This document provides information about the present perfect tense in English, including its form, uses, and contrast with the past simple tense. It discusses how the present perfect is used to describe recent events without a definite time, express personal experiences using time expressions like "ever" and "never", and describe actions that began in the past and continue in the present. It also covers the use of "already" and "yet" with the present perfect and provides examples of questions to practice it.
2. Present Perfect Tense
FORM: have/has + past participle
Affirmative: I have seen the film before.
• She has seen the film before.
Interrogative: Have you seen the film before?
Has she seen the film before?
Negative: They haven’t seen the film before!
He hasn’t seen that film before!
3. Present Perfect Tense
Use of the present perfect tense
1- Recent events: It is used to describe recent events
without a definite time. We use just in positive
sentences to say that something happened very
recently.
Why are they so happy?
They have just won a prize so they are really paseed
4. Present Perfect Tense
2- Personal experiences: It is used to express
personal experiences, there is not a definite time
given. The time expressions ever and never are very
often used with this meaning.
Have you ever been to Japan?
No, I never been to Japan.
5. Present Perfect Tense
3- It is used to express actions which started in the
past and are still continuing in the present, the
time period is not finished.
I have lost my keys.
(And I haven’t found them yet.)
6. Present Perfect Tense
We often use the present perfect tense with already and
yet.
Already: Something happened before now or earlier that
expected
You can use already in positive sentences. Put already
before the main verb.
Yet: until now.
You can use yet in negative sentences and questions. Yet is
usually at the end.
Example: A)Have you done your homework yet?
B) No, I haven’t done my homework yet.
7. Note the difference
They have gone to the cinema. ( This means they
haven-t come back yet. They are still at the cinema)
She has been to London. (This means that she has
visited London: she’s not there now. She’s come back.)
8. Contrast between Present Perfect
and Past Simple
We use definite expressions with the Past simple tense:
yesterday, last week,…ago, etc, while we don’t use
definite time expressions with the Present perfect
tense.
I have been to France three times.
When did you go there?
I went there last Summer
9. Look at this conversation:
A) Have you ever been to USA?
B) Yes, I have.
A) When did you go there?
B) I went to New York I 1996.
Now ask and answer questions as the example:
Plant a tree (Where)
Meet a politician (Who)
10. Present Perfect + Superlative
We often use a superlative with the present perfect.
That is the smallest house I have ever seen.
Make sentences as in the example.
It/ noisy city/ I be to
He/ interesting person/ meet
It/ bad book/ I/ read