* Present

Form of Present Perfect

Positive I / you / we / the y he / she / it I have spoken. He has spoken.

Perfect Simple

The present perfect simple expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present. It puts emphasis on the result.

Negative I have not spoken. He has not spoken.

Question Have I spoken? Has he spoken?

For irregular verbs, use the participle form (see list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular verbs, just add ed.

*
* puts emphasis on the result * action that is still going on

Use of Present Perfect

Example: She has written five letters. Example: School has not started yet. Example: She has cooked dinner. Example: I have lost my key.

* action that stopped recently

* finished action that has an influence on the present * action that has taken place once, never or several times
before the moment of speaking Example: I have never been to Australia.

*Signal Words of Present Perfect

already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now

Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes also in front of gerund verbs).
Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1 translation is usually not possible. One preposition in your native language might have several translations depending on the situation. There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. The only way to learn prepositions is looking them up in a dictionary, reading a lot in English (literature) and learning useful phrases off by heart (study tips).

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

English Since For Ago Before To Past

Prepositions Time

Usage

Example since 1980 for 2 years 2 years ago before 2004 ten to six (5:50) ten past six (6:10) from Monday to/till Friday He is on holiday until Friday. I will be back by 6 oclock. By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

from a certain point of time (past till now) over a certain period of time (past till now) a certain time in the past earlier than a certain point of time telling the time telling the time

to / till / marking the beginning and end of a until period of time till / until in the sense of how long something is going to last

By

in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time

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Exercise on Present Perfect Simple Fill the gaps with 'have' or 'has'.

1.I _________answered the question. 2.She __________opened the window. 3.They __________called us. 4.You __________carried a box. 5.It _________rained a lot. 6.We ___________washed the car. 7.He ___________closed the window. 8.Jenny ___________locked the door. 9.The girls ___________visited the museum. 10.John and Sophie __________helped in the
garden

Put the verbs into the correct form (present perfect simple).

*I (not / work) ________________today. *We (buy) ________________ a new lamp. *We (not / plan) ________________ our holiday yet. *Where (be / you) ________________? *He (write) ________________ five letters. *She (not / see) ________________ him for a long time. *(be / you) ________________ at school? *School (not / start) ________________ yet. *(speak / he) ________________ to his boss? *No, he (have / not) ________________ the time yet.