Present perfect tense.

This tense has two uses. You use present perfect when you talk about actions in
the past, which still have impact in the present; also you use present perfect tense for
actions in the past which specific time is not important.
Check the next examples:

 I have visited Guanajuato only once.

(At any moment in the past I visited Guanajuato and I didn’t go again so far)
 Luis has traveled abroad a couple of times.
(he went already abroad a couple of times, in some pint in the past)
The present perfect tense uses the past participle form of regular verbs and irregular
verbs.

Regular verbs Irregular verbs

Work – worked worked Eat ate eaten
Love - loved loved Run ran run
Stop- stopped stopped Write wrote written
Watch watched watched Forget forgot forgotten
Regular verbs take the ed ending to their base form for the past participle, but irregular
verbs have a special form for the past participle.
Grammar structure:
Subject + have / has + verb(past part.) + complement
e.g. 1. Peter has visited Cancun only once in his life
2. I have tried Chinese food many times
3. They have written the final essay many times
Contractions on Pronouns and the auxiliary have/ has.
It’s commonly used contractions when we use the pronouns and the auxiliaries have / has
in the perfect tenses.

I have = I’ve
You have = you’ve
He has = he’s
She has = she’s + Verb…
It has = it’s Past participle
We have we’ve
You have = you’ve
 They have = they’ve

Activity 1. Make sentences using the contractions. You may use different tenses.
1. We / be / live / in Beijing / for seven years
We’ve been living in Beijing for seven years
2. Marsha / be / plan / to visit us / in December

3. I / going to / give / her a call tonight

4. They / never / stay / in the same place / for more than two years

5. We / be / take / the train from Nairobi to Mombasa

6. I / always / want / to go there

Activity 2. Present perfect tense activities

Put the verbs into the correct form (present perfect simple).

1. I (not / work) _____________________ today.

2. We (buy) _____________________ a new lamp.
3. We (not / plan) _____________________ our holiday yet.
4. Where (be / you) _____________________?
5. He (write) _____________________ five letters.
6. She (not / see) _____________________ him for a long time.
7. (be / you) _____________________ at school?
8. School (not / start) _____________________ yet.
9. (speak / he) _____________________ to his boss?
10. No, he (have / not) _____________________ the time yet.

Signal words. These word are commonly used with present perfect tense, they change
somehow the communicative intentions of the sentence. Learn how to use these signal
words.
For / since, with present perfect
For ( a period of time) e.g. for a long time, for two hours, for many days, forever, for
three weeks…
Since (a beginning referential point in the past) e.g. since 2004, since last week, since
yesterday…
  You have studied in this school for two years
 You have studied in this school since September 2016
Already / yet with present perfect
Already: put emphasis on an action which has been accomplished by the time it is
announced. Already is used only with positive sentences
Yet: an action which has not been accomplished by the time it is announced. It is used
with negative and questions.

 I have already eaten breakfast. ( ya he desayunado)

 I haven’t eaten breakfast yet. ( todavía no he desayunado)
 Have you eaten breakfast yet? (¿todavía no has desayunado?)
For, since, already, yet, never, ever, just
Never: never expresses an actions which has not been experienced. It’s is used in normal
sentences.

 I have never tried Korean food

 Susan has never traveled to Mexico
Ever: this signal word is used for questions asking for experience.

 Have you ever traveled to Japan?

 Has the teacher ever been in England?
Just: it is used to express an action which happened just some very short time ago.

 I have just eaten breakfast

 Pete has just graduated form college
Activity 3
Use one of the verbs below to complete the questions beginning Have you/they? or Has
he/she?
live travel do clean go watch forget be
1. Jennifer Has she lived in Paris for five months?
2. Tony ___________karate for many years?
3. Michael ___________ to the library?
4. Rafael ___________ the TV all morning?
5. You ___________ your cell phone at home?
6. Your friend and you ____________ at school today?
7. Linda ____________ her room?
8. My parents __________ to Monterrey?
Activity 4
Fill the blanks and complete the sentences with the time expressions below:
Yet never already ever since for just
1. Have you ________________ taken a ride horse tour? No, I have ________________
taken a ride horse tour.
2. Have you ________________ eaten noodles? No, I have________________ eaten
noodles.
3. I haven´t finished to read this book ___________________.
4. We have _________________________ arrived to school.
5. We have been in Queretaro __________________ Monday.
6. We have waited for lunch ________________ 20 minutes. 7. I have been at the
museum _______________ two hours.
8. We haven´t decided where to travel__________________.
9. We have _____________ decided to travel to Guanajuato.