How to use present perfect tense

In this free grammar lessons, we are learning about how to form and how to use present perfect tense in daily conversation.

The present perfect tense is used to talk about actions or events that have a connection to the present. Let’s start learning its form and use:

Basic structure of present perfect tense

The present perfect is formed using:

Subject + have/has + past participle

1. Auxiliary Verb: Use have (for I, you, we, they) or has (for he, she, it).
2. Past Participle: This is the third form of the verb (e.g., done, eaten, gone).

Examples:

• I have eaten breakfast.
• She has visited Paris.
• We have finished our homework.

For negative sentences:

• Add not after have/has:
  I have not (haven’t) seen the movie.
  He has not (hasn’t) completed the task.

For questions:

• Invert have/has with the subject:
  Have you read this book?
  Has she called her friend?

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “walked, liked”).

• answer – answered
• ask – asked
• work – worked
• live – lived

These verbs are used in the present perfect tense as the following sentences:

• She has answered those questions correctly.
• They have lived in this town for 23 years.
• He has asked so many questions since the class began.
• I‘ve played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.

Irregular verbs are verbs that form their simple past and past participles in some way other than by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “sat, got, met”).

• go – went – gone
• buy – bought – bought
• do – did – done
• sleep – slept – slept
• think – thought – thought

List of Irregular verbs

It is really important that we should memorise as many irregular verbs as possible, because you have to use the right verbs in the sentences of the past simple tense. We provide free list of irregular verbs you can download. Get your list of irregular verbs now.

The Use of present perfect tense

Actions with a connection to the present:

• Describes something that happened in the past but has relevance now.
  Example: He has lost his keys (so he can’t enter the house).

Unfinished time periods (time periods including now):

• Used with words like today, this week, this year.
  Example: I have worked a lot this week.

Experience:

• To talk about life experiences without specifying when.
  Example: She has traveled to Japan.
  (When isn’t important.)

Repeated actions up to now:

• Actions that happened multiple times in the past and could continue.
  Example: We have visited that museum several times.

Recent actions with just:

• Used to emphasize something that happened very recently.
  Example: I have just finished my homework.

With “already” and “yet”:

• Already: For things that happened earlier than expected.
  Example: They have already seen that movie.
• Yet: For things that haven’t happened (in negatives or questions).
  Example: He hasn’t called yet.
  Example: Have you finished your meal yet?

English verb tenses:

There are three main verb tenses: past, present, and future. In English, each of these tenses can take four main aspects: simple, perfect, continuous (also known as progressive), and perfect continuous.

Let’s start learning all about English verb tense for free. Below is the list of English verb tenses

• simple present tense
• present continuous tense
• simple past tense
• past continuous tense
• simple future tense
• future continuous tense
• future perfect tense
• future perfect continuous
• present perfect tense
• present perfect continuous tense
• past perfect tense
• past perfect continous tense

Ben English on Youtube

Ben English Channel helps you learn English better! There are many free English video lessons and tips to learn English.
Hi, my name’s Ben Tran and I’m an English teacher. I currently hold a M.A in TESOL – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages – granted by University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Please subscribe to Ben English channel and you won’t miss any lesson.