Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect is used to describe an action that began in the past and continues to exist in the present.
Use. Both the present perfect and simple past both describe events that began in the past and were completed in the past.
Differences:
- Only the past simple can be used with a time element (“seven o’clock” or a time word such as yesterday). I studied for my exam yesterday/last week/at seven o’clock.
- The present perfect is used when the event has a direct relationship to the present. (uses words such as already, just, or yet). I have already studied for my exam so I can come to your party.
- In the Past Simple, negative statements “only” negate the positive. In the Present Perfect, negative statements both negate the positive AND show the intention to complete the action sometime in the future.
Form. have/has + past participle (bare infinitive + “ed” for regular verbs)
The following words are often used in this tense: already, ever, for…, just, never, recently, since, so far, until recently.
Positive Statement
| Subject | Auxiliary Verb (have/has) | Main Verb (for regular verbs, bare infinitive + "ed" | Object | where | when | how | why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | have | studied for | my history exam | already. | |||
| You | have | studied for | your history exam | already. | |||
| She | has | studied for | her history exam | already. | |||
| We | have | studied for | our history exams | already. | |||
| They | have | studied for | their history exams | already. |
Question
| "W" Question Word | Auxiliary Verb (has/have) | Subject | Main Verb (bare infinitive + "ed" in regular verbs) | Object | where | when | how | why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where | have | I | left | my car keys? | ||||
| Have | you | forgotten | your office keys? | |||||
| How | has | Bob | managed to lose | his house keys? | ||||
| Have | we | received | directions | to the party? | ||||
| Why | have | the people (they) | left | work | already? |
Negative Statement
| Subject | Auxiliary Verb (have/has) | "not" + Main Verb (bare infinitive + "ed" | Object | where | when | how | why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | have | not brushed | my teeth | yet/this morning. | |||
| You | have | not brushed | your teeth | yet/this morning. | |||
| Julian | has | not brushed | his teeth | yet/this morning. | |||
| We | have | not brushed | our teeth | yet/this morning. | |||
| They | have | not brushed | their teeth | yet/this morning. |