Form and uses of the Present Perfect tense and its contrast with the past simple with a final practice

1. PRESENT PERFECT
SIMPLE

2. PRESENT PERFECT
 AFFIRMATIVE:
 SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS +VERB + ED (or irregular form)
 I have sung
 She has phoned her sister
 NEGATIVE:
 SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS +NOT + VERB + ED (or irregular)
 They haven’t been here before
 INTERROGATIVE:
 HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT + VERB + ED (or irregular) ?
 Have you talked to Tom?

3. PRESENT PERFECT
 Finished actions related with the present. We give more
importance to the result than to the time.
 He has done his homework. (he has finished but we don’t
know when)
 They have been to London (they are here but we don’t
know when they visited it)
 Actions started in the past and JUST finished or still
unfinished
 I have just arrived.
 I have always had this house
 Actions repeated in the past more than once
 I have read “The Lord of the Rings” three times

4. PRESENT PERFECT
TIME EXPRESSIONS
 FOR + NUMBER + TIME UNITS
 For three years, for one minute, for several
months, for many weeks
 SINCE + TIME POINTS
 Since 1992, since Christmas, since the 20th
century, since August, since I was born
 EVER (interrogative)/ NEVER (affirmative)
 Have you ever studied French?
 I have never climbed the Everest
 YET (interrogative and negative) - END OF
SENTENCE
 Has the teacher seen the exercises yet?
 No, he hasn’t seen them yet.

5. PRESENT PERFECT
has been
My friend____________to Edinburgh
three times. Some years ago he
studied
__________English there. Last month he
visited
__________some friends in Edinburgh.
couldn’t
Unfortunately, I __________ go to
Edinburgh with him. This is a pity. They
haven’t seen
are my friends, too, and I ____________
them for ages.