The Present Perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the Present Perfect is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the Present Perfect tense, as well as the use of for and since, followed by a quiz to check your understanding.
The structure of the Present Perfect is:
subject | + | auxiliary have | + | main verb |
conjugated in Present Simple | ||||
have, has | past participle |
The auxiliary verb (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has
The main verb is invariable in past participle form: -ed (or irregular)
For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.
Look at these example sentences with the Present Perfect tense:
subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
+ | I | have | seen | ET. | |
+ | You | have | eaten | mine. | |
- | She | has | not | been | to Rome. |
- | We | have | not | played | football. |
? | Have | you | finished? | ||
? | Have | they | done | it? |
When we use the Present Perfect in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.
I have | I've |
You have | You've |
He has She has It has John has The car has | He's She's It's John's The car's |
We have | We've |
They have | They've |
In negative sentences, we may contract the auxiliary verb and "not":
This tense is called the Present Perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present.
We use the Present Perfect to talk about:
We often use the Present Perfect to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:
I have seen an alien. He has lived in Bangkok. Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar. | |||||
past | present | future | |||
| |||||
The action or state was in the past. | In my head, I have a memory now. |
We also use the Present Perfect to talk about a change, or new information:
I have bought a car. | ||
past | present | future |
- | + | |
Last week I didn't have a car. | Now I have a car. |
John has broken his leg. | ||
past | present | future |
+ | - | |
Yesterday John had a good leg. | Now he has a bad leg. |
Has the price gone up? | ||
past | present | future |
+ | - | |
Was the price $1.50 yesterday? | Is the price $1.70 today? |
The police have arrested the killer. | ||
past | present | future |
- | + | |
Yesterday the killer was free. | Now he is in prison. |
We often use the Present Perfect to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a situation (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.
I have worked here since June. He has been ill for 2 days. How long have you known Tara (for)? | |||||||
past | present | future | |||||
The situation started in the past. | It continues up to now. | (It will probably continue into the future.) |
We often use for and since with perfect tenses:
for | since |
a period of time | a point in past time |
- - - - - - - - - - - - | - · - - - - - - - - - - |
20 minutes | 6.15pm |
three days | Monday |
6 months | January |
4 years | 1994 |
2 centuries | 1800 |
a long time | I left school |
ever | the beginning of time |
etc | etc |
Look at these example sentences using for and since with the Present Perfect tense:
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