The present perfect tense

The present perfect cont

inuous tense
Present perfect simple vs
. Present perfect continu
ous tense
Practice exercises.

Present perfect tense

Usage: The present perfect tense
puts emphasis on the result
Ex: She has written five letters.
expresses an action that is still going on.
Ex: School has not started yet.
expresses an action that stopped recently
Ex: She has cooked dinner.
expresses a finished action that has an influence on the
present
Ex: I have lost my key.
expresses an action that has taken place once, never or
several times before the moment of speaking
Ex: I have never been to Australia.

Form of present
perfect:
Positive

Negative

Question

I/you/we/they I have
spoken.

I have not
spoken.

Have I
spoken?

He/she/it

He has not
spoken.

Has he
spoken?

He has not
spoken.

For irregular verbs, use the participle form (see

list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular
verbs, just add ed.

The adverbs are frequently used in the present

perfect:

For: When talking about the length of time (duration), we use the present perfect with for + a
period of time.

Ex: I have worked here for five years. She has lived here for twenty years. They have been married
for six months.

Since: When talking about a starting point, we use the present perfect with since + a point in time.

Ex: I have lived here since 1998. They have been married since June. We have been at this school
since last year.

adverbs (ever, never, already, yet, still)

'Ever' and 'never' are always placed before the past participle.

Ex: Has she ever met someone famous?

I have never visited London. Ive never been so sick.
Already, yet and still: It can be placed before the main verb (past participle) or at the end of the
sentence.

Present perfect continuous

USAGE: The present perfect continuous

tense
puts emphasis on the duration or course of an
action (not the result)
Example: She has been writing for two hours.
action that recently stopped or is still going on
Example: I have been living here since 2001.
finished action that influenced the present
Example: I have been working all afternoon.

Form of present perfect

continuous:
Positive
Negative
Question
I/we/you/they

I have been
speaking.

I have not been

speaking.

Have I been
speaking?

He/she/it

He has been
speaking.

He has not been

speaking.

Has he been
speaking?

Signal Words of Present Perfect Progressive: all day, for 4 years,

since 1993, how long?, the whole week

Reminder:
Verbs with stative meanings are not
used in the progressive. The present
perfect, NOT the present perfect
continuous, is used with stative verbs to
describe the duration of a state that began
in the past and continue to the present.
Ex: I have known Alice since he was a child.
Incorrect: I have been knowing Alice since he was
a child.

Present perfect simple vs.

Present perfect continuous
Present perfect simple

Present perfect
continuous

Form

Have/has + V-ed/ V3

Have/has + been + V-ed/V3

Usage

The present perfect simple

expresses an action that is still
going on or that stopped recently,
but has an influence on the
present. It puts emphasis on the
result.

The present perfect

progressive expresses an
action that recently stopped
or is still going on. It puts
emphasis on the duration or
course of the action.

Adverbs
frequently
used

For, since, already, ever, never, all day, for 4 years, since
yet, still, etc.
1993, how long?, the
whole week, etc.

Example

I have written five letters.

I have been playing football

since 3 oclock.

We can use both the present perfect simple and the present perfect
continuous to describe an activity that started in the past and
continues up to the present and possibly into the future.
Ex: They have been studying English for three years.
Theyve studied English for three years.

We can use the present perfect simple and the present perfect
continuous with lately and recently.
Ex: Ive been working hard lately.
Ive done a lot of work lately.

EXERCISES
Present perfect simple.
Present perfect
continuous.
Present perfect simple
and present perfect
continuous.

Put the verbs into the correct form

(present perfect simple).
1.

Since classes began, I (have, not)_____ much free time. I (have)____ several big
tests to study for.

2.

The science of medicine (advance)______ a great deal in the 19th century.

3.

We (have)_____ three major snowstorms so far this winter. I wonder how many
more we will have.

4.

I (write)______ them three times, but I havent received a reply.

5.

The telephone (ring)_________ four times in the last hours, and each time it has
been for my office mate.

6.

A: What are you going to order for dinner?

B: Well, I (have, never)________ vegeterian pizza, so I think Ill order that.

7.

Bill (be)_________ here since 22nd.

8.

So far this week, I (have)_________ two tests and a quiz.

9.

Alex is an artist. He (draw)______ many beautiful pictures in his lifetime.

10.

Fatima (see, never)_________ snow in her entire lifetime.

Put the verbs into the correct form (present

perfect progressive).
1. He (work)___________ in this company since 1985.
2. I (wait)_____ for you since two o'clock.
3. Mary (live)_________ in Germany since 1992.
4. Why is he so tired? He (play)_____ tennis for five hours.
5. How long (learn / you)______ English?
6. We (look for)_______ the motorway for more than an hour.
7. I (live)____________ without electricity for two weeks.
8. The film (run / not)_________ for ten minutes yet, but there's a commercial
break already.
9. How long (work / she)_________ in the garden?
10. She (not / be)_________ in the garden for more than an hour.

Put the verbs into the correct tense. (present

perfect simple or present perfect
progressive)
1.

I (play)_________ football for five years.

2.

My team (win / only)_________ two matches so far.

3.

The others (be / always)________ better.

4.

Are we not there yet? We (walk)________ for hours.

5.

But we (cover / only)__________ an area of five miles so far.

6.

I (finish/just)_______ my homework.

7.

I (work)________ on this essay since two o'clock.

8.

Jane (go out)______ with Bob for seven years.

9.

Martin (date)________ three girls this week.

10.

How long (wait / you)_________ for us?

Listen to the conversation between an

interview and Lennart Dahlgren, and
complete extracts 1-4
1.

2.

3.
4.

Mr. Dahlgren, IKEA__________ in Russia for several years, and

you arrived at the start. How long_____ in Russia?
I______ since 1998. Thats when IKEA_________ operations in
Russia.
How many stores_______ ?
We______ five stores so far, and we_______ several large
shopping malls in the last few years.
Consumer demand________ steadily since we_____ the first
store.
We________ the percentage of our global supply that comes
from Russia for a number of years. We_____ several factories
throughout Russia near St Petersburg, Moscow, and Karelia.

Listen to the second part of the interview

and complete extracts 1 and 2.
1.

But bureaucratic problems________ fewer recently.

For example, the Government _____ the number of
licences that are needed for a company to set up.

2.

However, we_____ a number of things in the time

we______ here. We___ management training
programmes to help new Russian entrepreneurs.
We_____ to show how a modern company has to work
to survive in the international market.