Present perfect tense in English
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Sign up for freeIn this chapter the present perfect will be explained. The present perfect talks about an action that happened in the past and continues in the present. When the action took place is not specified.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Structure and rules of the present perfect
- 1.1.Affirmatives
- 1.2.Negatives
- 1.3.Interrogatives
- 2.Usage of the present perfect tense
- 3.Present perfect signal words
- 4.Exercises
- 4.1.Fill in the present perfect tense in English
- 4.2.Fill in the English conjugation of 'to have'
- 4.3.Fill in the past participle in English
- 4.4.Fill in the English present perfect tense
Structure and rules of the present perfect
The present perfect is formed with the present simple of the auxiliary verb 'to have' and the past participle:
to have + past participle
The verb 'to have' has to be conjugated according to the subject of the sentence.
The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding '-ed' to the infinitive of the verb.
- to talk - talked
- to want - wanted
- to listen - listened
The irregular verbs have different endings.
- to eat - eaten
- to drink - drunk
- to run - run
How the present perfect tense is formed depends on whether the sentence is:
- Affirmative: expresses the truth of a certain assertion.
- Negative: expresses the falsity of a certain assertion.
- Interrogative: expresses a question.
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Felix C. 
Angel A. 
Tredoux W. 
Evangelina P. 
Nokulunga M.
Maria T.
Tom H. 
Miah W.
Agustina D. 
Hepworth X.
1. Affirmatives
Structure: Subject + auxiliary verb 'to have' + past participle + rest of the sentence.
Take a look at the table below to see the conjugation of the verb 'to have' in present simple tense.
| Subject | Verb 'to have' |
|---|---|
| I | have |
| You | have |
| He / she / it | has |
| We | have |
| You | have |
| They | have |
Examples:
- I have walked home.
- She has played soccer.
- We have run to the park.
2. Negatives
Structure: Subject + negative form of auxiliary verb 'to have' (have not / has not) + past participle + rest of the sentence.
The table below will show you the conjugation of the negative form of the verb 'to have'.
| Subject | Negative form of 'to have' |
|---|---|
| I | have not |
| You | have not |
| He / she / it | has not |
| We | have not |
| You | have not |
| They | have not |
Examples:
- You have not read a book.
- They have not walked to the store.
- She has not been outside today.
3. Interrogatives
Structure: Auxiliary verb 'to have' + subject + past participle + rest of the sentence + question mark.
Examples:
- Have you lived in Amsterdam?
- Has she drunk enough water?
- Have they seen my sister?
Usage of the present perfect tense
The table below shows you the situations when to use the present perfect tense.
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
Actions initiated in the past and continuing in the present |
|
When reference is made to an unfinished time period |
|
Repeated action in a nonspecific period located between the past and the present |
|
Actions concluded in a very recent past |
|
When the temporal dimension is not relevant or known |
|
Present perfect signal words
The use of the present simple tense can be recognized when the sentence contains one of the signal words in the table below.
| Signal words | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| For | For + period of time: Means "during", indicating its duration to define a period of time before the present time. |
|
| Since | Since + concrete moment: Means "from", indicating the beginning of a period of time that is still going on. |
|
| Already | To express an action that has happened earlier or sooner than expected. |
|
| Ever | It is used above all in questions, to explain if it has happened. |
|
| Never | Used with actions that have not happened any time prior to the present. |
|
| Just | Actions that happened in a very recent past. |
|
| Still | For actions that have not happened or have not ended. |
|
| Yet | For actions that we hoped would have already happened but have not happened. It is used in negative phrases. |
|
Train your skills by doing the exercises below!
Exercises
- Fill in the present perfect tense in English
- Fill in the English conjugation of 'to have'
- Fill in the past participle in English
- Fill in the English present perfect tense
Fill in the present perfect tense in English
Fill in the English conjugation of 'to have'
Fill in the past participle in English
Fill in the English present perfect tense
Exercises
- Fill in the present perfect tense in English
- Fill in the English conjugation of 'to have'
- Fill in the past participle in English
- Fill in the English present perfect tense