Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages.

In fact, the structure of the Present Perfect is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the Present Perfect tense, as well as the use of for and since, followed by a quiz to check your understanding.

How do we make the Present Perfect tense?

The structure of the Present Perfect is:

The auxiliary verb (have) is conjugated in the Present Simple: have, has

The main verb is invariable in past participle form: -ed (or irregular)

For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Look at these example sentences with the Present Perfect tense:

Contraction with Present Perfect

When we use the Present Perfect in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.

• You’ve told me that before.
• John’s seen Harry Potter.

In negative sentences, we may contract the auxiliary verb and “not”:

• You haven’t won the contest.
• She hasn’t heard from him.

How do we use the Present Perfect tense?

This tense is called the Present Perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present.

We use the Present Perfect to talk about:

• experience
• change
• continuing situation

Present Perfect for experience

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:

Connection with past: the event was in the past
Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know something about the event; I have experience of it

Present Perfect for change

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about a change, or new information:

Present Perfect for continuing situation

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a situation (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.

For and Since with Present Perfect tense

We often use for and since with perfect tenses:

• We use for to talk about a period of time: five minutes, two weeks, six years
• We use since to talk about a point in past time: 9 o’clock, 1st January, Monday

Look at these example sentences using for and since with the Present Perfect tense:

I have been here for twenty minutes.

I have been here since 9 o’clock.

John hasn’t called for six months.

John hasn’t called since February.

He has worked in New York for a long time.

He has worked in New York since he left school.

Present Perfect Quiz

You can do this grammar quiz. It tests what you learned on the Present Perfect page.