PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

The Present Perfect Simple is formed with the Present Tense of

“Have” + Past participle
I / you / we / they have (‘ve) gone
He / she / it has (‘s) eaten.

USE : This tense is used to connect past and present.We use it to

refer to :
a) Action in the recent past , especially with already, just, yet,
recently etc.
e.g. They have just come.
She hasn’t arrived yet.
I have met him recently.

b) General experience, especially with ever, never, before etc.

She has never been to France.
Have you ever eaten caviar ?

c) The Indefinite Past- the time of the action is not mentioned.

We are interested in what has happened, not when it happened.
Compare : I saw a good film yesterday.
He has not seen “Titanic” yet.

d) Actions starting in the past and continuing to the present,

especially with for and since.
My friends have lived here for ten years.
They haven’t seen each other since Friday.

Note : we use for to refer to a period of time and since to mark a

point in time.
e) Unfinished period of time : all my life, in the last few days /
months, years, today, this week / month, year, so far, up to
now etc.
We have seen four documentary films this week.

f) •With expressions like : it’s the first / second / third time

It’s the first time he has been to England.

• With a number of adverbs : ever, often, seldom, never, yet,

still,already.
e.g. We have already written our report.
They haven’t finished it yet.

g) Action completed in the past which has some relevance to the

present : there is a present result of the action. We use such
adverbs like : just, recently, lately.
The professor can start the lecture as all the students
have just arrived.
Mother has just made an apple pie. Would you like
some ?

Exercises

I. Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect tense:

1. He never (visit) the British Museum .

2. Sheila (enjoy) her visit in New York this year.
3. They (not hear) from Billy recently.
4. The film (already / finish).
5. The speakers (not refer) to that document yet.
6. He (take) the entrance examination at the Polytechnic Institute
recently.
7. The engine of the car (just / break) down .
8. It seems that her mind (break) down from overwork.
9. He (never / be) to Italy.
10.Tom (do) many interesting things so far.

II. Rewrite the sentences as indicated :

e.g. She has never been at the Zoo before.

It’s the first time she has been at the Zoo.

1. They have never been to Greece.

2. She has never driven a car before.
3. I have never played computer games.
4. My brother has broken his leg twice.
5. She has flown by plane twice.
6. They have told her twice not to do that.
7. We have never eaten Yorkshire pudding.
8. Susan has never played badminton before.
9. My brother has never worn blue jeans.
10.I’ve never seen such a bad TV programme before.

III. Put in for or since :

1. ...... November
2. ...... five years
3. ...... Easter
4. ...... three o’clock
5. ...... Monday
6. ...... she left university
7. ...... thirty minutes
8. ...... a long time
9. ...... 1992
10. ......she telephoned
11. ......they arrived home
12. ......ages
IV. Make a new sentence as shown :

e.g. I’ve never been given such nice flowers

They’re the nicest flowers I have ever been given.

1. He has never travelled by plane before. It’s ...

2. It’s two years since we last met. We ...
3. We got married ten years ago. We ...
4. It’s a long time since Grannie visited us. Grannie ...
5. It’s weeks since I last went to the public library. We ...
6. Our friends have never had a birthday party before. It’s ...
7. I have never met such an enthusiastic person. She ...
8.She hasn’t won a beauty contest before.
9. He has never read such an interesting review.
10.They have never felt so tired before.

V. Read the text below and decide which word or phrase

below best fits each space. Circle the letter of option you
choose. The exercise begins with an example (0).

Adrian is a senior in high school in Miami, Florida. His

family ... (0) B... to the United States recently... His family ...
(1) ... always to make it in the United States. They ... (2) ... in low
income neighbourhoods which are made up of African-
Americans and Latinos. There are many gangs in the
neighbourhood; in fact, almost everyone is in a gang of some sort.
Adrian ... (3) ... rather quiet lately and ... (4) ... to play his cello for
hours. His dream ... (5) ... always to become a classical musician
one day.
Every day at school, he feels presure to join a gang. Sometimes
guys surround him . He never ... (6) ... American. He ... (7) ... the
food and long talks he ... (8) ... with his friends. It seems that he
really ... (9) ... any close friends here .

0. A have come B has come C had come

1. A have struggled B have been struggling C has struggled
2. A has lived B has been living C have lived
3. A have been B was C has been
4. A enjoyed B has enjoyed C have enjoyed
5. A was B will be C has been
6. A feel B felt C has felt
7. A missed B misses C has missed
8. A has had B had C have had
9. A didn’t make B hasn’t made C hadn’t made

VI. Identify the grammar and spelling errors in the following

text and correct them :

Because we had entered the age of sophisticated and inovative

computer technology, we had began to witness a new genre of
crime which were unknown just two decades ago : computer
crime. This type of crime can be defining loosely as unauthorized
access, use, change or taking of another’s computer system or
files.
Quite often high school or college students intentionally has
tried to break into a computer system in order to gain access to
classified or confidentiel files. Corporate and government
computer systems are the most popular and challenging targets for
these computer “hackers”. The number of “hackers” has increased
recently.They have been often releasing the public information to
the public or has tried to alter or destroy a file. Occasionally, a
hacker try to embezzle or steal money.

VII. Circle the right verb tense :

1. Have / has they watered the plants yet ?

2. Did he collect / has he collected his plane ticket yet ?
3. Susan lost / has lost her purse this morning .
4. She didn’t see / hasn’t seen herrelatives recently.
5. Jane didn’t have / hasn’t ever had a quarrel with her boyfriend.
6. They did have / have always done their work properly.
7. George is eaten / has already eaten two slices of cake.
8. Mother has drunk / had already drunk three cups of coffee.
9. The car has broken / had broken twice this week.
10.John was / has been late for work three times this month.

VIII. Put a √ or correct the sentences :

1. Mark drove to Bristol last month to visit his brother. ......

2. I have known an old woman once who had ten cats. ......
3.Susan Sullivan already did four TV interviews about her new
exhibition. ......
4. John felt hungry. Then he has remembered the cheese in the
fridge. ......
5. We have had enormous problems with our dog recently. ......
6. I have talked to my German teacher yesterday about the term
paper. ......
7. They still live in the same cottage they have bought twenty
years ago. ......
8. You have not explainde clearly what you want me to do. ......
9. We lived in Paris for three years now and I like it a lot. ......
10. There were three burglaries in our street so far. ......
 Present Perfect – Key

I. 1. has never visited

2 . has enjoyed
3. haven’t heard
4. has already finished
5. haven’t referred
6. has taken
7. has just broken
8. has broken
9. has never been
10. has done

II. 1. It’s the first time they have been to Greece.

2. It’s the first time she has driven a car.
 3. It’s the first time I have played computer games.
4. It’s the second time he has broken his leg.
5. It’s the second time she has flown by plane.
6. It’s the second time they have told her.
7. It’s the first time we have eaten Yorkshire pudding.
8. It’s the first time Susan has played badminton.
9. It’s the first time my brother has worn blue jeans.
10. It’s the worst TV programme I have ever seen.

III. 1. since 7. for

2. for 8. for
3. since 9. since
4. since 10. since
5. since 11. since
6. since 12. for

IV. 1. It’s the first time I have travelled by plane.

2. We haven’t met for two years.
3. We have been married for ten years.
4. Grannie hasn’t visited us for a long time.
5. We haven’t gone to the public library for weeks.
6. It’s the first time our friends have had a birthday party.
7. She is the most enthusiastic person I have ever met.
8. It’s the first time she has won a beauty contest.
9. It’s the most interesting review he has ever read.
10. It’s the first time they have felt so tired.

V. 0. B 5. C
1. C 6. C
2. C 7. B
3. C 8. B
4. B 9. B

VI. have entered have tried

innovative confidential
 have begun have
was unknown have released
defined have tried

VII. 1. have watered 6. have done

2. has collected 7. has eaten
3. has lost 8. has drunk
4. hasn’t seen 9. has broken
5. hasn’t had 10. has been

VIII. 1. √ 6. talked
2. knew 7. bought
3. has already done 8. √
4. remembered 9. have lived
5. √ 10. have been