Present perfect (1)

Presentation
© Form
The present perfect tense is formed by using the present tense of the auxiliary h av e and
the past participle. For negatives and questions we also use the present tense of the
auxiliary h ave and the past participle:

I have/'ve taken I h av e n ot/haven 't taken H ave I taken?

You have/'ve taken You h av e n ot/haven 't taken H ave you ta k e n ?
H e/she/it has/'s taken He/she/ it h a s n ot/hasn 't taken H as he 1she/it taken ?
We have/'ve tak en We h a v e n ot/haven 't taken H ave we taken?
They have/'ve tak en They h a v e n ot/haven 't taken H ave they taken ?

The past participles of regular verbs end in -d or -ed, and have the same form as the past
simple. For a list of irregular verbs, see Appendix 2, page 188.
Note: The short forms of the positive and negative are commonly used in speech and
informal writing.

(]) Present result of the past

The present perfect often links a present situation with something that happened at an
unspecified time in the past. Therefore we do not use specific time expressions such as
yesterday, last week, in 1998, two days ago, etc.:
I h av e given your report to the MD.
(Past action: I gave her your report y esterd ay . Present result: She h a s the report now.)
I h av e sen t them the samples they wanted.
(Past action: I sen t the samples this m orning. Present result: They are in the post now.)

Q Specific and non-specific time

If we say when something happened, we use the past simple, not the present perfect:
wrong: *1 h av e spoken to her yesterday.
right: I spoke to her yesterday.
Similarly, with expressions such as on Monday, in 1987, at 3.30, etc. (see Unit 4), or with
questions beginning When ...? and How long ago ...?, we use the past simple and not the
present perfect.

© Just
The present perfect is often used with the word ju st to talk about very recent news or
actions that have taken place very recently. Again, the exact time is not mentioned:
I'm sorry, Mrs Smith is not here. She h a s ju st left.

O Been and gone

Notice the difference between h a s been and h a s gone:
I'm afraid Mr Smith is not here at the moment. He h a s gon e to a meeting in London.
(He is still at the meeting.)
Amanda h a s been to the travel agent. She has your tickets for Hong Kong.
(She went to the travel agent and has returned.)

Present perfect (1) 23

 Practice
EXERCISE O Form
Complete the follow ing sentences by putting the irregular verbs into the present
perfect. See the example.
1 I'm going to send them a reminder. They tav eV t (not pay) us for their last order.
2 Some of these tech shares............................(fall) by over 80%, and they still look very
risky.
3 ............................(you/write) to them about that shipment, or do you want me to phone
them?
4 W e ............................(spend) a lot on modernizing the factory, and it is now very well
equipped.
5 Unemployment is very high here because all of the coal m in es............................(shut)
down.
6 The lawyers............................(draw) up the contracts, so we are now ready to go ahead
with the deal.
7 I ............................(not speak) to the MD about your proposal, but I will soon.
8 ............................(you/find) a suitable replacement for Ivan Sloboda, or is the post still
vacant?
9 C arm en..................................... (just/get) back from lunch. Why don't you call her now?
10 Peter,............................(you/meet) Alistair MacFarlane? He's our new Finance Director.

EXERCISE © Present results of the past

Look at the notes below the pictures. Write sentences in the present perfect which
link the past events with the present results. See the example.

Past event
m

f o r e ig n e x c h a n g e

LAST W EEK
£ - t « «C
TL—J I , I _J
SVV1 8E
^ £ = £ \ c ~i n
^ L ^ « *u t t j

El ÿ n n n
v u .u u o

Present result

FOREIGN exchange
TODAY CSI Systems
129-2 SamSeong-dong
€ =$0,953 Gangnam-gu
^oul, j35-798, Korea

æ £ - $ 1.610
u«Cflfi08
He/miss/the flight Euro/fall/against They/redecorate/ We/re-locate/Korea
Dollar office
He. I M i ^ e d
-the.

24 Present perfect (1)

EXERCISE © Specific and non-specific time
Complete the follow ing newspaper extracts w ith the correct form of the verb in
brackets. Then say w hen these actions took place. If you do not have the
inform ation, write no in form ation . See the examples.

Virgin Mobile 1 £<*.id (say) yesterday Toys R Us 3 ........................ EGYPT yesterday 7..-....................
that it was in talks with 3G license
(announce) a programme of cutbacks (carry) out a limited devaluation of
holders in Hong Kong about a
last week, when i t 4 ................................ the Egyptian pound as a way of
(give) details of the 64 stores that are reassuring international lenders who
possible joint venture. The company
going to close with the loss o f 1,900 are concerned about the state of the
2 lr\A$ ^rowr (grow) rapidly and now
jobs. The shares are currently trading economy. The country 8...................
has over 1.5 million customers, slightly higher. Most analysts (suffer) a great deal from the loss of
making it the U K ’s fifth largest mobile 5............................... (welcome) the revenue from tourism, and the
phone service. news, particularly as the company unofficial rate for the Egyptian pound
6...............................(state) that it is 9........................ (fall) to below E£5
confident of reaching its targets in to the dollar. Egypt is looking for
spite of ‘difficult trading conditions.’ about $2bn in support, and the US
10 ....................... (already/ agree) to
speed up the annual payment of aid.

£Aid - ye.zte.rdAy 6
\\<k$ ^row* ~ i\o ii\.-fbrMA"tiofv 7
8
9
10

E X E R C IS E O Just - recent actions

Complete the sentences w7ith one of the verbs in the box, using fu s t and the present
perfect. See the exam ple.

announce arrive buy give

leave read speak

1 I'm afraid Ms Japtha isn't here. She Irute le.-ft.

2 A: There's an article in the paper about BMW.
B: Yes, I know7. I ...............................................................it.
3 He's feeling very pleased. T h e y ........................................ him a pay rise.
4 I ........................................ a new7 car. Would you like to come and have a look at it?
5 A parcel for y o u ......................................... in reception. Shall I send it up to you?
6 I ....................................... to the MD about your proposals, and he wants to discuss them.
7 The com pany......................................it is going to close the Glasgow factory next month.

E X E R C IS E © Been and gone

Fill in the blanks w ith h av e/h as been or h a v e/h a s gone. See the example.
1 I'm afraid Mr Davis haj ^o*e. to Bali and w7on't be back for two weeks.
2 Jane will know a good place to stay in New York. S h e .........................there lots of times.
3 I ........................to the printers to collect the brochures. They're in my car.
4 Mr L u nd ........................to Oslo. Would you like the phone number of his hotel?
5 I don't know where their new offices are. I ........................n o t ......................... there.

Present perfect (1) 25

 Production
TASK 1 Complete these sentences. Use a verb in the present perfect to explain why the
present situation has occurred. See the example.
1 Our sales are improving because ...
we. hAva introduced £om£ i\e.w product In\e.£.
2 Our agent wants the brochures delivered urgently because ...

3 Maria is off work for three months because ...

4 We are having a very successful year because ...

5 At the moment the government is very unpopular because ...

6 This year's coffee crop in Colombia will be very small because ...

7 I think it would be a good time to buy shares now because ...

TA SK 2 Write short paragraphs about the changes th at have taken place. See the example.
1 The new supermarket is attracting a lot of new customers.
The. ne.w MAivsujje.r£ have. re.-fwrbi£he.d "the. bwildir^ coMple.-te.ly Ai\d the.y have, put
irv a rve.w de.1icA~te.££e.r\ £e.ctio»\. "The.y hAve. iMp>rove.d the.ir rArv^e. o-f -fre^h -food£
o\Ad hAve. Added a cA-feteriA.
2 The office isn't the same as it was when you were here.

3 The company has spent a great deal on new technology.

A
'The office isn't the same as it
was when you were here.'

TA SK 3 Complete or continue these sentences using the present perfect. See the example.
1 Indira's definitely here today. I've, ju ^ t £poke.»v -to he.r oi\ the. phoi\e..
2 He isn't coming in to work today............................................................................................
3 Yes, the report is ready.................................................................................................................
4 Boeing's financial future now looks very secure...................................................................
5 Why don't we have lunch in that new restaurant th a t.....................................................
6 I think she must be out...............................................................................................................
7 No, I won't have a coffee, thank you.......................................................................................

26 Present perfect (1)

Present perfect (2): ever, never, already, yet

Presentation
© Ever and never + present perfect or past simple
The present perfect is often used with the words ever and never to talk about general life
experience:
Have you ever worked abroad? (i.e., In all your life up to now?)
I have never been to South America. (i.e., Not in all my life up to now.)
The present perfect with ever is often followed by the past simple. We use the past simple
to give more information about a completed action, when referring to a specific time or
context:
H ave you ever been to Hong Kong?
Yes, I have. I w orked there when I was with Coopers and Lybrand.

0 Already and yet

The present perfect is often used with a lrea d y and yet:
They are getting on well with the new building. They' h ave alread y m odern ized the warehouse,
but they haven't d ecorated the reception area yet.
A lready is used in positive sentences. It often indicates that something has taken place
slightly earlier than expected. Notice its position in the sentence (between the auxiliary
and the verb):
She has alread y shown me the figures, (not: *She has shown me alread y ...)
Yet is used in questions and negatives. It shows that we expect that an action will take
place if it has not happened up to now. Notice the position of yet, and n ot yet:
wrong: *Have you talked yet to Peter?
right: Have you talked to Peter yet?
wrong: *1 haven't talked yet to him.
right: I haven't talked to him yet.

Q Finished and unfinished periods of time

The present perfect is often used with words or phrases indicating periods of time that
have not finished yet. Common examples are: today, this m orning, this m on th, this year,
so far, to d ate, over the last few w eeks, up to now, recently, etc.:
This m on th we h av e received a lot o f complaints about late deliveries.
(The month has not finished, and there may be more complaints.)
If we are speaking after one of these time periods, we use the past simple because we are
referring to a period of time that has finished. Compare:
H ave you seen John this morning?
(It is now 11.15 in the morning; the morning has not finished.)
D id you see John this morning?
(It is now 2.30 in the afternoon; the morning has finished.)

Present perfect (2): ever, never, already, yet 27

 Practice
EXERCISE O Ever and never + present perfect
Delegates at an international sales conference in Tokyo are getting to know each
other. Write questions using the prompts. See the example.
1 you/ever/be/one of these conferences?
Have you ever been -fco one. o-f -tlnefe. conferences

2 you/ever/be/Japan before?

3 you/ever/learn a foreign language?

4 you/ever/organize a conference like this?

5 you/ever/work for a Japanese company?

6 you/ever/eat/sushi?

EXERCISE © Ever + present perfect and past simple

Read the follow ing dialogues. Put the verbs into the present perfect or the past
simple. See the example.
1 A: hkve you ever been (you/ever/be) to Kyoto?
B: Yes, I have. I went (go) there last year.
A: How long did you *±<ky (you/stay)?
B: I (be) only there for a couple of days for a meeting.
2 A: ....(you/ever/be) to Europe?
B: Yes, I have. W e ...................................... (have) a skiing holiday in the Alps last
A: Which resort........ ............................. (you/go) to?
B: W e ........................... ...........(go) to W'engen.
3 A: ....(you/ever/be) to one of Karl Mason's seminars?
B: Yes, I have. I ......... ............................ (go) to one a couple of months ago.
A: W h a t...................... ............... (it/be) like ?
B: I ............................... ...... (think) i t ........................................ (be) very interesting.
4 A ....(you/ever/visit) the Frankfurt office?
B: No, I ....................... .............. (never/visit) Germanv, but I ........................................
to France.
A: Reallv. W h e n ........ ..............................(you/do) that?
B: I ............................... ...... (give) some talks there a couple of years ago.

28 Present perfect (2): ever, never, already, yet

EXERCISE 0 Already and yet
Complete the dialogue by putting the verbs into the present perfect. See the example.
A: Good afternoon, Mr Heinriksen here. How are you getting on with the car I brought in
this morning? 1Have, you -fish ed it y e t (you/finish it/yet)?
B: Nearly. We 2...................................... (already/do) most of the work on it. We
3..................................... (not/find any major problems/yet), but we
4..................................... (already/fix) the things you mentioned.
A: 5..................................... (you/check) the headlights? I think they need adjusting.
B: Yes, we 6.......................................(already/alter) them. The only other thing is that you
need two new tyres, but I 7.......................................(not/order them/yet), because they're
€140 each.
A: That's fine, go ahead with that. Do you know what the bill will be?
B: No, I 8.......................................(not/work it out/yet), but it'll be about €380. Are you
coming to get the car now?
A: No, I 9.......................................(not/finish work/yet). I'll be there in about an hour.

E X E R C IS E O Unfinished periods of time

Read this passage about the perform ance of a m anufacturer of DVDs and digital
TVs. Fill in the blanks w ith the verbs in th e box, using the present perfect. See the
example.

-be- go grow have

manage already/reach open

be.e.r^ an excellent year

T
h is 1 sales of $1.1 billion, and sales in
so far, and we 2 ............................. Europe and the Pacific Rim
most of our sales targets. Worldwide 6 ............................... by 38% and 94% .
unit shipments 3 ...............................up Our international expansion plans
to 2.5m over the last eight months, are going well. We 7 .............................
and every region 4 ................................. a new office in Beijing and are
to set new records. In North planning to open five more next
America, we 5 ................................. year.

E X E R C IS E @ Finished and unfinished periods of time

M atch each of the sentences from colum n A w ith a suitable context from colum n B.
A
1 I hof>e you ei\)oyed the laui\cli p a rty . a Mary has gone home. It is 6.00 p.m.
2 I hope you have enjoyed the launch b The launch party is about to finish.
party.
Has the post come this morning? c Max rings on Monday or
Tuesday. It's Friday at 6.00 p.m.
Did the post come this morning? d Mary is still at the office. It is 2.30.
Has Max rung this week? e It is 10.00 in the morning,
Did Max ring this week? f Max rings on Monday or
Tuesday. It's Tuesday,
7 Has Mary finished that report? g It is 3.00 in the afternoon,
8 Did Mary finish that report? h The launch ^ r t y la£t week.

Present perfect (2): ever, never, already, yet 29