2. FORM For sentences with singular subject (He / She/It) : has + verb (past participle) For sentences with plural subject (I / You / We / They) : have + verb (past participle)
5. Uses of Present Perfect Tense It occurs with a time expression of duration, e.g., for six years, since 1000, over the last six months, and so on.
6. Present Perfect Tense is used when: Expressing a situation that started in the past and continues to the present The duration of the situation is marked by phrases with either for or since.
10. Present Perfect Tense is used when: Expressing a recently completed action The adverbs “just” and “already” may be used to express the completed action.
16. Present Perfect Tense is used when: Expressing an action that occurred at an unspecified time and has current relevance It is best to associate present perfect with the following topics: experience, achievements or accomplishments, an uncompleted action you are expecting.
17. Use the present perfect to describe your experience The adverbs “ever” and “never” can be used to talk about our experience. “Never” is used for negative sentences while “ever” is used for questions.
20. Use the present perfect to describe accomplishments We often use the present perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.
23. Use the present perfect to talk about and uncompleted action you are expecting We often use the present perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the present perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen. We can use the adverbs “yet” and “still” to express that the action is uncompleted.
24. Use the present perfect to talk about and uncompleted action you are expecting We can use the adverbs “yet” and “still” to express that the action is uncompleted. “Yet” is used for questions and negative sentences while “still” can be used for both positive and negative sentences.
27. Present Perfect Tense is used when: Describing an action that occurred over a period of time that is complete at the moment of speaking. These sentences contain verbs that express actions involving inherent change over time.
28. Present Perfect Tense is used when: The sense of change is enhanced by the time expressions of duration. The perfect aspect imparts the meaning of completion, hence the interpretation that the evolving change is now complete.
33. How much have you learned? Complete the sentence with the present perfect tense of the verbs in parentheses.
34. 1. The children _____ (make) the house very messy. 2. I _____ (see) that actor in several movies. 3. The boys _____ (drink) all the soda in the refrigerator. 4. Our dog _____ (hurt) its leg. 5. One of the workmen _____ (fall) off his ladder. 6. She’s sad because her friends _____ (go) to the park without her. 7. Dad _____ (have) a shower already. 8. I’ve been shouting so much that I _____ (lose) my voice. 9. My sister’s boyfriend _____ (buy) her a diamond ring. 10. Alan _____ (do) this jigsaw puzzle so many times that he could do it with his eyes shut.
35. Here are the answers. have made have seen have drank has hurt has fallen have gone has had have lost has bought has done
36. Here’s your score! 10 Perfect! 9 Awesome 7 – 8 Good work 5 – 6 Nice try 3 – 4 Study harder 0 – 2 What were you doing while the teacher was discussing?!
37. References: Cowan, Ron. (2008).A teacher’s grammar of English. New York, USA: Cambridge University Press. Sargeant, Howard. (2007). Basic English grammar Book 2. CA, USA: Saddleback Educational Publishing. http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tensepresperfsim.htm retrieved on January 5, 2011. http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html retrieved on January 5, 2011.
