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Modals and Present Perfect Verbs

26 January, 2015 - 14:18

In the previous section, we defined present perfect verb tense as describing a continuing situation or something that has just happened.

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Remember, when a sentence contains a modal auxiliary before the verb, the helping verb is always have.

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Be aware of the following common errors when using modal auxiliaries in the present perfect tense:

  1. Using had instead of have
Incorrect: Jamie would had attended the party, but he was sick.
Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick.
  1. Leaving out have
Incorrect: Jamie would attended the party, but he was sick.
Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick.