📌 What is the Present Perfect Tense?
The present perfect tense is a verb tense used to express actions or events that have a connection to the present. It is formed using the present tense of the auxiliary verb ‘have’ (have/has) and the past participle of the main verb.
🔧 Structure:
Subject + have/has + past participle
Examples:
- I have eaten breakfast.
- She has visited Paris.
- They have finished their homework.
✅ When Do We Use the Present Perfect?
1️⃣ To Talk About Experiences (at any time in the past, without saying exactly when)
We use the present perfect to talk about things we have done in our lives. These are experiences, but we do not say when they happened.
Examples:
- I have been to London.
- She has eaten sushi before.
- Have you ever ridden a horse?
⏱ Time expressions: ever, never, before, already, yet
Examples:
- Have you ever seen a shooting star?
- I’ve never tried Indian food before.
- She has already seen that movie.
- Have you finished your homework yet?
2️⃣ To Talk About Actions That Happened in the Past and Still Affect the Present
This is when the action is completed, but it has a result that is still true now.
Examples:
- I have lost my keys.
- She has broken her leg.
- We have missed the train.
3️⃣ To Talk About Actions That Started in the Past and Continue Until Now
This is very common and useful in English.
Structure:
Subject + have/has + past participle + since/for
Examples:
- I have lived in this city for ten years.
- She has worked here since 2015.
- We have been friends for a long time.
- He has studied English since he was a child.
Use “for” + a period of time
Use “since” + a point in time
🤔 Present Perfect vs Past Simple
Let’s compare:
| Present Perfect | Past Simple |
| I have seen that movie. | I saw that movie last night. |
| She has finished her homework. | She finished her homework at 8pm. |
| We have lived here for 5 years. | We lived there in 2010. |
| Have you ever been to France? | Did you go to France last year? |
🧱 How to Form the Present Perfect Tense
Positive Sentences:
Subject + have/has + past participle
Examples:
- I have eaten.
- You have seen that movie.
- He has gone to work.
Negative Sentences:
Subject + have/has + not + past participle
Examples:
- I have not eaten. (I haven’t eaten)
Questions:
Have/Has + subject + past participle
Examples:
- Have you eaten breakfast?
- Has she called you?
Short Answers:
– Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.
📚 Common Past Participles
| Base Form | Past Participle |
| go | gone |
| do | done |
| eat | eaten |
| see | seen |
| write | written |
| take | taken |
| be | been |
| have | had |
| speak | spoken |
| break | broken |
⏰ Time Expressions Often Used with Present Perfect
Examples:
- ever: Have you ever been to Japan?
- never: I’ve never eaten octopus.
- already: She has already finished her homework.
- yet: Have you finished your project yet?
- just: He has just arrived.
- for/since: I have lived here for 10 years / since 2020
⚠️ Common Mistakes with Present Perfect
- Using past time expressions (Wrong: I have seen that movie yesterday)
- Using wrong auxiliary (Wrong: He have eaten)
- Forgetting the past participle (Wrong: I have go)
- Using present perfect for specific times (Wrong: I have met him on Monday)
✍️ Practice Questions
Try these yourself:
- Complete the sentence: She __________ (live) here for five years.
- Make a question: ________ you ever __________ (see) a whale?
- Make it negative: They __________ (not finish) the book yet.
Answers:
- She has lived here for five years.
- Have you ever seen a whale?
- They haven’t finished the book yet.
🎯 Summary
Form: have/has + past participle
Use present perfect to:
- Talk about life experiences (no time given)
- Talk about past actions with a result now
- Talk about actions continuing until now
Common mistakes:
- Don’t use it with specific past times.
- Use correct past participles.
- Use “have” with I/you/we/they and “has” with he/she/it.
Common expressions: already, yet, just, ever, never, for, since