The Perfect denotes an action either as now completed ( Perfect Definite ), or as having taken place at some undefined point of past time ( Historical or Aoristic Perfect ).

The Perfect Definite corresponds in general to the English Perfect with have; the Historical Perfect to the English Preterite (or Past): (1) ut ego fēcī , quī Graecās litterās senex didicī (Cat. M. 26) , as I have done , who have learned Greek in my old age. diūturnī silentī fīnem hodiernus diēs attulit (Marc. 1) , this day has put an end to my long-continued silence. (2) tantum bellum extrēmā hieme apparāvit , ineunte vēre suscēpit , mediā aestāte cōnfēcit (Manil. 35) , so great a war he made ready for at the end of winter, undertook in early spring, and finished by midsummer. The distinction between these two uses is represented by two forms in most other Indo-European languages, but was almost if not wholly lost to the minds of the Romans. It must be noticed, however, on account of the marked distinction in English and also because of certain differences in the sequence of tenses.