Present Perfect Tense

MAKE PRESENT PERFECT

Make present perfect by using have / has + past participle

USE PRESENT PERFECT

Use the present perfect to show a connection between something in the past and something in the present.
The present perfect shows the result or relevance of a past action, event, or experience.

PAST

  • In February, I moved to Paris.

PRESENT

  • I live in  Paris now.

FROM PAST TO PRESENT

  • I have lived in Paris since February.
  • I have lived in Paris for seven months.

FORMING  PRESENT PERFECT

Statement Negative Question
I
You       have gone.
We
TheyShe
He         has gone.
It		 I
You        have not gone.
We
TheyShe
He          has not gone.
It		            I
Have you gone?
           we
they
she
Has he gone?
it

FOR AND SINCE / EVER AND NEVER

  • Use since to introduce a time signal.
    • Have has worked here since he graduated university.
  • You can also use since to refer to a specific time.
    • He has worked here since March.
    • He has worked here since the beginning of the week.
  • You can use for to refer to quantity of time.
    • He has worked here for several years.
  • Ever with present perfect means ‘at any time before now’. It is usually used in questions and negative statements. It is not usually used in positive statements.
    • Have you ever eaten Mexican food?
      Yes, I have eaten French food.
      No, I haven’t eaten French food.
  • Never with present perfect means ‘at no time before now’
    • I have never eaten French food.
  • Not and never have similar meaning
    • I have never eaten French food.
    • I have not eaten French food.

PRESENT PERFECT VS. SIMPLE PAST

  • Use simple past to talk about completed actions, experiences, or situations at a specific time in the past.
  • You can use simple past to show that you are thinking about the past.
    • Last week, she graduated from university.
    • He lived in this city from 1990 to 2010.
  • Use present perfect to talk about a completed action, experience, or situation in the past when you do not talk about when it happened.
    • He has been to Paris.
    • They have played a game of soccer.
  • In present perfect we show that something happened in the past, but we do not show when it happened. We show only that it happened sometime before now. Also, we are thinking about the relationship between the past and the present.
    • I ate steak last night. (simple past because I want to show when it happened)
    • I have eaten steak last night. (present perfect because I want to show that the experience is more important than when I did it)
  • We often use present perfect to introduce the general idea and then continue with simple past to give specific details about it.
    • I‘ve been to France. I went there about five years ago and travelled all over the country. I had a fantastic time, and I enjoyed eating a lot of French food.