The Kind of Action of the Perfect Tense:

Durative and Punctiliar. Completed action with abiding results.

An action completed in the past is conceived in terms of the present time for the sake of vividness. This was a use suited for the orator or the dramatist, and was often used in rhetorical questions. John uses it more than any other New Testament writer. It would be similar to ours, “The first thing you know he has done it.” (It is sometimes referred to as the “Present Perfect.”).

This use is a strong way of saying that a thing is, denoting an action rather than a state resulting from an action, having the force of an emphatic present. Stress is placed on the existing fact. This is done more forcibly than either the Greek or English present could ever do. This use is primarily used with verbs of senses.

This use denotes a completed act that has abiding results. It emphasizes that the action took place and still has abiding results. The finished process with its results is expressed, not the existing state. (CF. The Intensive Perfect). This is the most frequent use of the perfect.

This use denotes an action that was generally true. It is rare in the New Testament.

This use denotes repeated action. Completed action is stressed, but something in the context or in the meaning of the word (or both) indicate(s) that the idea of the action was iterative. It is relatively rare in the New Testament.

This use emphasizes an existing state. It is made up of the perfect participle and an auxiliary verb. It does not occur very frequently in the New Testament.

This use anticipates an action not yet done, it represents a completed state or condition from the standpoint of future time. It is rare in the New Testament.

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