PRESENT PERFECT

PRESENT PERFECT

Jimy ´s grandad was telling about the most interesting places

He had lived in same strange places in his life. When he was 25, he lived for a year on an islan
with a small group of people. We grew all their own food. The whole experience has changed
his life and he still grown his own vegetables.

I have finished
POSITIVE She has played rugby
We have broken it.
I have not finished
NEGATIVE He has not played rugby
They have not broken it
Have you finished?
Yes I have / NO I have not
QUESTIONS Has she played rugby?
No she has not / YES she has
Where have they been?

We form the present perfect simple with the auxilliar verb HAVE / HAS and the past participle.
We form the past participle of regular verbs by adding ED to the verb.

INFINITIVE PAST PARTICIPLE

REGULAR Play – use – visit - want Played – used – visited
IRREGULAR Be – break – come – drive – Been – broken – came –
eat – go – have. driven – eaten – gone – had.

We form questions by putting HAVE / HAS before the subject

HAVE WE READ THE BOOK?

We form negations by putting not between HAVE / HAS and the past participle

HE HAS NOT FINISHED HIS BOOK YET.

USES:

 Past experience: we use to talk about actions and experiences that have happened

MY BROTHER HAS WORKED IN A CAR FACTORY

 Past actions with present results to talk about a past action that has a result in the
present

MY GIRLFRIEND HAS GONE OUT (she went out earlier and she isn´t here now)

 To talk about actions in a time period that is still continuing

With time expressions (today, this morning, this week)

I HAVE PLAYED 5 MATCHES THIS WEEK (the week has not finished)

 Repeated actions: to talk about repeateh actions (that may happen again)

MY BOSS PHONED ME SIX TIMES ALREADY (he may phone again)

 To talk about present situations that started in the past

MY COACH HAVE LIVED IN WALES SINCE 1998

 We often use the present perfect (+ ever) with superlative adjectives

THAT GIRL WAS THE BEST FILM THAT I ´VE EVER SEEN

 For actions which happened at an unstated time in the past. The exact time is not
mentioned because the action is more important

MY TEACHER HAS BOUGHT A NEW CAR

 For actions which started in the past and are still continuing in the present

MY GRANDMOTHER HAS SOLD MOTORBIKES SINCE 1993.

VERY IMPORTANT

 There is a difference in meaning between been and gone

MY SISTER HAS GONE TO SOUTH AFRICA ON HOLIDAY (she is there now)

MY BROTHER HAS BEEN TO SOUTH AFRICA (he has visited it in the past and returned
home now)

EVER – NEVER – BEFORE

 We often use ever to ask questions about past experience

HAVE YOU EVER DRIVEN AN AUTOMATIC CAR?

 EVER means “in your life”

 We use never in negative sentences

I HAVE NEVER PLAYED RUGBY WITH A FAMOUS PLAYER (not in your life)

 We put ever and never before the past participle

 We use before to say wheter it is the first time we have done something

I HAVEN´T SUNG A LOVE SONG WITH ENRIQUE IGLESIAS BEFORE. IT IS MY FIRST TIME

JUST – ALREADY – RECENTLY

 We use JUST to talk about actions that happened a very short time ago

MY COUSIN PETER HAS JUST ARRIVED FROM HIS HOLIDAYS

 ALREADY means “before the expected time” we use it in positive sentences

 We use RECENTLY to talk about actions that happened in the last few days or months

HAVE YOU SEEN THEM RECENTLY?

 We don´t use ALREADY in negative sentences

STILL – YET

 We use YET in questions to ask about something we expect to happen around now,
but which hasn´t happened at the time of speaking

HAS MY MOTHER ARRIVED YET?

 We use STILL or YET in negative sentences when we expected something to happen

before now.

MY FRIEND HAVEN´T COME YET

 We usually put YET at the end of a question or negative statement

 We can also use STILL in positive sentences to say that an earlier situation has not
changed. We use the present simple or continuos, not the present perfect

I AM 29 YEARS OLD AND I AM STILL LIVING WITH MY MOTHER

FOR – SINCE

 We use FOR with a period of time (for an hour, for a year)

 We use SINCE with a particular time, day or date or with a past event.

AFIRMATIVE

 FOR: I have worked here for six years

 SINCE: Emanuel has been working since Thursday
 ALREADY: I have already drunk a beer
 JUST: she has just posted a letter
 RECENTLY: I have recently published a book
NEGATIVE

 FOR: My girlfriend haven´t talked me for days

 SINCE: They haven´t been abroad since 1999
 YET: My brother hasn´t left yet.
 LATELY: I haven´t seen at my neighbour lately
 NEVER: They have never been in Australia

PRESENT PERFECT

VS

PAST SIMPLE

PRESENT PERFECT PAST SIMPLE

HAVE DONE DID
 I HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK TODAY  I DID A LOT OF EXCERCISES
YESTERDAY

We use the present perfect for a period of
time that continues until now
 Today / this week / since 2005
 Single or repeated actions in the
past, when we don´t know the date
of the action or it isn´t important
 Situations that started in the past
and are still continuing
 One more completed actions in a
time period that is still continuing
We use the past simple for a finished time in
the past.
 Yesterday / last week /last year
 Single or repeated actions that
happened at a definite time in the
past
 Situations that started and finished
in the past
 Completed actions in a time period
that is finished
 PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOS

We form the present perfect continuous with the auxiliary verb HAVE / HAS, the past
participle of the verb to be (been) and the main verb with the ING suffix.

We form question by putting HA VE / HAS before the subject.

We form negations by putting not between HAVE / HAS and BEEN.

I have been waiting at my girlfriend

POSITIVE Martina has been playing with her sister
My two sisters have been cooking cakes
I have not been waiting at my girlfriend
NEGATIVE Martina has not been playing with her sister
My two sisters have not been cooking cakes
Have you been waiting at my girlfriend?
QUESTIONS Has Martina been playing with her sister?
Have My two sisters been cooking cakes?

USES:

 ACTIONS / SITUATIONS up to the present. We use to talk about actions or situations

that started in the past and are still continuing now.

I HAVE BEEN LIVING WITH MY SISTER IN A LITTLE APARTMENT


 We can also use it if the action or situation finishes at the time of speaking

CARLOS HAS BEEN DRIVING HIS CAR ALL NIGHT

 To talk about an activity in the recent past

I HAVE SEEN YOU IN THE APPARTMENT RECENTLY

 We use this form to explan a present situation or result, it gives the cause

YOU SEE VERY TIRED – I KNOW I HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR 9 HOURS

 An action which has recently finished and its result is evident now.

MY FATHER HAS BEEN WORKING IN THE FACTORY ALL MORNING

TIME EXPRESSIONS:

 Time expressions used with the present perfect continuous include

FOR – SINCE – ALL MORNING – AFTERNOON – WEEK – DAY , HOW LONG (in questions)

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

 An action that is completed
I HAVE DRIVEN AN AUTOMATIC CAR
BEFORE
(emphasis on the result of a past
action)
 An action that is still continuing or
has just ended
I HAVE BEEN DRIVING SINCE 4
O´CLOCK THAN NOW
(emphasis on the cause of a present
result)