Present Perfect

The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at anindefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

Use

1. Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now
2. Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment
3. Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

Use 1: Indefinite time before now

Use the Present Perfect to talk about actions that happened at some point in the past. It does not matter when exactly they happened.

• I have already had a breakfast.
• He has been to England.

Use 2: Effect on the present moment

We also use this tense to when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

• He has finished his work. (so he can now rest)
• I have already eaten the dinner. (so I'm not hungry)
• He has had a car accident. (that's why he is in the hospital)

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To understand this use better, watch this interactive animation:

Explanation

In this cartoon, you can see a mother asking her son: "Markus, what's happened". Marcus replies: "I have been struck by a bolt of lightning".

• Why is the Present Perfect tense used in this example? Click on the button labled as "event 1". You can see that Marcus was struck lightning bolt. Now click on the other button. The use of Present Continuous is correct here because the action has an effect on the present moment (it explains why he looks this way).

Use 3: Continuation in the present

We often use the Present Perfect when we want to emphasize that an event continues in the present.

• Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
• Patrick has achieved a lot in his life.

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To understand this use better, click on the buttons and read the message:

Form

To form a sentence in the Present Perfect, you need:

1. The proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb "to have".
2. The Past Participle of your verb.

1. Auxiliary Verb "to have"

We conjugate the auxiliary verb "to have" the same way we would conjugate the normal verb "to have".

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I have	We have
Second	You have	You have
Third	He/she/it has	They have

As you can see, the third person singular is irregular.

More examples:

• She has never seen my brother.
• Neither Mike nor Tom has ever driven a truck.

2. The Past Participle

The past participle of a verb is a verb form that appears with the perfect tenses. The past participle can be either regular or irregular.

• The regular verbs are formed by adding -ed to the verb:
  

  Verb	Past Participle
  talk	talked
  explain	explained
  use	used
  deliver	delivered
  include	included
  achieve	achieved

  
  
• The formation of the irregular verbs does not follow one rule. Therefore, they should be memorized.
  

  Verb	Past Participle	Learn more
  be	been	be
  become	become	become
  see	seen	see
  go	gone	go
  eat	eaten	eat
  grow	grown	grow

Declarative Sentences

Subject	+	HAS/HAVE	+	Verb (past participle form)
e.g. he, she, a dog, etc.				e.g. gone, taken, done, etc.

	Examples	Use (click to read)
	We have already had breakfast.	1
	I have bought new shades.	2
	I am having my first driving lesson this week.	1
	He's studying to become lawyer one day.	3
	Someone has just taken my bag!	1
	Jane has never been so angry.	3
	He has been our most serious partner for so long that I can assure you he's a very decent man.	3

Questions

HAS/HAVE	+	Subject	+	Verb (past participle form)
		e.g. he, she, a dog, etc.		e.g. gone, taken, done, etc.

	Examples	Use (click to read)
	Have you ever seen this program?	1
	Where has she lived for the past 21 years?	3
	Have you found the telephone number?	2
	Has anyone taken my bag?	1
	Have you ever been to France?	2
	Has anyone taken my bag?	1

Negative Sentences

Subject	+	HAS NOT / HAVE NOT	+	Verb (past participle form)
e.g. he, she, a dog, etc.				e.g. gone, taken, done, etc.

	Examples	Use (click to read)
	He hasn't taken any drug for two years.	3
	I haven't met my perfect partner yet.	3
	They haven't contacted you, have they?	1

Check your understanding!