EVOLVE Educational Vocational Objective Learning of Vernacular English

Present Perfect

I/you/we/they/you           +          have    +          done                (walked, eaten, run)

he/she/it                                    has                  

 

The present perfect is a present tense connected to the past. It can be seen as the ‘experience’ tense as it tells us what we have or haven’t done in the past, and what is the outcome now.

“I have seen that movie”              - I saw the movie, I know the story now.

“I haven’t tried sushi”                              - I don’t know how it tastes.

“She has done her homework”                 - She did her work, now it is complete.

 

                    action                        result
                        *………………….…...*
ßPast---------------------------------------Now-------------------------------------Futureà

 

In informal English we can use the contractions (‘ve and ‘s)

 

When we use the present perfect, the following remarks are usually made in the past tenses.

 

Be careful with ‘been’ and ‘gone’, when we say

He has been to Spain

It means that he knows what Spain is like because he visited it in the past.

He has gone to Spain

This means that he is still in Spain.

 

 

Task 1
Change these sentences to the present perfect by adding have/has and changing the verb to the past participle.

Task 2
Match the answers to Task 1 to the definitions in the table

	You are not working now.
	She is in the shop now and she got there on foot.
	I know what she looks like.
	There is no chicken left.
	I remember what Rome is like.
	He is in the gymnasium.
	They know how to play the game.
	It is finished but it was a long process.
	Each day they seem bigger.
	He knows what it tastes like.

 

Questions
Questions in the present perfect are easy to form; we simple put the auxiliary verb ‘have’ before the subject (the person or thing at the beginning of the sentence).

I have read a good book.
becomes
Have I read a good book?

She has watched TV.
becomes
Has she watched TV?

We have eaten.
becomes
Have we eaten?

I have visited friends this month.
becomes
Have I visited friends this month?

We have started a course this year.
becomes
Have we started a course this year?

 

Task 3
Change these sentences into questions

1. You have helped Katrina.
2. We have lost the match.
3. I have thought about buying a house.
4. You have felt this fever before.
5. We have listened to the recording.
6. He has celebrated his birthday already.
7. My girlfriend has met her bank manager.
8. You have read that book.
9. That dog has eaten.
10. He has smoked his last cigarette.

 Negatives 
Forming negative sentences is as simple as placing ‘not’ or the contraction ‘-n’t’ after the verb ‘have’
                                 

I have read a good book.
becomes
I have not read a good book.

She has watched TV.
becomes
She hasn’t watched TV.

We have eaten.
becomes
We have not eaten.

I have visited friends this month.
becomes
I have not visited friends this month.

 

Task 4
Write the sentences from Task 3 using negative forms.

Uses of the present perfect

New information
We can use the present perfect to give new information about something that has happened.

I have spoken to our landlord.

He has left the building.

We have arrived at the airport.

 

Just
We can use it with ‘just’ to give information about something that has happened very recently.

I have just spoken to our landlord.

He has just left the building.

We have just arrived at the airport.

 

Already
We can use it with ‘already’ to give information about something that has happened before it was expected.

I have already spoken to our landlord.

He has already left the building.

We have already arrived at the airport.

 

Yet
We can use it with ‘yet’ to ask if something has happened until now.

Have you spoken to our landlord yet?

Has he left the building yet?

Have we arrived at the airport yet?

 

Ever
We can use it with ‘ever’ to ask if something has happened at all until now.

Have you ever spoken to our landlord?

Has he ever left the building?

Have you ever been to the airport?

Never
We can use it with ‘never’ to give information about something that has not happened before.

I have never spoken to our landlord.

He has never left the building.

We have never been to the airport.

 

Recently
We can use it with ‘recently’ to give information about something that has happened a short time before now.

I have recently spoken to our landlord.

He has recently left the building.

We have recently arrived at the airport.

 

In the last few weeks/few days/few hours
We can use it with ‘In the last few weeks/few days/few hours’ to give information about something that has happened before the stated time.

I have spoken to our landlord in the last few days.

He has left the building in the last few weeks.

We have arrived at the airport in the last few hours.

 

Until now
We can use it in the negative with ‘until now’ to give information about something that is only just happening.

I haven’t spoken to our landlord until now.

He hasn’t left the building until now.

We haven’t arrived at the airport until now.

 

Since
We can use it with ‘since’ to give information about something that has happened from a certain time.

I haven’t spoken to our landlord since Friday.

He hasn’t left the building since he arrived.

We have been at the airport since 9am.

For
We can use it with ‘for’ to give information about something that has happened from a certain time but we focus on the amount of time the action has lasted.

I haven’t spoken to our landlord for three days.

He hasn’t left the building for six hours.

We have been at the airport for 45 minutes.

Today/This afternoon/this evening
We can use it with ‘today/this afternoon/this evening to give information about something that has happened during a time frame that has not finished.

I have spoken to our landlord today.

He has left the building this afternoon.

We have driven to the airport this evening.

 

 

 

Answers

Task 1

1. You have not helped Katrina.
2. We have not lost the match.
3. I have not thought about buying a house.
4. You have not felt this fever before.
5. We have not listened to the recording.
6. He has not celebrated his birthday already.
7. My girlfriend has not met her bank manager.
8. You have not read that book.
9. That dog has not eaten.
10. He has not smoked his last cigarette.