Present Perfect Tense

Forms:

 Positive:
Sb + have/has + vbIII/-ed

 Negative:
Sb + have/has + not + vbIII/-ed

 Interrogative:
Have/has + Sb + vbIII/-ed ?

Specific adverbs: just, ever, never, often, seldom, always, sometimes, already, rarely,
lately, yet, recently, since, for.

The game has just begun.

She has never been so happy before.
I have swum with my friends today.
Stephany has read a lot of novels recently.
They haven’t finish their exam yet.
Mary and John have been engaged for two month.

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.

1. Rephrase the sentences in order to use the verbs in the Present Perfect simple and
the correspondent adverbs:
Since, for, already, yet, just, ever, never.
a. I always play football in the morning.
________________________________________
b. She usually drinks coffee not tea.
________________________________________
c. My father goes to the gym twice a week.
________________________________________
d. Our parents buy us oranges every day.
________________________________________
e. My friends always call me.
________________________________________
f. I have a lot of friends.
________________________________________
g. You sometimes annoy me.
________________________________________

5. Turn the following sentences into the negative:

a) They have been to Europe five times.
______________________________________________
b) Mary has washed ten cars since this morning.
______________________________________________
c) The boys have slept for three hours.
______________________________________________
d) Jane has recently met a famous actor.
______________________________________________
e) Paul and I haven done our homework.
______________________________________________
f) Your friends have always helped me.
______________________________________________
g) His mother has always hated me.
______________________________________________
h) They have never visited me.
______________________________________________
i) She has just finished her homework.
______________________________________________

6. Turn the following sentences into interrogative:

a) She has written six letters.
______________________________________________
b) They have played for an hour.
______________________________________________
c) Paul and Cindy have known each other since 1997.
_______________________________________________
d) We have eaten five candies.
______________________________________________
e) Tom has made three cakes.
______________________________________________
f) They have run six kilometers.
______________________________________________
g) She has written two books.
_______________________________________________
h) We have had two parties this month.
_______________________________________________
i) They have visited London and Paris this year.
_______________________________________________

10. Arrange the words and make up sentences using the verbs in the Present Perfect
Simple:
1. Paul / drink/ three beers/ so far.
..........................................................................
2. Mary / not find/ her watch/ yet.
.........................................................................
3. We / be/ five times/ to London.
..........................................................................
4. Jason Pruddy/ win/ the competition.
..........................................................................
5. She/ weep/ five hours/ for.
..........................................................................
6. Already/ Tom/ take/to kindergarten/ them.
........................................................................
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.

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

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 her relatives 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.
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

1. Fill in the gaps with for or since: (10x 0,25p. = 2,50p.)

1. ...... November 6. ...... she got married

2. ...... five years 7. ...... thirty minutes
3. ...... Christmas 8. ...... a long time
4. ...... three o’clock 9. ...... 1992
5. ...... Monday 10. ......several weeks

2. Write the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of the present perfect simple: (10 x
0,30p. = 3p.)
 Affirmative Negative Interrogative

He has swum.

She has not slept.

Have you phoned?

Tina has played.

They have not written.

I.Put the verbs in brackets into present perfect simple.

1. I ...................................(make) a mistake.
2. I ....................................(not hear) from Mary.
3. The rain ....................................(stop).
4. What ...............Barbara.....................(tell) the police?
5. John .....................................(not learn) anything.
6. Alan ...................................(work) very hard.
7. I .................................(broke) a cup.
8. ................. Bill ........................(phone)?
9. You ...................................(not shut) the door.
10. ..................we .......................pay?

II. Fill in for or since.

1. She has driven the same car .................... 1975.

2. They have been on strike ....................... November.
3. I have been very patient with you ........................ several years.
4. I’ve known that ..................... a long time.
5. Nobody has seen him .................. last week.

Simple Past / Present Perfect

1. A: Did you like the movie "Star Wars"?
B: I don't know. I (see, never) have never seen that movie.
2. Sam (arrive) _______in San Diego a week ago.
3. My best friend and I (know) _______each other for over fifteen years. We still get
together once a week.
4. Stinson is a fantastic writer. He (write) _______ten very creative short stories in the
last year. One day, he'll be as famous as Hemingway.
5. I (have, not) _______this much fun since I (be) _______a kid.
6. Things (change) _______a great deal at Coltech, Inc. When we first (start)
_______working here three years ago, the company (have, only) _______six
employees. Since then, we (expand) _______to include more than 2000 full-time
workers.
7. I (tell) _______him to stay on the path while he was hiking, but he (wander)
_______off into the forest and (be) _______bitten by a snake.
8. Listen Donna, I don't care if you (miss) _______the bus this morning. You (be)
_______late to work too many times. You are fired!
9. Sam is from Colorado, which is hundreds of miles from the coast, so he (see, never)
_______the ocean. He should come with us to Miami.
10. How sad! George (dream) _______of going to California before he died, but he
didn't make it. He (see, never) _______the ocean.
11. In the last hundred years, traveling (become) _______much easier and very
comfortable. In the 19th century, it (take) _______two or three months to cross North
America by covered wagon. The trip (be) _______very rough and often dangerous.
Things (change) _______a great deal in the last hundred and fifty years. Now you can
fly from New York to Los Angeles in a matter of hours.
12. Jonny, I can't believe how much you (change) _______since the last time I (see)
_______you. You (grow) _______at least a foot!
13. This tree (be) _______planted by the settlers who (found) _______our city over
four hundred years ago.
14. This mountain (be, never) _______climbed by anyone. Several mountaineers (try)
_______to reach the top, but nobody (succeed, ever) _______. The climb is extremely
difficult and many people (die) _______trying to reach the summit.
15. I (visit, never) _______Africa, but I (travel) _______to South America several
times. The last time I (go) _______to South America, I (visit) _______Brazil and
Peru. I (spend) _______two weeks in the Amazon, (hike) _______for a week near
Machu Picchu, and (fly) _______over the Nazca Lines.

Simple Past / Present Perfect

Since computers were first introduced to the public in the early 1980's, technology
changed a great deal. The first computers were simple machines designed for basic
tasks. They didn’t have much memory and they (be, not) _______very powerful. Early
computers were often quite expensive and customers often (pay) _______thousands of
dollars for machines which actually (do) _______very little. Most computers (be)
_______separate, individual machines used mostly as expensive typewriters or for
playing games.
Times (change) _______. Computers (become) _______powerful machines with very
practical applications. Programmers (create) _______a large selection of useful
programs which do everything from teaching foreign languages to bookkeeping. We
are still playing video games, but today's games (become) _______faster, more
exciting interactive adventures. Many computer users (get, also) _______on the
Internet and (begin) _______communicating with other computer users around the
world. We (start) _______to create international communities online. In short, the
simple, individual machines of the past (evolve) _______into an international World
Wide Web of knowledge.

At the moment, scientist agree that the world’s climate has become warmer over the
past 50 years, but they disagree about the causes. Some believe that human activities
caused climate change. They argue that for 1 000 or 2 000 years before 1850, when
records began, the temperature was more or less stable. Short warm or cold occurred
during that time, but the climate has always returned to the same level. However, since
the Industrial Revolution, human beings have burned more and more fossil fuels, such
as coal and oil.
Other scientists disagree that human activities over the past 50 years have caused
global warming. They point out that volcanoes and other natural processes have
always released CO2 into the atmosphere, and that human activity has contributed a
rise in CO2 of only three per cent.
In 1999, 156 countries signed the Kyoto protocol, part of a United Nations agreement
on climate change, which came into force in 2005. They have agreed to reduce their
emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, although so far, some countries, such as
the USA and Australia did not take any action.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
-
8.
9.
10.
11.

12.
13.
14.
B
Complete with the part participle (the 3rd form) of the verbs:
1. To spend; 8. To speak;
2. To forget; 9. To eat;
3. To go; 10. To understand;
4. To sell; 11. To feel;
5. To break; 12. To give;
6. To fall; 13. To come;
7. To tell; 14. To lose.

A-B – the name of an English Tense.

At the moment, scientist agree that the world’s climate has become warmer
over the past 50 years, but they disagree about the causes. Some believe that
human activities caused climate change. They argue that for 1 000 or 2 000
years before 1850, when records began, the temperature was more or less
stable. Short warm or cold occurred during that time, but the climate has
always returned to the same level. However, since the Industrial Revolution,
human beings have burned more and more fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.
Other scientists disagree that human activities over the past 50 years
have caused global warming. They point out that volcanoes and other natural
processes have always released CO2 into the atmosphere, and that human
activity has contributed a rise in CO2 of only three per cent.

Turn the following sentences into:

A. affirmative:
a) I haven’t drunk tea in the morning.
________________________________________
b) My sister hasn’t seen my car yet.
________________________________________
c) We haven’t visited that museum yet.
________________________________________
B. negative:
d) My friends have just called me.
________________________________________
e) I have had a lot of friends in this town.
________________________________________
f) John has already read five poems.
________________________________________

C. interrogative:
g) Jane has called her best friend.
__________________________________________
h) The rain has stopped.
__________________________________________
i) They have slept in my room.
__________________________________________

Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect tense:

1. He (visit)_____________________________ his aunt in London .
2. They (eat)_____________________________ too much candies.
3. __________the pupils (go)________________in a trip?
4. __________Mary (buy)__________________ her train ticket?
5. They (not finish) ________________________ their project yet.
6. Mary (not come) ________________________ at the meeting.

Subject 1: The students should find six verbs at Present Perfect: 6 answers ×
0,25=1,5 points
Subject 2: There were 9 sentences × 0.5=4,5 points. The right answers were:
a) I have drunk tea in the morning.
b) My sister has seen my car.
c) We have visit that museum.
d) My friends haven’t called me.
e) I haven’t had a lot of friends in this town.
f) John hasn’t read five poems.
g) Has Jane called her best friend?
h) Has the rain stopped?
i) Have they slept in my room?
Subject 3: there were 6 sentences × 0,5=3 points. The right answers were:
1. has visited; 3. have gone; 5. haven’t finished;
2. have eaten; 4. has bought; 6. hasn’t come.