Present Perfect
past related to present
Affirmative:
He
She
It
had + past participle of main verb
They
We
You
I
had + past participle of main verb
Examples:
• She had done her homework.
auxiliary
main verb
• They had arrived home.
auxiliary
main verb
Interrogative
Ha
He
She
It
past participle of main verb
Had
They
We
You
I
past participle of main verb
Examples:
• Has she done her homework?
auxiliary
main verb
• Have they arrived home?
auxiliary
main verb
Negative:
He
She
It
has not (hasn’t) + past participle
They
We
You
I
have not (haven’t) + past participle
Contraction :
• She had not (hadn’t) done her homework.
auxiliary
main verb
• They had not (hadn’t) arrived home.
main verb
auxiliary
Cases:
Case 1:
 an action that happened a short time ago (just)
Examples:
• She has just left.
• The plane has just landed.
Case 2:
 life experience (ever, never)
Examples:
• He has never visited Japan.
• Have you ever climbed a mountain?
Case 3:
 since, for
Examples:
• She has owned this flat for five years.
• She has owned this flat since 2015.
since, for
since
for
specific date/ time/ event
duration of time
Examples:
• He has been busy since the morning/ 9:00 a.m. (for three
hours)
• They have not met since the war. (for five years)
Compare:
• She has(work)
worked
at that company for five years .
present perfect
(work)
• She worked
at that company for five years, and then
she resigned.
past simple
Rule
Since:
 If there are two verbs in a sentence with since, the verb after
since is put in the past simple.
 The other verb is put in the present perfect.
since
other verb
past simple
present perfect
Examples:
• He has not sent letters since he travelled.
present perfect
past simple
• She has met him twice since she was a child.
past simple
present perfect
Case 4:
 suspended action (so far, until now, yet)
Examples:
• He has not called yet./ He has called twice so far.
• She has not arrived until now.
Case 5:
 unspecific/ indefinite time in the past
Examples:
• She has read Macbeth twice.
• I have seen this movie before.
Case 6:
 a past action with an effect in the present
Examples:
• He has lost his keys.
• She has burnt her hand.
Case 7:
 recent actions (recently, lately, last few…)
Examples:
• He has been very busy recently/ lately.
• She has not met her friends last few weeks.
past
now
future
Past Simple
Affirmative:
-d ex: move-d
Regular verbs
-ed ex. play-ed
-ied ex.: study  studied
Examples:
• She graduated last semester.
• They played football yesterday.
Interrogative
He
She
It
Did
They
We
You
I
+
infinitive of main verb
Examples:
• Did she play tennis?
auxiliary
main verb
• Did they cancel the meeting?
auxiliary
main verb
Negative:
He
She
It
They
We
You
I
did not (didn’t) + infinitive of main verb
Examples:
• He did not (didn’t) go to the party.
auxiliary
main verb
• They did not (didn’t) arrive on time.
auxiliary
main verb
Affirmative:
He
She
It
I
They
We
You
was
were
Negative:
He
She
It
I
They
We
You
was not/ wasn’t
were not/ weren’t
Interrogative:
Was
he
she
it
I
Were
they
we
you
busy?
busy
Usage
The past simple is used to describe an action that ended in the past, at a specific
time, without any relation to the present.
Past Simple
an action that finished
in the past
at a specific time
with no relation to the
present
 He visited Japan last year.
 She won the elections two years ago.
 They got married in 2015.
 He bought this car last year.
 He bought this car last year/ in 2019.
 He has owned this car for a year.
They got married in 2015/ five years ago.
 They have been married for five years.
 The past simple is used for narration. (series/sequence of events that
follow a chronological order.)
 This tense is also used for past habits.
Example:
 Last summer, he played football with his friends every weekend.
narration
past habits (used to + infinitive)
Keywords:
last …
once upon a time
… ago
in 2017
in the sixties/ seventies …