Before then
- What did you do last weekend?
- What had you done before you started work yesterday?
- Had you studied English before you joined your current class?
- What had already happened when you woke up today?
MASTER REVIEW · 90 MINUTES · B1–B2The perfect
The perfect
timeline
Present Perfect · Past Perfect · Future Perfect
One idea connects all three: an action happened before a reference point. Find the point first; then choose the right form.
ExperienceLife eventsTravelGoals & projects
FIND THE
REFERENCE POINT
REFERENCE POINT
V3
PASTNOWFUTURE
Three moments in your life
Talk first. Don’t explain the grammar yet. Use what you know and keep the conversation moving.
Your life so far
- What have you accomplished this year?
- Have you ever built a complete website?
- What new technology have you learned recently?
- What haven’t you finished yet?
By then
- What will you have completed by Friday?
- What skill will you have learned by 2030?
- How many English classes will you have taken by December?
- What won’t you have done by your next birthday?
Teacher move: Write three of Santiago’s answers. Label each reference point: past moment, now, or future deadline. Return to them at the end.
What is your reference point?
The action is earlier. The reference point determines which perfect tense we use.
ONE ACTION · THREE VIEWPOINTSThe main verb stays in V3
PASTNOWFUTUREhad finished
before thenhave finished
connected to nowwill have finished
by then
before thenhave finished
connected to nowwill have finished
by then
PAST PERFECT
A completed action before a later past moment.
had + V3He had left before I arrived.
PRESENT PERFECT
A past action connected to now.
have / has + V3He has travelled to Peru.
FUTURE PERFECT
An action complete before a future deadline.
will have + V3He will have finished by Friday.
Decision routine: 1. Find the reference point. 2. Ask what happened before it. 3. Choose have/has, had, or will have. 4. Add the past participle (V3).
Show the “family of have”
Now: I have finished.
Past reference: I had finished before the meeting started.
Future reference: I will have finished by noon.
The reference-time helper changes; the main verb remains finished (V3).
Same participle, different time
Use the formula to build the sentence. Use the meaning to choose the formula.
have / has + V3
Subjecthave / haspast participle
Positive: I have completed the course.
Negative: She hasn’t finished yet.
Question: Have you ever built a website?
Use for experience, present results, recent actions, and time that continues to now. Avoid a finished time word like yesterday.
had + V3
Subjecthad / hadn’tpast participle
Positive: He had left before I arrived.
Negative: They hadn’t backed up the files.
Question: Had you met her before?
Use it to make the earlier of two past events clear. The later past event usually uses Past Simple.
will have + V3
Subjectwill havepast participle
Positive: We will have finished by Friday.
Negative: She won’t have submitted it by noon.
Question: Will they have tested every device?
Use it for a result that will be complete no later than a future checkpoint. By often marks the deadline.
Perfect passive (extension): has/have been + V3 · had been + V3 · will have been + V3. Example: The database will have been backed up before launch.
Show common form traps
✕ She has went → ✓ She has gone.
✕ He had wrote → ✓ He had written.
✕ We will have finish → ✓ We will have finished.
✕ She has visited Brazil last year → ✓ She visited Brazil last year (finished time → Past Simple).
Find V3 quickly
Read each row aloud from left to right. The last form is the one used after have, had, and will have.
BASE VERB
PAST SIMPLE
PAST PARTICIPLE · V3
gowentgoneseesawseenwritewrotewrittendodiddonetaketooktakenknowknewknownleaveleftleftbuildbuiltbuiltmakemademadechoosechosechosentraveltravelledtravelledfinishfinishedfinishedUseful lesson wordsachievementmilestonedeadlineprogresssetbackachieveovercomecompletework oncarry outsort outreach a goal
Fast retrieval
Teacher says a base verb. Santiago says Past Simple + V3.
Model: leave → left → left
Then use V3 in a sentence with have, had, or will have.
Connect it to Santiago
Say one true sentence about a skill, project, trip, setback, or milestone.
Try: I have… · Before I…, I had… · By next year, I will have…
Show the pronunciation reminder
Many regular verbs end in -ed, but their pronunciation varies: worked /t/, played /d/, wanted /ɪd/. Irregular verbs need retrieval practice: went → gone, wrote → written, chose → chosen.
Choose the viewpoint
Complete each sentence. First name the reference point; then say the full sentence.
A · Choose the tense
- She ___ three countries so far. (visit)
- By the time I arrived, the meeting ___ . (start)
- By Friday, we ___ the new feature. (test)
- I ___ my homework yesterday. (finish)
- He ___ the files before his laptop crashed. (save)
- How many projects ___ you ___ by December? (complete)
- They ___ that film twice. (see)
- By the time you wake up, the team ___ the update. (deploy)
B · Repair the mistakes
- I have saw that movie three times.
- When I arrived, the meeting already started.
- By Friday, I will have finish the project.
- She has visited Brazil last year.
- He had went home before I called.
- By the time you will arrive, we will have eaten.
Reveal the answer key
A: 1 has visited · 2 had started · 3 will have tested · 4 finished · 5 had saved · 6 will / have completed · 7 have seen · 8 will have deployed.
B: 1 I have seen that movie three times. 2 When I arrived, the meeting had already started. 3 By Friday, I will have finished the project. 4 She visited Brazil last year. 5 He had gone home before I called. 6 By the time you arrive, we will have eaten.
In a future time clause after by the time, use Present Simple: by the time you arrive.
The missed flight
Look closely. Separate what happened first from what happened next.
Reconstruct the story
Use these clues in a logical order:
packed his suitcasestopped at the caféleft his passportwalked to the gategate closedplane departednoticed the passport was missing
Use these sentence frames
Before he walked to the gate,…
When he reached the gate,…
By the time he returned,…
He missed the flight because…
Talk it through
- Where is he, and how does he feel?
- What had he done before he walked to the gate?
- What had already happened when he arrived?
- Has anything similar ever happened to you?
- What would you have done differently?
Show one possible story
He stopped at a café and had left his passport on the table. When he reached the gate, he realized that he had forgotten it. By the time he returned with his passport, the gate had closed and the plane had departed. He missed the flight because he had not checked his things. He has never missed another flight since then.
Many details are open to interpretation; use the image as evidence and signal guesses with might have or may have.
Achievements and adventures
Describe the man’s life up to now. Separate visible evidence from your ideas.
Build a life update
Create:
- 3 life experiences (ever, never, before)
- 2 recent achievements (already, just, recently)
- 1 duration with for and 1 with since
- 2 things he hasn’t done yet
- 1 Present Perfect Continuous sentence
Ask Santiago
- How is your life similar to his?
- What have you done that he probably hasn’t done?
- What have you been working on recently?
- What goal have you reached, and what is next?
Show model ideas
He has travelled to several countries and has taken many photographs. He has completed a professional course. He has worked as a developer for five years and has been learning another language. He hasn’t played a concert yet. These are possible interpretations of the picture, not confirmed facts.
Last details before launch
The application launches tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Give the team a realistic progress update.
Remaining tasks
finish the final featuretest three phonesfix two bugsprepare the presentationpackage materialssend an announcementback up the database
Manager’s questions
- What will the team have completed by noon?
- What won’t they have finished yet?
- Will the bugs have been fixed?
- By the time the launch begins, what will be ready?
Mission requirements
- 3 affirmative Future Perfect sentences
- 2 negative sentences
- 2 questions
- 1 perfect passive
- 1 sentence with by the time
- 2 words from the word bank
Show one possible team update
By noon, the team will have tested all three phones and fixed the bugs. They won’t have packaged all the materials yet. By the time the launch begins, they will have finished the final feature and prepared the presentation. The database will have been backed up, and an announcement will have been sent.
One life, three timelines
Invent a person and tell the story in three connected parts. Speak for two minutes; your teacher asks follow-up questions.
Before a turning point
What had happened before the person moved, changed careers, or reached a goal?
Before she…, she had…By the time…, she had already…She hadn’t… yet when…
Life up to now
What experiences, results, or progress connect the person’s past to the present?
Since then, she has…So far, she has…She has been working on…
Goals by a deadline
What will the person have achieved by next year, 2030, or retirement?
By next year, she will have…By the time…, she will have…She won’t have… yet.
Minimum challenge: 3 Past Perfect · 3 Present Perfect · 3 Future Perfect · 2 Past Simple · 5 word-bank items · 1 perfect passive.
Reveal role-play options
Job interview: What have you accomplished? Had you used this technology before your last job? What will you have achieved in five years?
Friends after five years: What have you done since we last met? What had happened before you moved? What goals will you have achieved before we meet again?
Technical incident: What has happened? What had the team changed before the problem appeared? What will they have fixed by the end of the day?
Choose the right point in time
Complete each starter out loud, then explain why that perfect tense fits.
Exit ticket
- Experience: I have…
- Current result: I have…
- Earlier past: Before…, I had…
- Future deadline: By Friday, I will have…
- Passive result: By then, … will have been…
Homework · My complete timeline
Write 180–220 words about an important past moment, your life until now, and a future milestone.
- 3 Past Perfect + 2 Past Simple
- 4 Present Perfect + 1 Present Perfect Continuous
- 4 Future Perfect (including one negative and one question)
- for, since, and by the time
- 1 perfect passive + 8 lesson words
Show the final self-check
Now → have/has + V3. Past experience or result connects to now.
Past reference → had + V3. This action happened before another past moment.
Future deadline → will have + V3. The result will be complete by that point.
Past Simple still names a finished past event or exact finished time.
CLASS COMPLETE
The timeline is clear.
Start from the reference point, then build the form with V3.