Present Perfect Simple Tense

Basic form:
Affirmative: Subject + has/have + Verb III/ed (past participle form)
Interrogative: Have/has + subject + Verb III/ed
Negative: Subject + haven’t/hasn’t + Verb III/ed
Examples:

 I have read this book.

 The man has gone away.
 John has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
Definiton:
L.G. Alexander ( 2001, 172) gives the definition for the present perfect -
always suggests a relationship between present time and past time. The time
reference is sometimes undefined, often we are interested in present results, or
in the way something happened in the past affects the present situation.
The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at an indefinite 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.

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

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:

Affirmative:

Subject + HAS/HAVE + Verb (past participle form)

e.g. he, she, a dog, e.g. gone, taken, done, etc.

etc.

Interrogative:

HAS/HAV + Subject + Verb (past participle form)

E

e.g. he, she, a dog, e.g. gone, taken, done, etc.

etc.

Negative:

Subject + HAS NOT / HAVE + Verb (past participle

NOT form)

e.g. he, she, a dog, e.g. gone, taken, done,

etc. etc.

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
4. Actions occurring in an incomplete period
5. Habitual actions

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
.
Remember
You should not use this tense with time expressions like yesterday, a week ago,
last year, etc.
I have seen it yesterday.
We have gone to Paris last year.

Use 2: Effect on the present moment

We also use this tense too 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)
Actions expressed by the present perfect + yet usually have results in the present
Thomson, 2010, 166) .
 He hasn’t come , yet. ( so we are still waiting for him)

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.
It can also be used for actions which occur further back in the past, provided the
connexion with the present is still maintained, that is the action could be
repeated in the present:
 I have seen wolves in that forest. – implies that it is still possible to see
them.
When we use the present perfect” in this way we are not necessarily thinking of
any one particular action (the action may have occurred several times) or of the
exact time when the action was performed. If we are thinking of one particular
action performed at a particular time we are more likely to use the simple past.”
( Thomson, 2010, 167)

Use 4: actions occurring in an incomplete period

The preset perfect used with an incomplete period of time implies that the action
happened or didn’t happen at some undefined time during this period. An
incomplete period may be indicated by today or morning/afternoon/century, etc.
Lately and recently also indicate an incomplete period of time.
 Tom has rung up three times this morning already.
 Have you seen him today? – at any time today.
 He has been in the army for two years. – he is still in the army
 There have been some changes lately/recently.
The present perfect can be used similarly with ever, never, always,
occasionally, often, several times.
 Have you ever fallen off a horse?
 He has never been late for work.
 I have played chess occasionally.

Use 5: habitual actions

If we use always or never, present perfect can be used for habitual actions.
 They have always answered my letters.
 She has never been at the seaside.

For and Since

Since and For are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect.
We use For with a period of time and denotes a period of time extending into
the present. For can sometimes be omitted, especially after be, live and wait.
For is not used before expressions beginning with all.(Thomson, 2010, 170)
Examples:
 I have lived here for 20 years. – and still live here
 I’ve been here an hour.
 They have worked all night.

When talking about a starting point, we use since and also it is possible since +
clause, for example:
 I have lived here since 1960.
 I have worked here since I left school.
Another expression is: it is + period + since + perfect tense
  It is three years since I have seen Bill.

Present time /past time

L.G. Alexander (2001, 171) makes an observation about present perfect simple
- students speaking other European languages sometimes misuse the present
perfect tense in English because of the interference from their mother tongue.
The present perfect is often wrongly seen as an alternative to the past, so that the
student might think that I have had lunch and I had lunch are interchangeable. It
is also confused with the present, so the idea like I have been here since
February is wrongly expressed in the present with I am.
Present perfect is often used in newspapers and broadcasts to introduce an action
which will then be described in the simple past tense.
 Jewellery has been stolen from…
Present perfect is also very used in letters.
 I’m sorry I haven’t written before….