PRESENT PERFECT TENSES

Basic formSubject + HAS/HAVE + Verb (past participle form)

Quick examples

• I have read this book.
• The man has gone away.
• John has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.

The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at anindefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

USES

1. Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now
2. Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment
3. Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

Use 1: Indefinite time before now

Use the Present Perfect to talk about actions that happened at some point in the past. It does not matter when exactly they happened.

• I have already had a breakfast.
• He has been to England.

RememberYou should not use this tense with time expressions like yesterday, a week ago, last year, etc.

• I have seen it yesterday.
• We have gone to Paris last year.

Use 2: Effect on the present moment

We also use this tense to when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

• He has finished his work. (so he can now rest)
• I have already eaten the dinner. (so I'm not hungry)
• He has had a car accident. (that's why he is in the hospital)

Explanation

In this cartoon, you can see a mother asking her son: "Markus, what's happened". Marcus replies: "I have been struck by a bolt of lightning".

• Why is the Present Perfect tense used in this example? Click on the button labled as "event 1". You can see that Marcus was struck lightning bolt. Now click on the other button. The use of Present Continuous is correct here because the action has an effect on the present moment (it explains why he looks this way).

Use 3: Continuation in the present

We often use the Present Perfect when we want to emphasize that an event continues in the present.

• Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
• Patrick has achieved a lot in his life.

For and SinceSince and For are very common time expressions used with the Present Perfect.

We use For with a period of time, for example:

• I have lived here for 20 years.

When talking about a starting point, we use Since, for example:

• I have lived here since 1960.