Theperfect tense or aspect (abbreviatedPERF orPRF) is averb form that indicates that an action or circumstance occurred earlier than the time under consideration, often focusing attention on the resulting state rather than on the occurrence itself. An example of a perfect construction isI have made dinner. Although this gives information about a prior action (the speaker's making of the dinner), the focus is likely to be on the present consequences of that action (the fact that the dinner is now ready). The wordperfect in this sense means "completed" (from Latinperfectum, which is the perfect passiveparticiple of the verbperficere "to complete").
In traditionalLatin andAncient Greek grammar, the perfecttense is a particular,conjugated-verb form. Modern analyses view the perfect constructions of these languages as combining elements of grammatical tense (such as time reference) andgrammatical aspect. The Greek perfect tense is contrasted with theaorist and theimperfect tenses and specifically refers to completed events with present consequences; its meaning is thus similar to that of the English construction, "have/has (done something)". The Latin perfect tense is contrasted only with the imperfect tense (used for past incomplete actions or states) and is thus used to mean both "have/has done something" and "did something" (thepreterite use). Other related forms are thepluperfect, denoting an event prior to a past time of reference, and thefuture perfect, for an event prior to a future time of reference.
In the grammar of some modern languages, particularly ofEnglish, theperfect may be analyzed as an aspect that is independent of tense – the form that is traditionally just called the perfect ("I have done") is then called thepresent perfect, while the form traditionally called the pluperfect ("I had done") is called the past perfect. (There are also additional forms such as future perfect,conditional perfect, and so on.) The formation of the perfect in English, using forms of anauxiliary verb (have) together with thepast participle of the main verb, is paralleled in a number of other modern European languages.
The perfect can be denoted by theglossing abbreviationPERF orPRF. It should not be confused with theperfective aspect (PFV), which refers to the viewing of an action as a single (but not necessarily prior) event. To avoid confusion with the perfective, the perfect is occasionally called theretrospective (RET).
In some analyses, theperfect is identified as one of thegrammatical aspects. In the perfect aspect, the event being referred to is viewed as already completed at the time of reference.[1] It should not be confused with theperfective aspect,[2][3] which marks a situation as a single eventwithout internal structure, and does not imply prior occurrence or present relevance as the perfect aspect does. The perfect also contrasts with theprospective aspect, which encodes the present relevance or anticipation of a future event. While the perfect is a relatively uniform category cross-linguistically, its relation to the experiential andresultative aspects is complex – the latter two are not simply restricted cases of the perfect.[4]
The perfect is not necessarily incompatible with other grammatical aspects. In English, for example, it can be combined with theprogressive (continuous) aspect, wherein an event is viewed as temporary and ongoing. A form such as thepresent perfect progressiveI have been working combines the meanings expressed by the two aspects – viewing my working as an ongoing process, but one which is now completed (or, as inI have been working for two hours, restricting attention to the completed portion of that process).
If perfect is viewed as an aspect, then the verb forms traditionally called just "perfect" (as in Greek or – in appropriate contexts – in Latin) in fact combine the perfect aspect with present tense (the event occurred prior to the time of speech). The pluperfect and future perfect forms combine perfect aspect with past and future tense respectively. This analysis is reflected more explicitly in the terminology commonly used in modern English grammars, which refer topresent perfect,past perfect andfuture perfect (as well as some other constructions such asconditional perfect).
However, not all uses of "perfect" verb forms necessarily express this "perfect aspect" – sometimes they are simply used as expressions ofpast tense, that is, aspreterites. This applies to some uses of the Latin perfect, and also (for example) to the modern GermanPerfekt.
In English, several uses of the perfect aspect have been recognized:[5][6][7]
In other languages other uses of the perfect are found:
In some languages a type of tense has been noted with exactly the opposite implication to a perfect. This type of tense is known asdiscontinuous past.[14] Thus if a sentence such as "I have put the book on the table" implies that it is still on the table, so a discontinuous past sentence "I put the book on the table" in these languages would imply that the book is no longer on the table.
A number of modern European languages exhibit a parallel type of perfect (or perfect-like) construction, formed with anauxiliary verb in combination with thepast participle of the main verb. The auxiliary may be a verb meaninghave (as in the EnglishI have won) or a verb meaningbe (as in the Frenchje suis arrivé(e), "I (have) arrived", literally "I am arrived").
Thehave-perfect developed from a construction where the verb meaninghave denotedpossession, and the past participle was anadjective modifying theobject, as inI have the work done.[15] This came to be reanalyzed, with the object becoming the object of the main verb, and the participle becoming a dependent of thehave verb, as inI have done the work. The construction could then be generalized to be used also withintransitive verbs. A vestige of the original interpretation is preserved in some languages in the form ofinflection on the participle to agree with the gender and number of the object.
Thebe-perfect developed similarly, from a construction where the verb meaningbe was an ordinarycopula and the participle expressed aresultative state of thesubject.[16] It is consequently used mostly with verbs that denote a change in the state or location of the subject, and in some languages the participle inflects to agree with the gender and number of the subject.
Languages that use these constructions can generally inflect the auxiliary to produce different verb forms for the perfect aspect: thepluperfect or past perfect is produced with the auxiliary in the past tense, thefuture perfect with the auxiliary in the future tense, and so on. These includenon-finite forms such asperfect infinitives. (More possible forms and examples are given under§ English below.)
The basic (present) perfect form, with the auxiliary in the present tense, may specifically carry the meaning of perfect aspect, as in English; however in some languages it is used more generally as a past tense (orpreterite), as in French and German.
The use of auxiliaries and meaning of the constructions in various languages are described below.
Celtic languages (exceptCornish andBreton) have a somewhat different type of perfect construction, where a word meaning "after" is used together with a verbal noun. This is described underWelsh grammar andIrish conjugation. By analogy with this construction, sentences of the formI'm after eating (meaning "I have eaten") are used inIrish English. Middle Cornish and Middle Breton used a perfective particlere with the preterite to express a present perfect sense, although this has largely fallen out of use in the modern languages, being replaced with periphrastic formations using the verbs "to be" or "to have" with a past participle.
In reconstructions of theProto-Indo-European language (PIE), the verb form that has traditionally been called "perfect" in fact signifiedstative aspect (a current state of being). The name was assigned based on similarity to the Greek or Latin perfect tense, before the stative nature of the form was fully recognized. For details of its formation, seeProto-Indo-European verbs.
TheAncient Greek perfect developed from the PIE perfect (stative) form; in both cases the stem is typically formed byreduplication. In Greek, however, it took on a true "perfect" meaning, indicating an action with a permanent result.[18] The effect of the action is seen in the resulting state; this state may belong to either thesubject or theobject.[19] The meaning is therefore similar to the English present perfect, although usage of the Greek perfect is rather narrower than in English. Greek also has apluperfect and a (compound)future perfect, although their use is rare.
Other verb forms used in Ancient Greek to refer to past circumstances were theaorist, which was used simply to report past events (for example in narrative), and theimperfect.
For details of the formation and use of the Greek perfect, seeAncient Greek verbs (see alsoAncient Greek grammar § Dependence of moods and tenses). For the (compound) perfect found in modern Greek, seeModern Greek verbs.
InLatin the PIE aorist merged with the perfect.[20] Consequently, the Latin perfect tense serves both as a true perfect (meaning, for example,I have done), and as a simplepreterite, merely reporting a past event (I did). It contrasts with theimperfect, which denotes uncompleted past actions or states.
Latin also has pluperfect and future perfect forms. For details of how all of these forms are made, seeLatin conjugation.
TheEnglish perfect is made with a form of theauxiliary verbhave together with the pastparticiple of the main verb. The auxiliary is inflected fortense andmood, and can also appear innon-finite forms (infinitive, participle or gerund), thus giving rise to a number of constructions which combine the perfectaspect with other verbal properties:
The perfect can also be combined with another aspect[21] that is marked in English – theprogressive (or continuous) aspect. Inperfect progressive (or perfect continuous) constructions, the perfect auxiliary (a form ofhave) is followed by the past participlebeen (frombe, the auxiliary of the progressive aspect), which in turn is followed by the present participle of the main verb. As before, the perfect auxiliary can appear in various tenses, moods and non-finite forms:
The perfect aspect (or perfect progressive) can also be combined with marking for thepassive voice. Perfect passive forms can be constructed by replacing the participle of the main verb with the corresponding participle ofbe followed by the past participle of the main verb:it has been eaten;it will have been eaten;it has been being eaten. Perfect progressive passives, as in the last example, therefore involve two consecutive participles of the auxiliary verbbe; these constructions are rarely used.
The implications of the present perfect (that something occurred prior to the present moment) are similar to those of thesimple past. The simple past is generally used when the occurrence has a specific past time frame – either explicitly stated (I wrote a bookin 1995;the water boileda minute ago), or implied by the context (for example, in the narration of a sequence of events). The present perfect, on the other hand, is used when the assumed time frame lasts up until the present moment:I have written two novels (in my lifetime; I am still alive);You have done no work this morning (it is still the morning). It is often used to draw attention to the consequences rather than the action:I've built a tree-house (the time of building is not important; the focus is on the result, the present existence of the tree-house).[22]
Perfect progressive forms are used mainly to refer to an action continuing up to (or nearly up to) the time of reference, again with emphasis on its consequences (we were tired because wehad been running), or its duration (wehave been working for ten hours/since 7 o'clock). They may express interrupted activities (Ihad been writing a novel when she came to talk to me).[23]
The perfect infinitive (withoutto in most cases) can be used aftermodal verbs with various meanings, chiefly to expressmodality with regard to past events:you should have done that;she might have seen it. Withwould (and sometimesshould andcould), it forms a contrary-to-fact past conditional (conditional perfect),[24] as inshe would/could have done it if she had tried.[25] (These verb forms might not be considered to be truly in the perfect aspect.[26]) For more information on such constructions, seeEnglish modal verbs (particularly the sections on the individual modals).
For more details on the usage of the various perfect constructions in English, seeUses of English verb forms.
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