DISCOVERING GRAMMAR / 15 The first suggests that someone picked you up and placed The present and past participles are often confused. The present participle is always used with the verb ‘to be’. The past participle is used with the verb ‘to have’. The following sentences are wrong: I was sat in the front row. He was stood behind me. A continuous action is indicated by the use of the perfect progressive tenses. In this case the past participle of the verb ‘to be’ follows the verb ‘to have’ which in turn is followed by the present participle of the required verb. The finite verb then consists of three words. present perfect past perfect I have torn my skirt He had won the race She has swum twenty lengths We had promised to visit him. They have danced all night. They had built a new house. Using the perfect progressive tenses Present perfect progressive Past perfect progressive Making mistakes That dog has been barking all night. She has been crying all day. He had been playing football She had been working on the computer.