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The wh-question in present perfect is formed by using a wh-word + have or has +
subject + past participle form of the main verb.

l When have I asked you to come?

Remember
The present perfect is never used with an adverb of past time.
He ate a pie yesterday. (correct) He has eaten a pie yesterday. (incorrect)
l l

Test Yourself

I. Fill in the blanks with the present perfect form of the verbs given in brackets.

1. I _______________ with chopsticks before. (eat)

2. _______________ you _______________ about the circus in the town? (hear)
3. We _______________ not _______________ each other since our schooldays. (see)

4. Shweta _______________ on your number ten times. (call)
5. The farmer _______________ not _______________ his field this season. (water)

6. She _______________ the chair. (break)
7. _______________ she _______________ the situation? (understand)

8. Rahul _______________ this film before. (see)

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that happened at a time in the past. This is why
a complete sentence may often have two different tenses—the past perfect referring to the action
that took place first and the simple past referring to the action that followed.

The past perfect is formed by the auxiliary verb had + past participle form of the main verb.
l Teresa wasn’t at home. She had gone shopping.

l I washed the pathway after the dust storm had subsided.

Remember

Had had is a confusing verb combination in the past perfect. The first had is the auxiliary (or helping)
verb and the second had is the past participle form of the main verb have.

Formation of Sentences in Past Perfect Tense

The negative in past perfect is formed by using the auxiliary had not + past participle form of the
main verb. It may also be formed by using the auxiliary along with never.

l We had not seen this part of the town before.

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