241. Future time may also be expressed by the present tense, or by about or going with the infinitive ([§ 319]).
- We sail for Havana on Tuesday.
- They are about to begin the study of Greek.
COMPLETE OR COMPOUND TENSES
242. Completed action is denoted by special verb-phrases made by prefixing to the past participle some form of the auxiliary verb have.
These are called the complete or compound tenses.
There are three complete or compound tenses,—the perfect (or present perfect), the pluperfect (or past perfect), and the future perfect.
1. The perfect (or present perfect) tense denotes that the action of the verb is complete at the time of speaking. It is formed by prefixing have (hast, has) to the past participle.
- I have learned my lesson.
- He has convinced me.
Note. With several verbs of motion the auxiliary be is sometimes used instead of have: as,—“My friends are gone” (or “have gone”); “Your time is come” (or “has come”).
2. The pluperfect (or past perfect) tense denotes that the action was completed at some point in past time. It is formed by prefixing had (hadst) to the past participle.