in the past)
Related topics:
The present participle used to form the continuous aspect
Past perfect continuous
Present perfect continuous
Future perfect continuous
The forms of the infinitive
The forms of the participle
State verbs and action verbs
State verbs
State verbs express states or conditions which are relatively static. They include verbs of perception, cognition, the senses, emotion and state of being.
Examples of state verbs:
appear, believe, belong, consider, consist, contain, cost, doubt, exist, fit, hate, hear, have, know, like, love, matter, mean, need, owe, own, prefer, remember, resemble, seem, suppose, suspect, understand, want, wish
State verbs are not normally used in continuous forms:
*I
am needing
a new phone. / I
need
a new phone.
*Who
is
this bag
belonging
to? / Who
does
this bag
belong
to?
*They
are seeming
tired. / They
seem
tired.
Action verbs
Action verbs (also called dynamic verbs) express activities, processes, momentary actions or physical conditions.
Examples of action verbs:
ache, arrive, ask, call, change, cook, dance, eat, fall, feel, go, grow, have, help, hit, hurt, itch, kick, knock, leave, melt, read, say, shrink, sing, speak, talk, throw, travel, watch
Action verbs may be used in continuous forms:
Who
was
he
dancing
with?
Someone
's knocking