By the time" for the Bac.

exam
The easy way
STUDENT 1 This year we are studying perfect tenses especially the past perfect and the future perfect. And I noticed that the phrase by the time is used very so often with both tenses and I cant say if it requires the past perfect or the future perfect?! for example the teacher asked us to put the verbs between brackets in these two sentences in the correct form. Here they are 1. By the time my parents come, we (clean) the mess. 2. By the time my parents came, we (clean) the mess. Now can you put the verbs between brackets in the correct form? STUDENT 2 No, I cant. But I guess she wants you to discover the difference in use of the 'horrible' by the time. STUDENT 1 I see! These sentences are used after a party is over. Lets try to do it together, OK?! STUDENT 2 OK, lets. First the sentences give the impression that they are alike! There should be a trick somewhere. Wait, wait! I guess I found the trick! Look at the verb in the by the time clause in both sentences. STUDENT 1 Let me see! come . came. YES! Thats the secret. In the first sentence, the verb is (come) in the present and in the second; it is (came) in the past. There surely is an effect on the verb (clean) between brackets. What do you think? STUDENT 2 I think that the tense of the verb in the by the time clause counts a lot to find out if the verb in the main clause should be in the past perfect or the future perfect. STUDENT 1 Exactly! When the verb in the by the time clause is in the present, I guess the verb in the main clause: (clean) in this case, should be in the future perfect because the action (cleaning) will have finished by the time the parents come. Yes, yes! It sounds logical. STUDENT 2 Yes, I agree! To follow your logic, whenever the verb in the by the time clause is in the present we should use the Future Perfect, and whenever the verb in the by the time clause is in the past, we should use the Past Perfect.

STUDENT 1 Can you repeat that please? STUDENT 2 Well! Let me illustrate it this way: By the time By the time + present => future perfect + past => past perfect

STUDENT 1 I get it. Now lets do the exercise and see if the teacher would accept our point of view. TEACHER (reads) 1. By the time my parents come, we (clean) will have cleaned the mess. 2. By the time my parents came, we (clean) had cleaned the mess. Well done.

The hard way

The Bac. Students are studying the perfect tenses, particularly the past perfect and the future perfect, hence the frequent use of the phrase by the time. Do not read this! By the time is used to indicate the end of an action in a time period, to imagine or to predict the relative timing of two activities or events in the past, present or future. In other words, by the time is used to refer to the second action of two completed actions either in the past or in the present. This creates confusion for most students because this very phrase is used to introduce clauses which show that at the end of a certain action, another action is still going on or completed. When we use by the time with a completed action either in the past or present, the students are required to identify the appropriate perfect tense to use subsequently. Most Baccalaureate students find it very hard to distinguish the perfect tense (past or future) to use when the by the time phrase is used. But this is not really tough to find out if we know the secret like the students 1 & 2 did earlier.

In order to put an end to the students disorientation about this, Ill try to unveil the secret in a very down-to-earth way. Compare between these two sentences and try to detect the secret

1. By the time they return, I will have finished my homework. 2. By the time they returned, I had finished my homework.
1. The verb in the by the time clause here is in the present: (return). Therefore, the tense
used in the other clauses should be in the future perfect. (will have finished).

2. The verb here is the simple past (returned). Therefore the tense used in the other clauses
should be in the past perfect. (had finished)

Check these

By the time the police arrived, the burglars had already escaped. By the time the police arrive, the burglars will already have escaped.

As a conclusion whenever the verb in the by the time clause is in the present, the verb in the other clause is in the future perfect. Likewise whenever the verb in the by the time clause is in the past, the verb in the other clause is in the past perfect. Both situations describe an action, that at a given end-point action (in the present or past), is completed. In other words:

By the time an action happens, another action will have happened. By the time an action happened, another action had happened. By the time you read this Ill have left forever. By the time you read my letter, I had moved far in the south.
They had already finished cleaning the house by the time we arrived.

He is so slow that by the time he brings me water, I (die) out of thirst He is so slow that by the time he brings me water, I (die) out of thirst
Practice
Put the verbs between brackets in the correct form

1. You (understand) the lesson by the time you do this. ( I hope) 2. The boys (get) tired by the time they finish the test. 3. By the time we arrived there, the bank (close) .

4. 5. 6. 7.

By the time he was 25, he (already / get) married. By the time your son is 12, the world population (double) . By the time you woke up, I (read) the book twice. The bus (leave) by the time we reached the station.