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.

The Present Perfect Tense
Connecting past and present
We use this tense to show a
connection between past and
present situations.
The Present Perfect Tense
Like a bridge between the past and the 
present.
Past
Present
I arrived in Seattle in
2000.
It is 2009.
Present Perfect
I have lived in Seattle for
nine years.
I have lived in Seattle
since 2000.
I have studied English since
2000
this morning
I came to the U.S.
yesterday
To form the present perfect:
HAVE/HAS + PAST
PARTICIPLE
Statement
I
You have
(‘ve)
We gone
They
She has
He (‘s)
It gone
Negative
I
You
We
They
She
He
It
have not
(haven’t)
gone
has not
(hasn’t)
gone
Hav
e
Has
Question
I
You
We gone?
The
y
She
He gone?
it
Questions
They have studied English since 2000.
Have they studied English since 2000?
Short Answer:
Yes, they have.
No, they haven’t (=have not).
 She
has lived in Seattle since last year.
 Has
she lived in Seattle since last year?
 Yes,
she has.
 No, she hasn’t.
 How
long have you owned this car?
 I have owned this car since 2002.
 I have owned this car for two years.
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. I’ve 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 Tense
The autumn has
already arrived
How do you
know?
Present Perfect Tense
FORM: have / has + past participle
Affirmative:
I have seen the film before.
She has seen the film before.
Interrogative: Have you seen the film before?
Has she seen the film before?
Negative:
They haven’t seen the film before.
He hasn’t seen the film before.
Present Perfect Tense
Uses of the present perfect
1- Recent events: It is used to describe recent events without
a definite time. The idea of time or place in the speaker’s
mind makes the event recent. A time expression may
emphasize recentness: just, recently, lately
Why are they so happy?
They have just won a prize so
they are really pleased
Present Perfect Tense
2- Personal experiences: It is used to express personal
experiences, there is not a definite time given. The time
expressions ever and never are very often used with this
meaning
I have never been to Japan.
Have you ever been there?
Present Perfect Tense
3- It is used to express actions that started in the past and
continue to the present, the time period is not finished. We
use for and since with this meaning. We use for with
periods of time and since with points of time.
I haven’t eaten since yesterday
morning. I am really hungry
I haven’t drunk anything for
two days. I am terribly thirsty
Contrast between Present Perfect and
Past Simple
We use definite expressions with the Past simple tense:
yesterday, last week, … ago etc, while we don’t use definite
time expressions with the Present perfect tense.
I have been to France three times
When did you go there last?
I went there last Summer
Contrast between Present
Perfect and Past Simple





Gerald has bought a new car. He bought it last
week.
Have you met Ray? – Yes, I met him when we were
students.
My parents have been to India. In fact, they went
there twice last year.
Has anybody phoned me? – Yes, Joyce phoned an
hour ago.
I’ve seen that man before. – Really? When did you
see him?
Note the difference



He has been to London. 
Now he is here. He can tell
you wonderful stories about
London.
He has been in London for
two weeks.  He is still in
London.
Where’s Peter? He has gone
to London.  He is in Italy
or on his way to London.
Helen/finish /yet/her work
Helen hasn’t finished her work yet.
Ali/back/just/from Italy/come
Ali has just come back from Italy.
Kamal /a camel/never/ride
Kamal has never ridden a camel.
Kevin /just/his house/sell
Kevin has just sold his house.
Adam/ in hospital/a week/be
Adam has been in hospital for a week.
Akram /homework/do/his/already/math
Akram has already done his homework.
Pelin/yet/homework/do/her?
Has Pelin done her homework yet?
Selim /already/his milk/drink
Selim has already drunk his milk.
Omar /fall asleep/in class/just
Omar has just fallen asleep in class.
I/never/a big fish/catch/
I’ve never caught a big fish.
I/not fly /I was 7 years old/a kite
I haven’t flown a kite since I was
7 years old.
yet
The train hasn’t arrived
in Brisbane yet
already
I’ve already visited
Ayers Rock
just
I’ve just seen
a very original
advertisement
ever
Have you ever seen a kangaroo?
How long
How long have you
stayed in Melbourne?
for
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 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
Form
Usage
Present perfect simple
Present perfect
continuous
Have/has + V-ed/ V3
Have/has + been + V-ed/V3
The present perfect simple
The present perfect
expresses an action that is still
progressive expresses an
going on or that stopped recently, action that is still going on. It
but has an influence on the
puts emphasis on the
present. It puts emphasis on the
duration or course of the
result.
action.
Adverbs frequently
used
For, since, already, ever, never,
yet, still, etc.
all day, for 4 years, since
1993, how long?, the
whole week, etc.
Example
I have written five letters.
I have been playing football
since 3 o’clock.

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.
They’ve studied English for three years.

We can use the present perfect simple and the present perfect
continuous with lately and recently.
Ex: I’ve been working hard lately.
I’ve done a lot of work lately.