What is this skill?
The perfect tenses show an action that is completed relative to another point in time. They are built from a form of "to have" plus the past form of the verb. The present perfect (has read, have lived) connects the past to now. The past perfect (had started, had eaten) shows something finished before another past event. The future perfect (will have finished, will have melted) shows something that will be done by a certain time in the future.
In this practice the child fills in a blank, such as "Leo ___ that book three times" (has read), "They ___ in this town since 2015" (have lived), "By the time we arrived, the movie ___" (had started) or "By tomorrow night, the snow ___" (will have melted). Clue words guide the choice: already, since, by the time, by next June and by the end of the week. Other questions ask which sentence is in the present perfect, past perfect or future perfect tense, such as "I have visited the zoo," "Kenji had cleaned his room" and "Sofia will have danced." A sort puts has jumped, had jumped, will have jumped, have sung, had sung and will have sung into the three groups, and two yes-or-no questions ask whether a sentence has the named tense, for example "Noah had already left when we arrived."
Why it matters
The perfect tenses let a writer put events in order, and that matters for storytelling and for explaining. "By the time we arrived, the movie had started" tells the reader which thing happened first without a long explanation.
They also prepare children for reading older books, where these tenses show up often. A child who knows that "had started" signals an earlier event reads a flashback with less confusion.
The skill builds on what children learned in 4th grade about the progressive tenses. Both depend on helper verbs, and children who can handle helper verbs with confidence are ready for the most advanced tense in the elementary years.
Common mistakes
- Picking the helper that does not match the subject. I, we and they go with have, while he, she, Leo and Maya go with has. The practice includes a question for I that tests have, not has.
- Using the simple past instead of the perfect. "The movie started" and "The movie had started" are different, and the clue by the time points to had.
- Forgetting the future perfect needs "will have." "By next June, I will finish" is a different tense from "I will have finished." A time word like by tells which one is wanted.
- Mixing up the past participle with the simple past, as in "have ate" or "had went." The form after has, have or had is the past participle: eaten, gone, rung, sung.
How to help at home
- Use a timeline. Draw a line for the day and mark when you woke up, left for school and had lunch. Then say "By noon I had eaten breakfast" and "By tonight I will have finished my homework."
- Look for since and by in your reading and conversation. They are the clue words that most often call for a perfect tense.
- Ask your child "What have you learned this week?" and "What will you have finished by Friday?" and notice the tense that comes out.
- Do the sort at home with sticky notes: write has jumped, had jumped and will have jumped, and ask which one means something finished before another event.
Worked examples
These are real questions from the Tutorsaurus perfect tenses practice, with the answers worked out.
Example 1
Which word fills the blank? Maya (blank) her homework already.
Maya ___ her homework already.
Choices: finishes, has finished, have finished
Answer: has finished. Present perfect uses has or have plus a past participle. Maya is one person, so has finished.
Example 2
Is this sentence in the past perfect tense?
Noah had already left when we arrived.
Answer: Yes, past perfect. Had left is past perfect. It shows Noah left before we arrived.
Example 3
Sort the verbs by perfect tense.
To sort: has jumped, had jumped, will have jumped, have sung, had sung, will have sung
Answer: Present perfect: has jumped, have sung · Past perfect: had jumped, had sung · Future perfect: will have jumped, will have sung. Has and have make the present perfect. Had makes the past perfect. Will have makes the future perfect.
Printable worksheet (PDF) — one page of questions from this practice that work on paper, easier ones first, with an answer key on page 2. Free to print, no sign-up.