has done/had done?

Is there a difference between the two?

Has been is called the present perfect; had been is called the past perfect.

Read the following conversations.

A: I want to go out and play.

B: Have you done your homework?

A: Of course I have done my homework. I completed it an hour ago.


Sara: Did you cook dinner before the guests arrived?

Mark: I had done the cooking before they arrived.

When you are describing two actions that happened in the past, the action that happened first is normally talked about in the past perfect tense and the second action is talked about in the simple past.

A: May I talk to Reena, please?
B: Sorry, Reena has gone out. May I know who is speaking?

We use the present perfect (has gone out) when we mean that the person went out and is still out there.
Reena went out (simple past) means that she went out sometime ago; she could have returned. That piece of information is not very clear.


Fill in the blanks with has or have.

1. A: How long ________you lived here?
B: Since I was nine years old.

2. A: By the time we reached the station, the train ___________left.
B: What did you do then? Take a bus?

3. A: If you _______not told me about the meeting, I wouldn’t have known.
B: I am really sorry that the boss forgot to inform you.

4. A: Is your father in?
B: He went out a little while ago. Let me check if he __________come back.

5. A: Did you clean up the mess before mother arrived?
B: I ________planned to. But mother arrived before I _________even started!