THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Glenda R. PereyMAT - English

FORM

For sentences with singular subject (He / She/It) :

has + verb (past participle)

For sentences with plural subject(I / You / We / They) :

have + verb (past participle)

Present Perfect Timeline

Uses of Present Perfect Tense

It occurs with a time expression of duration, e.g., for six years, since

1000, over the last six months, and so on.

Present Perfect Tense is used when:

• Expressing a situation that started in the past and continues to the present• The duration of the situation is

marked by phrases with either for or since.

They have lived in Florida since 1990.

I have loved her since the first day I saw her.

She has worked in that company for 15 years.

Present Perfect Tense is used when:

• Expressing a recently completed action• The adverbs “just” and “already”

may be used to express the completed action.

The Japanese climbers have reached the peak of Mount Everest.

Her plane has arrived.

Allan has recently written an article on that very subject.

The teacher has just drawn a circle on the board.

She has already left the restaurant.

Present Perfect Tense is used when:

• Expressing an action that occurred at an unspecified time and has current relevance• It is best to associate present perfect

with the following topics: experience, achievements or accomplishments, an uncompleted action you are expecting.

Use the present perfect to describe your experience

• The adverbs “ever” and “never” can be used to talk about our experience.• “Never” is used for negative

sentences while “ever” is used for questions.

He has never traveled by train.

Have you ever been to the Eiffel Tower?

Use the present perfect to describe accomplishments

• We often use the present perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. • You cannot mention a specific

time.

Man has walked on the moon.

My son has learned how to read.

Use the present perfect to talk about and 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.• We can use the adverbs “yet” and “still” to

express that the action is uncompleted.

Use the present perfect to talk about and uncompleted action you are expecting

• We can use the adverbs “yet” and “still” to express that the action is uncompleted.• “Yet” is used for questions and

negative sentences while “still” can be used for both positive and negative sentences.

Bill has still not arrived.

James has not finished his homework yet.

Present Perfect Tense is used when:

• Describing an action that occurred over a period of time that is complete at the moment of speaking.• These sentences contain verbs that

express actions involving inherent change over time.

Present Perfect Tense is used when:

• The sense of change is enhanced by the time expressions of duration.• The perfect aspect imparts the

meaning of completion, hence the interpretation that the evolving change is now complete.

You have grown since the last time I saw you.

My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.

The value of this house has doubled over the past two years.

His condition has improved considerably in the last three days.

How much have you learned?

Complete the sentence with the present perfect tense of the verbs in

parentheses.

1. The children _____ (make) the house very messy.2. I _____ (see) that actor in several movies.3. The boys _____ (drink) all the soda in the refrigerator.4. Our dog _____ (hurt) its leg.5. One of the workmen _____ (fall) off his ladder.6. She’s sad because her friends _____ (go) to the park

without her.7. Dad _____ (have) a shower already.8. I’ve been shouting so much that I _____ (lose) my

voice.9. My sister’s boyfriend _____ (buy) her a diamond ring.10. Alan _____ (do) this jigsaw puzzle so many times

that he could do it with his eyes shut.

Here are the answers.

1.have made2.have seen3.have drank4.has hurt5.has fallen

6.have gone7.has had8.have lost9.has bought10.has done

Here’s your score!

• 10 Perfect!• 9 Awesome• 7 – 8 Good work• 5 – 6 Nice try• 3 – 4 Study harder• 0 – 2 What were you doing while

the teacher was discussing?!

References:

• Cowan, Ron. (2008).A teacher’s grammar of English. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.

• Sargeant, Howard. (2007). Basic English grammar Book 2. CA, USA: Saddleback Educational Publishing.

• http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tensepresperfsim.htm retrieved on January 5, 2011.

• http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html retrieved on January 5, 2011.