Present Perfect

Tense
GREGORY
 Introduction

• The present perfect tense refers to:

• an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past
(e.g., we have talked before)
• began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown
impatient over the last hour).
• This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle.
 The construction of this verb tense

• The first element is ’have’ or ‘has’ ,depending on the subject the verb
is conjugated with.
• The second element is the past participle of the verb, which is usually
formed by adding -ed or -d to the verb’s root (e.g., walked, cleaned,
typed, perambulated, jumped, laughed, sautéed)
• Although English does have quite a few verbs that have irregular past
participles (e.g., done, said, gone, known, won, thought, felt, eaten).
Present perfect can describe something
that occurred or was the state of things at
an unspecified time in the past.
• I have walked on this path before.
• We have eaten the lasagna here.
The important thing to remember
about the present perfect is that you
can’t use it when you are being
specific about when it happened.
 Examples

•I have put away all the laundry.

(Correct)
•I have put away all the laundry
this morning. (Incorrect)
You can use the present perfect to talk about the
duration of something that started in the past is still
happening.
• She has had the sore throat since Tuesday.
 In other words

• For something that started in the past and continues in the present:

They’ve been married for nearly thirty years.

He has lived in London all his life.
 Also……

When we are talking about our experience up to the present:

I have seen that film before.
I have played the piano ever since I was a teenager.
She has written four books and she is working on another one.
 See / Watch

Basically, ‘see’ has the connotation of having

gone to the movie theater (cinema) and
‘watched’ the movie there whereas ‘watch’
tends to mean to watch it in a home
environment (at home) on DVD or Television
 Ever (adverb)

We usually use the adverb ‘ever’ to talk about

experience up to the present:
My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had.
 Never (negative form)

We use ‘never’ for the negative form:

Have you ever met Gregory?
Yes, but I have never met his wife.
What tense come after ‘never’

‘Never’ means ‘at no time’.

Remember ‘never’ is not a verb!!!
How we can use the present perfect tense with the word "never“ ?
So, "skated" is a regular verb. The regular verb means that in the past
tense we add a "d" or an "ed". "Flown" is an irregular verb, so when we
use it with the present perfect, we use the past participle
 More….

For something that happened in the past but is important

in the present:
I can’t get in the house. I have lost my keys.
Danny isn’t at home. I think he has gone shopping.
 Have been and Have gone

A: Where have you been (Verb)?

B: I have been to the supermarket.
A: Have you ever been to Hong Kong?
B: No, I have never been to Hong Kong.

A: Where's Maria? I haven't seen her for weeks.

B: She is in Paris now. She has gone there for 3 weeks.