PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE:

STATEMENTS, Q and A

USE:
To talk about actions or states which began in the past and are still relevant in
the present. The Present Perfect is often used with expressions starting with
FOR and SINCE, to talk about actions or states which began in the past and are
true up until the present time. It is also used with the adverbs JUST, ALREADY,
and YET to talk about actions or events which took place at an indefinite time in
the past. The Present Perfect is also used to talk about recent actions or events
("news").

FORM:
The Present Perfect is made up of HAVE/HAS and the Past Participle (the third
form of the verb [V3]).
AFFIRMATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + (just/already) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]...

(for/since...)]

EXAMPLES:
"I've lived here for two years."
"You've already lost one key. I can't believe you can't find the second."
"Whose package is this? It's been here since 4 p.m."
"We've already met them."
"They're not hungry. They've just eaten their dinner."

NOTE: In positive sentences, JUST and ALREADY usually go immediately before

the past participle. Phrases with FOR and SINCE go at the end of the sentence.
NEGATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAVE NOT/HAVEN'T + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]..] HAS NOT/HASN'T

EXAMPLES:
"I haven't met her yet."
"It hasn't begun to rain yet."
"We haven't had lunch yet."
"You haven't said a word for 2 hours."
"They haven't finished their breakfast."

NOTE: In negative sentences, YET and phrases with FOR and SINCE usually go
at the end of the sentence.
YES/NO QUESTIONS

[HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT +...PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]]

EXAMPLES:
"Have you already finished your work?"
"Has she finished painting the room?"
WH-QUESTIONS

WH-QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUBJECT

[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS +...PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]]

EXAMPLE:
"Who has just eaten the candy?"
WH-QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REST OF THE SENTENCE

[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT +...PAST PARTICIPLE (V3)]

EXAMPLES:
"Where has he put my coat?"
"What have you done with the money?"

NOTE: In questions, JUST and ALREADY usually go before the Past Participle
[V3]; YET and phrases with FOR and SINCE usually go at the end of the
sentence.
CONTRAST WITH OTHER TENSES
USE:
We use the Present Perfect to talk about actions or events that happened
during a period which in some way includes or is connected to the present,
when the exact time is not given.

EXAMPLE:
"Peter Parker has written five books."

The "period" in this sentence is Parker's life. By using the Present Perfect, we
show that he is still alive and still writing books.

BUT -
"John Craig wrote five books."

In this case, the Past Simple is used, showing that the "period" is finished,
probably because Craig is dead.

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about recent actions or events which are
"news" to the listener, often with the adverbs JUST and ALREADY and YET in
negative sentences and questions.

EXAMPLES:
"The results have just come in; and here they are..."
"I don't want to go to that movie: I've already seen it."
"Have you typed that letter yet?"

NOTE: In American English, the simple past form is often used:

"The election results just came in: here they are..."
"I don't want to go to that movie; I already saw it."
"Did you type that letter yet?"

We often use the Present Perfect with certain expressions:

FOR or SINCE
We can use FOR or SINCE at the beginning of the time expression. If we say
how long the action or state lasted, we use FOR:
"...for ten minutes."
"...for twenty years."
"...for two centuries."
"...for a very long time." etc.

If we say when the action or state began, we use SINCE, followed by the time
or another expression which indicates the time:
"...since 2 o'clock."
"...since last Monday."
"...since 1975."
"...since the end of the war."
"...since I was a baby." etc.

HOW LONG
We start a question to ask about the duration of an activity or state with HOW
LONG:

EXAMPLES:
"How long have you had that sweater?"
"About six months."

"How long have you been an actor?"

"Since I left school."

EVER
If we want to know if something has happened, but not when, we often put the
adverb EVER before the verb in the question.

EXAMPLES:
"Have you ever eaten octopus?"
"Yes, I have."

"Have you ever been in an accident?"

"No, I haven't."

JUST, ALREADY or YET

JUST (=a short time ago), ALREADY (=before now) and YET (=before/until
now) are used in Present Perfect sentences that talk about recent actions or
events ("news"). JUST and ALREADY usually go immediately before the third
form of the verb and YET is often used at the end of a negative sentence or
question.

EXAMPLES:
"I have already seen that movie. Let's stay home!"
"But I haven't seen it yet!"
 "Here we are at the Indy 500 with Mike Rhodes. Mike, have you ever driven in
an Indy race?"
"No, I haven't. But I've been a race driver in Europe for ten years."
"Well, Good Luck to you!"

VOCABULARIO

 assignment
 degree
 diploma
 elementary school
 entrance exam
 formal education
 grade
 graduate
 homework
 kindergarten
 preschool
 qualification

PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

USE:
To talk about a continuous or repeated action which began in the past and
continues up to the present, or which finished very recently and still has an
effect. We do not normally use the Present Perfect Progressive with stative
verbs (TO HAVE RED HAIR, TO BE HAPPY/ILL/TIRED, TO KNOW THE ANSWER,
etc.).

EXAMPLES:
"Betty and Joe have been working all night: they're exhausted!"
"Ted, I've been telling you to make your bed for two hours!"

FORM:

AFFIRMATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + BEEN + VERB+ing ]

 EXAMPLES:
"I've been sitting here for an hour."
"She's been hiding in the garage."
NEGATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAS/HAVE + NOT + BEEN + VERB+ing...]

HASN'T/HAVEN'T

EXAMPLES:
"You have not (haven't) been working all week."
"He has not (hasn't) been living here very long."

The expressions FOR and SINCE are used with the Present Perfect
NOTE: Progressive in the same way as with the Present Perfect Simple.

EXAMPLES:
"They have been studying French for three years."
"She has been living here since 1987."

 accent
 exchange student
 homesick
 international
 keep in touch
 miss
 opportunity
 overseas
 roommate
 study exchange program
 study program
 transfer

PRESENT PERFECT

USE:
To talk about actions or states which began in the past and are still relevant in
the present. The Present Perfect is often used with expressions starting with
FOR and SINCE, to talk about actions or states which began in the past and are
true up until the present time. It is also used with the adverbs JUST, ALREADY,
and YET to talk about actions or events which took place at an indefinite time in
the past. The Present Perfect is also used to talk about recent actions or events
("news").

EXAMPLES:
"Hi, Karla! I haven't seen you lately. Where have you been?"
"I've been really busy. I've been playing with a band called "Wild Thing."
Have you heard of us?"
"No, I haven't."
"Well, come and see us on Saturday night!"

FORM:

AFFIRMATIVE

Simple:
[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + (JUST/ALREADY) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3] +
(FOR/SINCE...)]

Progressive:
[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + (JUST/ALREADY) + BEEN + VERB + ing +
(FOR/SINCE...)]

EXAMPLES:
"They've lived here for two years."
"She's been here since 4 p.m."
"I've already swept the floor."
"They've been working all night."

NEGATIVE

Simple:
[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS NOT / HAVEN'T/HASN'T + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]...]

Progressive:
[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS NOT / HAVEN'T/HASN'T + BEEN + VERB + ing...]

EXAMPLES:
"We haven't met her yet."
"He hasn't made a sound."
"You haven't been doing your homework."

YES/NO QUESTIONS

Simple:
[HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]...?]

Progressive:
[HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT + BEEN + VERB + ing...?]
EXAMPLES:
"Have you finished your work yet?"
"Has Peter come home yet?"
"Have they been living here long?"

WH-QUESTIONS
WH-QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUBJECT

Simple:
[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS + PAST PARTICIPLE[V3]...]

Progressive:
[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS + BEEN + VERB + ing]

EXAMPLES:
"Who's eaten all the candy?"
"Who's been sleeping in my bed?"

WH-QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REST OF THE SENTENCE

Simple:
[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE[V3]...]

Progressive:
[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT + BEEN + VERB + ing]

EXAMPLES:
"Where has he put my coat?"
"Why have you done that?"
"What have you been doing?"

TIME EXPRESSIONS

FOR or SINCE are used at the beginning of a time expression. To say how long the
action or state lasted, we use FOR:"...for ten minutes." "...for twenty years," "...for two
centuries," "...for a very long time," etc.

To say when the action or state began, we use SINCE: "...since 2 o'clock," "...since last
Monday," "...since 1975," "...since the end of the war," etc.

HOW LONG is used to start a question about duration.

EXAMPLES:
"How long have you had that sweater?"
"About six months."

"How long have you been living here?"

"For two years." EVER is used before the verb, to ask if something has happened, but
not when.

EXAMPLE:
"Have you ever eaten octopus?"
"Yes, I have."

JUST, ALREADY, and YET are used to talk about actions or events which took place
at an indefinite time in the past, or recent actions or events ("news"). JUST (= a short
time ago) and ALREADY (= before now) usually go immediately before the Past
Participle [V3], and YET (before/until now) is often used at the end of a negative
sentence or question.

EXAMPLES:
"I have already seen that movie. Let's stay home!"
"But I haven't seen it yet!"

THE PASSIVE: FORM - WITH OR WITHOUT AGENT

USE:
To talk about actions or events in which the agent, or the "doer" of the action,
is obvious, unknown or unimportant, or to emphasize the action, the results of
the action, or the receiver of the action. The Passive is also used to stress a
process or event.

FORM:
["BE" + Past Participle [V3]]

NOTE: The verb "BE" varies according to the tense of the sentence. It can take
any form, including progressives.

EXAMPLES:
"The castle was built in 1543."
"It has been rebuilt twice since then."
(Agent unknown/unimportant)

"English is spoken here."

(Agent is obvious or understood)

"The game is played until there are no more players on the field."
(Process is stressed)

NOTE: We can include the agent after the verb in a Passive sentence, using the
preposition BY.

EXAMPLES:
"My lunch was stolen by a gorilla from the circus!"
"The new hospital is going to be opened by the Queen herself."
AFFIRMATIVE/NEGATIVE

PRESENT/PAST SIMPLE

[OBJECT + Present/Past Form of BE (NOT) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3] (by

SUBJECT)...]

EXAMPLES:
"English is spoken here."
"These socks weren't made in Japan."
PRESENT/PAST PROGRESSIVE

[OBJECT + Present/Past Form of BE (NOT) + BEING + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]

(by SUBJECT)]

EXAMPLES:
"The house is being painted (by John)."
"Our car wasn't being used yesterday."
PRESENT PERFECT

[OBJECT + HAVE (NOT)/HAS (NOT) + BEEN + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3] (by

SUBJECT)]

EXAMPLES:
"The house has been rented (by Bob Tell)."
"We haven't been invited to the party."
YES/NO QUESTIONS

[BE/HAVE + SUBJECT (BE) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]]

EXAMPLES:
"Was the letter sent?" (SIMPLE)
"Is it being ordered?" (PROGRESSIVE)
"Have they been asked?" (PERFECT)
WH-QUESTIONS

[WH-WORD + BE/HAVE + (SUBJECT) (BE) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]...]

EXAMPLES:
"Who was told about this?"
"When was John invited to the wedding?"
"Where was it being shown?"
"Why has Bill been fired?

OTHER EXAMPLES:

"The car wasn't being repaired when we arrived."

 "The election results have just been announced."
"George has been caught by the police."
"Are we going to be invited to Joe's party?"
"Why has Betty been arrested?"

"Who was that movie made by?

"It was made by DeMille, I think."

 annual
 celebrate
 Christmas
 event
 fair
 fireworks display
 gather
 in honor of
 parade
 symbolize
 Thanksgiving
 tradition

RELATIVE CLAUSES: OBJECT RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
When the subject of the verb in the relative clause is not the same as the noun
we are talking about.

FORM:
These relative clauses begin with relative pronouns:
WHO (for people)
WHOM (in very formal English)
WHICH (for animals or things),
THAT (for people, animals, or things and for the words EVERYTHING, NOTHING,
SOMETHING, or ANYTHING)

We can choose to leave out the relative pronoun if it is not the subject of the
verb in the relative clause, except when the relative clause begins with a
preposition (in formal English), or if it follows a comma.

[...NOUN + (RELATIVE PRONOUN) + SENTENCE...]

EXAMPLES:
"Frederick is the man (who/that/whom) I work with."
"Here's the book (which/that) you lent me."
"Tell me everything (that) you remember."
If there is a preposition at the beginning of the relative clause we must use the
relative pronouns WHOM or WHICH unless we move the prepositionto the end
of the clause.

EXAMPLES:
"The lady with whom you were dancing is my wife."
OR
"The lady (that) you were dancing with is my wife."

"The company for which you work is responsible for your pension."
OR
"The company (that) you work for is responsible for your pension."

We can also replace IN WHICH,AT WHICH, and ON WHICH by WHERE or WHEN.

EXAMPLES:
"That's the house where Shakespeare lived."
"1492 was the year when Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic."

RELATIVE CLAUSES: SUBJECT RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
When the subject of the verb in the relative clause is the same as the noun we
are talking about.

FORM:
These Relative Clauses begin with relative pronouns:
WHO (for people),
WHICH (for animals or things),
THAT (for people, animals, or things; for the words EVERYTHING, NOTHING,
SOMETHING, or ANYTHING).

[...NOUN + RELATIVE PRONOUN + VERB...]

EXAMPLES:
"He's the man who/that wrote this book."
"Let's see the movie which/that won the prize."
"I've forgotten everything that happened."
"Bill's the man who called me last night."
"Where is the factory that makes those chairs?"

Remember that the relative clause always contains a verb.

RELATIVE CLAUSES:
WITH OR WITHOUT RELATIVE PRONOUNS

We can choose to leave out the relative pronoun if it is not the subject of the
verb in the relative clause, except when the relative clause begins with a
preposition (in formal English), or if it follows a comma.

EXAMPLES:
That's the man I spoke to.
BUT
That's the man to whom I spoke.

RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
To provide information which helps to identify one of the nouns in a sentence.
The relative clause immediately follows the noun it describes.

EXAMPLES:
"He's the man who's wearing a black hat."
"The dress which you wore yesterday was beautiful."
"The apples that you brought are wonderful."

SUBJECT RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
When the subject of the verb in the relative clause is the same as the noun we are talking
about.

FORM:
These relative clauses begin with relative pronouns:
WHO (for people),
WHICH (for animals or things),
THAT (for people, animals, or things; for the words EVERYTHING, NOTHING,
SOMETHING, or ANYTHING)
WHOSE (for possessives).

[...NOUN + RELATIVE PRONOUN + VERB...]

EXAMPLES:
"He's the man who/that wrote this book."
"Let's see the movie which/that won the prize."
"I've forgotten everything that happened."
"Bill's the man who called me last night."
"Where is the factory that makes those chairs?"

Remember that the relative clause always contains a verb.

OBJECT RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
When the subject of the verb in the relative clause is not the same as the noun we are
talking about.

FORM:
These relative clauses begin with relative pronouns:
WHO (for people)/WHOM (in very formal English)
WHICH (for animals or things),
THAT (for people, animals, or things and for the words EVERYTHING, NOTHING,
SOMETHING, or ANYTHING).

We can choose to leave out the relative pronoun if it is not the subject of the verb in the
relative clause, except when the relative clause begins with a preposition (in formal
English), or if it follows a comma.

[...NOUN + (RELATIVE PRONOUN) + SENTENCE...]

EXAMPLES:
"Frederick is the man (who/that/whom) I work with."
"Here's the book (which/that) you lent me."
"Tell me everything (that) you remember."

If there is a preposition at the beginning of the relative clause we must use the relative
pronouns WHOM or WHICH unless we move the preposition to the end of the clause.

EXAMPLES:
"The lady with whom you were dancing is my wife."
OR
"The lady (that) you were dancing with is my wife."

"The company for which you work is responsible for your pension."
OR
"The company (that) you work for is responsible for your pension." We can also
replace IN WHICH, AT WHICH and ON WHICH by WHERE or WHEN.

EXAMPLES:
"That's the house where Shakespeare lived."
"1492 was the year when Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic."

THE PASSIVE: INDIRECT FORM

Some verbs, such as GIVE, ASK, TELL, OFFER, PROMISE, SEND, SHOW, TEACH,
and PAY, can have two objects: one DIRECT and one INDIRECT. Either the
direct object or the indirect object can become the subject in a passive
sentence:

"My grandmother gave me a watch for my birthday."

"The watch was given to me for my birthday."

(direct object)

"I was given the watch for my birthday."

(indirect object)