The present perfect tense

Present Perfect Simple Tense

Structure: subject+have/has+verb3+object

Affirmative: I have finished it You have finished it He/she/it has finished it We have finished it You have finished it They have finished it

Negative: I have not finished it You have not finished it He/she/it has not finished it We have not finished it You have not finished it They have not finished it

Interrogative: Have I finished it? Have you finished it? Has he/she/it finished it? Have we finished it? Have you finished it? Have they finished it?

Meaning:

Present perfect simple generally describes past events which are connected to the present. There is a number of different meanings

An event in the past but without a definite time. I have broken my pencil We don’t know exactly when this happened and the pencil is still broken.

Repeated event lasting until the present and still happening. There is a time expression describing how long or how often something has happened.

They have lived in Istanbul for two years.

Common Usages (No time mentioned)

Explaining present situations. An exact time is not mentioned Why are you walking like that? I have hurt my foot

I have broken my foot

Experiences Have you ever visited any other countries?

Have you ever visited any other countries?

Time Expressions

Ever&Never We use ever and never when we talk about our experiences in life.

Have you ever eaten Moldavian food?

I have never eaten avocado

Yet&Already We use yet in negative and question sentences. We use already in positive sentences.

I haven’t finished my work yet.

My cat has already finished his food.

Just We use just when we describe a very recent event.

I have just received a letter from my mother.

For&Since For describes a period of time. Since describes when the period of time started

He has worked here for ten years.

He has worked here since 1990.

Exercises

Complete these sentences in the present perfect simple

• (not eat) The children …… their dinner.
• (you finish) …….. your homework?
• (be) Anthony ……. here.
• (not see) I …… John.
• (live) John ……. in New York.

Complete the sentences using since or for.

• Steve hasn’t worked …… he left school.
• He has been the boss ……. one year.
• Oliver has been here ….. 10:30 p.m.
• I have lived in this house ……. 1969.
• My father has worked in the same place ….. 15 years.

The End