ENGLISH

MEETING
Wed, 4th Dec 2024
PRESENT
PERFECT
TENSE
 She has finished the report.

This is a sentence in the present perfect tense.

We know it is in the present perfect tense because it has the
auxiliary verb HAVE (or HAS) followed by a PAST PARTICIPLE
(V3)

Look at the structure for affirmative sentences in the present

perfect tense. The word order is:
subject + have / has + past participle.
Past Participles
The past participle can be regular or irregular.
Let’s look at the present perfect tense with regular past
participles.
Regular past participles end in ED.
Some example sentences:
I have finished the report.
We have opened all of the windows.
She has lived in Germany for ten years.
He has called his mother twice today.
But some past participles are IRREGULAR. For example:
I have been very busy this week.
(Been is the past participle of TO BE)
We have done our homework.
(Done is the past participle of TO DO)
She has spoken to a large audience many times.
(Spoken is the past participle of TO SPEAK)
Present Perfect Tense Contractions – Affirmative Sentences
In spoken English, we almost always use contractions with the
present perfect tense. We contract the subject and the auxiliary
have / has.
Here is the list of present perfect tense contractions:
I have ➡️ I’ve. It has ➡️ It’s
We have ➡️ We’ve He has ➡️ He’s
They have ➡️ They’ve.
She has ➡️ She’s
You have ➡️ You’ve
I have finished the report. ➡️ I’ve finished the report.
We have done our homework. ➡️ We’ve done our homework.
She has lived in Italy for six years. ➡️ She’s lived in Italy for
six years.
John has been here before. ➡️ John’s been here before.
When to use the Present Perfect Tense
Unspecified Time – Life experiences
The present perfect tense is used when the event happened at an
unspecified time in the past.
We don’t say or specify WHEN something happened, the time in the
past is not mentioned.
This is typically for things we have done in our lives (life experiences)
but without saying exactly when they happened.
Look at this example:
I have been to Spain.
This means I went to Spain at some unspecified time in the
past.
I did not say when I went to Spain. It is something I have
done at some moment in my life.
Look at this sentence in the past simple tense:
I went to Spain in 2019.
(Here, we have specified a time in the past – the year
2019).
 With unfinished time periods – Unfinished situations
We use the present perfect tense to talk about periods of
time that have not finished such as today, this week, this
month.
Today has not finished.
This week has not finished.
This month has not finished.
This year has not finished.
Look at these examples:
I’ve been very busy this week. (This week has not
finished)
She’s had five cups of coffee today. (Today hasn’t
finished)
We’ve spent a lot of money this month. (This month has
not finished)
He has studied a lot this year. (This year hasn’t
finished)
compare the following sentences:
Yes, I have seen Jack at work this morning.
(This morning hasn’t finished so we use the present perfect
tense)
Yes, I saw Jack at work this morning.
(The morning has finished; it is now the afternoon – so we
use the past tense)
Can you see the difference?
 A finished event connected to the present
This is an action that happened in the past (often recent
past) but has a connection to now or a result in the
present.
I have fractured my wrist so now I can’t play tennis.
(The accident happened in the past but as a result or
consequence now … I can’t play tennis)
Here are some more example sentences:
I’ve eaten too much. (The result, my stomach is full and
I don’t feel very well.)
They’ve studied for the test. (Result, they are likely to
pass the test now).
He’s lost his keys. (And now he can’t enter his
apartment).
She’s had some bad news. (The consequence, now she
is sad.)
Now look at this example:
Somebody has let the dogs out of the house.
(This happened in the past and now (the result in the
present) the dogs have escaped)
HOWEVER, if you want to know WHO caused something, we
use the past simple tense… so we say:
Who let the dogs out? Who discovered America?
To express completion or achievement
This activity has (recently) been completed or done.
Someone has just achieved something.
Used to ask someone if something has been done or finished.
Look at these examples:
I have finally finished my homework! (I have just completed
it)
Has he tidied his room? (I want to know if it has been done)
How long a situation has lasted until now – FOR / SINCE
The present perfect tense can be used to say how long
something has lasted (the duration of something) until the
present moment.
In this situation, we use FOR + Length of Time
I have lived in this country for 5 years. (5 years in total up
until today)
You can often use the present perfect continuous tense for the
same situation.
I have been living in this country for 5 years.
We will compare these two tenses in another lesson.
Let’s look at these examples:
We have known each other for many years.
They have rented our house for two months.
She has been in Spain for three weeks.
We can also use the preposition SINCE when we give the
beginning point (in the past) of the event that continues from
then until today.
Look at this sentence again:
I have lived in this country for 5 years. (This means 5 years
in total up until today)
BUT, if you know when this started (and it still continues today)
you can use SINCE + Date or Start Time
I have lived in this country since (It started in 2017 and
continues to the present day)
Repetition of something – Habitual Actions.
The present perfect tense can be used when an activity has
been repeated many times up until now and it is likely to
continue to happen. These activities could also be habitual
actions in the past.
I have called him ten times and he still hasn’t answered the
phone.
Notice this part: … he still hasn’t answered …
We used STILL and the perfect tense because the situation
continues until this moment, much longer than expected. I
expected him to have answered the phone before now.
We will see more about STILL in the next lesson about adverbs
with the present perfect tense.
She has seen the movie over a dozen times. (dozen = 12 ..
more than 12 times)
We’ve eaten at that restaurant many times.
As I mentioned, this repetition could also be habitual actions
(because these are actions that are repeated). Look at these
examples:
I have always answered your emails.
We have never told a lie.
He has never arrived
She has always helped
Notice how in this case the present perfect is accompanied by
the adverbs always and never.
This is the first time … the second time
We use the present perfect tense when we start with:
This is the X time… That is the X time… It is the X time…
(X time = first time, second time, third time, etc.)
Look at these examples:
This is the first time I have done
That is the third time he has shouted at us.
It’s the first time it has rained on this trip.
It’s the second time we have been
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