tenses There are four perfect tenses in Lithuanian (present, past, past iterative and future) which are all formed using the verb būti in its respective tense and person as well as the active past simple participle in its respective number and gender: {| class="wikitable" |- ! ! colspan=1| Present perfect ! colspan=1| Past perfect ! colspan=1| Past iterative perfect ! colspan=1| Future perfect |- |align="right"|I |esu skaĩtęs / skaĩčiusi |buvau skaitęs / skaičiusi |būdavau skaitęs / skaičiusi |būsiu skaitęs / skaičiusi |- |align="right"|You (singular) |esi skaitęs / skaičiusi |buvai skaitęs / skaičiusi |būdavai skaitęs / skaičiusi |būsi skaitęs / skaičiusi |- |align="right"|He/She/It |yra skaitęs / skaičiusi |buvo skaitęs / skaičiusi |būdavo skaitęs / skaičiusi |bus skaitęs / skaičiusi |- |align="right"|We |esame skaĩtę / skaĩčiusios |buvome skaitę / skaičiusios |būdavome skaitę / skaičiusios |būsime skaitę / skaičiusios |- |align="right"|You (plural) |esate skaitę / skaičiusios |buvote skaitę / skaičiusios |būdavote skaitę / skaičiusios |būsite skaitę / skaičiusios |- |align="right"|They |yra skaitę / skaičiusios |buvo skaitę / skaičiusios |būdavo skaitę / skaičiusios |bus skaitę / skaičiusios |} These tenses (except for present perfect) correspond roughly to equivalent English perfect tenses (I had read / I will have read). They are used in various contexts for very different meanings, but they usually indicate an action that happened before another action said with another verb, noun or similar: Tos knygos neėmiau, nes jau ją buvau skaitęs – I didn't take that book because I had already read it; Po kelionės vaikai bus labai pasiilgę tėvų – After the trip the children will have badly missed their parents. They are also used for a generalized meaning not associated with a specific event (equivalent of English "Have you ever done it?"): Ar esi buvęs Paryžiuje? – Have you ever been to Paris [any time in your life]?; Esu skaitęs, kad vaistai nuo peršalimo nepadeda – I read [some time ago] that pharmaceuticals are useless against common cold. Compare phrases: Ar buvai Paryžiuje? – Were you in Paris [that day]?; Skaičiau, kad vaistai nuo peršalimo nepadeda – I read [that day, at a specific moment in my life] that pharmaceuticals are useless against common cold. The perfect tenses are a common feature of the Lithuanian language and are often used in all types of spoken and written speech. Inchoative tenses There are three inchoative tenses in Lithuanian (past, past iterative and future) which are all formed using the