Present Perfect
Formation
Positive statementsubject + has/have + past participle
You have seen that movie.
Negative statementsubject + has/have + not + past participle
You have not seen that movie.
QuestionHas/ have + subject + past participle
Have you seen that movie?
Use 1- Unspecified Time Before Now
We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified
time before now. The exact time is not mentioned/ not important.
-We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever,
never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
-We CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as:
yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at
that moment, that day, one day, etc.
Examples:
I have seen that movie twenty times.
She has met him once before.
There have been many earthquakes in California.
Have you read the book yet?
Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
Use 2- Past Experiences
You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I
have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never
had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific
event.
Examples:
I have been to France.
THIS
I have been to France three times.
YOU
I have never been to France.
THIS
SENTENCE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING IN
YOU HAVE BEEN THERE ONCE, OR SEVERAL TIMES.
FRANCE. MAYBE
CAN ADD THE NUMBER OF TIMES AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE.
SENTENCE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE NOT HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF GOING TO
FRANCE.
Use 3- A situation that started in the past and continues now
We often use the Present Perfect to talk about something that has happened
over a period of time.
Examples:
You have grown since the last time I saw you.
I have lived in Spain since 1999.
My English has improved since I moved to Australia.
I have had a cold for two weeks.
Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
Use 4- An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting
We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has
not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the
action to happen.
Examples:
James has not finished his homework yet. .
Bill has still not arrived.
The rain hasn't stopped.
Time Expressions with Present Perfect
When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at
some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action
happened is not important.
Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can
do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this
month, so far, up to now, etc.
Examples:
Have you been to Mexico in the last year?
I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
They have had three tests in the last week.
She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has
worked for three different companies so far.
My car has broken down three times this week.
NOTE
"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means
the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple
Past.
"In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a
specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.
Examples:
I went to Mexico last year.
I have been to Mexico in the last year.
WENT TO
MEXICO
HAVE BEEN TO
NOW.
IN THE CALENDAR YEAR BEFORE THIS ONE.
MEXICO
AT LEAST ONCE AT SOME POINT BETWEEN
365
DAYS AGO AND
Choose if the verb in parenthesis should be the present perfect or past
simple:
1. I
2. Frank
study)
3. My father
4. Lee
live)
English two years ago. (to study)
English for a long time and still studies now. (to
in Korea during the war. (to live)
in Korea all his life. Hes happy living in Seoul. (to
5.
you
school today? (to do)
your homework while you were at
6.
you ever
sister got married, we rode in one. (to ride)
7. Sylvia and Mary
know)
8. Sylvia
meet)
in a limousine? When my
each other since they were children. (to
Mary at school. They were in the same class. (to
9. Mary
friends with Sylvia immediately. (to make)
10. Sylvia and Mary are old ladies now, but they
these years. (to remain)
friends for all
Irregular past participles:
Infinitive
Past
Simple
Past
participle
be
was/were
been
beat
beat
beaten
become
became
become
begin
began
begun
bend
bent
bent
bet
bet
bet
bite
bit
bitten
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
bring
brought
brought
build
built
built
burst
burst
burst
buy
bought
bought
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
come
came
come
cost
cost
cost
cut
cut
cut
deal
dealt
dealt
dig
dug
dug
do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
drink
drank
drunk
eat
ate
eaten
fall
fell
fallen
feed
fed
fed
feel
felt
felt
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
fly
flew
flown
forbid
forbade
forbidden
forget
forgot
forgotten
freeze
froze
frozen
get
got
got
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
grow
grew
grown
hang
hung
hung
have
had
had
hear
heard
heard
hide
hid
hidden
hit
hit
hit
hold
held
held
hurt
hurt
hurt
keep
kept
kept
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lead
led
led
leave
left
left
lend
lent
lent
let
let
let
lie
lay
lain
light
lit
lit
lose
lost
lost
make
made
made
mean
meant
meant
meet
met
met
pay
paid
paid
put
put
put
read
read
read
ride
rode
ridden
ring
rang
rung
rise
rose
risen
run
ran
run
say
said
said
see
saw
seen
seek
sought
sought
sell
sold
sold
send
sent
sent
set
set
set
sew
sewed
sewn/sewed
shake
shook
shaken
shine
shone
shone
shoot
shot
shot
show
showed
shown
shrink
shrank
shrunk
shut
shut
shut
sing
sang
sung
sink
sank
sunk
sit
sat
sat
sleep
slept
slept
speak
spoke
spoken
spend
spent
spent
split
split
split
spread
spread
spread
spring
sprang
sprung
stand
stood
stood
steal
stole
stolen
stick
stuck
stuck
sting
stung
stung
stink
stank
stunk
strike
struck
struck
study
studied
studied
swear
swore
sworn
sweep
swept
swept
swim
swam
swum
swing
swung
swung
take
took
taken
teach
taught
taught
tear
tore
torn
tell
told
told
think
thought
thought
throw
threw
thrown
understand
understood
understood
wake
woke
woken
wear
wore
worn
win
won
won
write
wrote
written
