The rule in English is present perfect. Using the Present Perfect - Squeeze

At the beginning of our acquaintance with the grammar of a foreign language, everything seems complicated, incomprehensible, unnecessary and illogical to us. But, if you take a meticulous look at your native speech, you can find much more difficult and incomprehensible combinations, however, we use them without even thinking. Over time, such a skill will be developed with a foreign language, you just need to be able to comprehend its grammar, selecting similar analogies with your native speech. And today we will continue to build a structured understanding of the English language, this time by studying the perfect tense in English. This shining example purely English perception of time, therefore, having grasped its essence, we will become one step closer to true Englishmen.

The word perfect is translated into Russian as an adjective "perfect". Already in the name itself the purpose of this time is hidden - to indicate the completion of actions and events. But for this there is a simple past tense, you will probably say. Yes, but it is used for completely different purposes. Let's learn to differentiate the use of these tenses.

When we talk about long-past events or a chain of simultaneous actions, we put the predicate in Past Simple. In this way, the following meaning will be conveyed: certain actions occurred yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week or some time ago, and have absolutely nothing to do with the current state of affairs. A short Russian phrase describes such situations well: “It was, but it’s passed.”

Yesterday I went to the post-office, wrote a telegram and sent it –YesterdayIwentonmail,wrotetelegramAndsenther.

The perfect tense is aimed not only at expressing the events themselves, but also at indicating how long they last, or at what moment they will end. That is, the perfect always has a connection with other actions or a specific time, and it is this connection that is emphasized in the statement.

Moreover, this construction can be expressed in all three forms of time: Present, Past and Future. Let us immediately note that the future perfect is used extremely rarely.

I had learned the topic by 7 o’clock – Ilearnedthistopicby 7hours.(connection with time)
MaryandNickhaveknowneachothersincetheymetin2009 – Mary and Nick have known each other since they met in 2009. (actions are related to each other and to a specific time)

These differences are not significant for Russian grammar, but are very important in English language. Let's consider what elements the grammatical core of such phrases consists of.

Perfect constructions in English

As already noted, there are present, past and future perfect tenses. Let's briefly look at each of them:

Perfect in the present tense

The present completed tense is used to denote events that have just completed at a given point in time. It is also used when indicating any experience, the result of past events. And the last case of use is the construction of predicates with verbs that do not have a continuous tense form, i.e. an indication of a process of action that began a long time ago and has not been completed to this day. The present perfect tense is formed in English using several elements.

Please note that the 3rd person has a special form of the auxiliary verb - has.

My dog (1) has (2) just broken (3) the vase (4) – MydogonlyWhatbrokevase.

In the example, an adverb is wedged between the parts of the predicate, which is quite common in these constructions. But the adverb does not have to be in this exact place.

Perfect in past tense

Accordingly, if events and actions belong to the past tense, we put the predicate in the past perfect. There can be two situations here: both actions ended in the past, but one ended earlier than the other (this is the past perfect); or, one event ended while the second was still ongoing. Depending on these situations, the perfect will be adjacent to either the simple past or the continuous. The construction of the past complete differs from the present only in the form of the auxiliary verb, which now remains unchanged in all persons.

She(1) had (2) already written (3) the letter when I called her (4) – Shealreadyfinished writingletter,WhenIcalledto her.
I (1) had (2) done (3) my homework by 5 o’clock and was playing computer games (4) – Ididmyhomework and played computer games.

Perfect in the future tense

The future perfect allows you to indicate the completion of events with the onset of some other action or point in time in the future. In this case, the second most meaningful future action is put in the Present simple form. To build such combinations, one more element is added to the design - will. The auxiliary have still remains unchanged.

Jack (1) will (2) have (3) sent (4) me these documents before I arrive at the airport (5) – Jackwill sendto methesedocumentationearlier,howII'll comeVairport.
They(1) will (2)have(3) repaired(4) my car by friday – Theywill repairminecarToFriday.

Let us remember that such sentences are quite rare in speech.

Perfect tense in English - table with time markers

Let's put all the knowledge we've gained into one general table, So new information faster and easier to learn. To make it easier to understand perfect tenses, we will give examples of tense circumstances by which one can easily recognize that this particular grammatical construction is required to be used in a statement.

Perfect Tense
Category	+	?	—
The present. The completed action is connected to the present.	...have/has+ proverb II... The children have already gone to bed. The children have already gone to bed.	Have/has + subject + adverb. II…? Have the children gone to bed? Have the kids gone to bed?	…have/has + not +prib. II... (abbr. haven't/hasn't) The children haven’t gone to bed yet. The children haven't gone to bed yet.
Past. The action ended before some moment/event in the past.	…had+ proverb II… My life had greatly changed by 2012. My life had changed significantly by 2012.	Had+ subject + proverb II…? Had your life changed greatly by 2012? Has your life changed a lot by 2012?	... had+not+prib. II... (abbr. hadn't) My life hadn't changed greatly by 2012. My life hadn't changed much by 2012.
Future. The action will end before the future event/time.	…will + have +prib. II... They will have done the task until next month. They will complete this task before next month.	Will +subject + have +prib. II... Will they have done the task till next month? Will they complete this task before next month?	…will + not + have +prib. II... (abbr. won't) They won’t have done the task until next month. They won't complete this task until next month.
Time markers: just, already, yet, before, so far, ever, for a long time, never, lately, recently, as soon as, scarcely/hardly…when.

a) The present perfect is used when describing an event that happened in the past and is relevant, significant, significant at the time of speech about it. It does not matter when this action took place. The present perfect is often used with the adverbs lately (recently), and just (just), already (already) never (ever), ever (ever), yet (yet).
Example: I have forgotten his name. – I forgot his name (and don’t remember at the moment)

b) The present perfect is used when an action has already taken place, but the period of time when it occurred has not yet expired.
Example: I have met him today. – I saw him today. (“today” has not yet expired) He has bought a new car this year. – He bought a new car this year (“this year” has not yet expired)

Formation of narrative sentences in the Present Perfect: Formed using the present tense forms of the auxiliary verb to have(have; has)

Present tense forms of the verb to have:

I	have
we	have
they	have
you	have
he	has
she	has
it	has

Word order in declarative sentence : subject + have/has + predicate ending –ed or, if the verb is irregular, then the 3rd form of the verb.
Examples: She has already come. - She has already arrived. I have just visited this supermarket. – I just visited this supermarket.

Formation of interrogative sentences in the Present Perfect: Formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the present tense forms –have; has.Word order in special issue: question word + have/has + subject + predicate ending –ed or 3rd form of an irregular verb.
Examples: What have you done? -What did you do? Has he brought this book? - Did he bring this book?

Formation of negative sentences in the Present Perfect: The formation of negative sentences occurs using the same auxiliary verbs. After the auxiliary verb the particle not is placed.
Examples: She has not (hasn’t) come yet. - She hasn't arrived yet. I have not (haven’t) seen him. – I didn’t see him.

The Present Perfect should not be confused with the Past Simple. When using the Past Simple, one of the time indicators is usually used, indicating the moment when the event occurred.
Example: He saw her yesterday. - He saw her yesterday.

When using the Present Perfect, use any of the Present Perfect indicators - lately (recently), and just (just now), already (already) never (ever), ever (ever), yet (yet). When talking about an action that has already happened, we may not use any pointers at all. If this action or event is relevant at the moment, then the Present Perfect is used. Example: I have bought it. - I bought this.

All of the above tense forms are given here in the active voice.

Affirmative form The Present Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the corresponding person and number (has - for the 3rd person singular, have - for all other persons in the singular and all persons in plural) and past participle (Participle II - participle II) of the semantic verb.

to have + Participle II

I have translated the text. I translated the text.
He has written two letters. He wrote two letters.

Interrogative form is formed by moving the auxiliary verb, which is placed before the subject. If there is a question word, it is placed before the auxiliary verb.

Have did you translate this text? Have you translated this text?
What have did you translate? What did you translate?

Have I cooked?	Have we cooked?
Have you cooked?	Have you cooked?
Has he / she / it cooked?	Have they cooked?

Abbreviations:

Along with the full form they are also used, especially in colloquial speech, abbreviated versions of the affirmative, negative and interrogative-negative forms.

1. In the affirmative form, the spelling and pronunciation of the auxiliary verb have/has changes:

I've = I have
He's =He has
We've = We have

2. In negative form - two options for abbreviation:

a) negative particle not remains unchanged, only the auxiliary verb is reduced:

I've not = I have not
He's not = He has not
We've not = We have not

b) negative particle not loses the letter o and merges with the auxiliary verb:

I haven't= I have not
He hasn't= He has not

The same change occurs in the interrogative-negative form:

Haven't did you work?
Hasn't he written?

Using the Present Perfect

Present Perfect is used:

1. To express an action that has already taken place in the previous period before the moment of speech, but has a direct connection with the present moment. This connection to the present moment manifests itself:

a) as a result of an action that is available at the moment of speech:

I've read this article. I have read this article. (I know its contents, I can tell you.)
Doesn't have a letter written. He wrote a letter. (The result is a letter that can be read and sent.)

b) in sentences with words denoting an unfinished period of time: today - Today, this morning - this morning, this week - this week, this month - this month etc., as well as with adverbs of indefinite time: ever - ever, never - never, often - often, already - already, yet - Bye, more, just - just now, lately - recently(in recent days, weeks), recently - recently(in recent months or years), recently, up to now - still, rarely - rarely, once - one day, once upon a time etc. (most of them are more often used in interrogative and negative sentences).

I haven’t seen her this week. I haven't seen her this week.
I've never seen her before. I've never seen her before.
Has she come back yet? Is she already back?
She has published a new book recently. She recently published a new book.
Have you ever been to London? Have you ever been to London?

Please note:
In the above cases, the verb in the Present Perfect is translated into Russian by a verb in the past tense.

2. To express an action that began in the past, but has not yet ended (continuing), often with verbs that are not used in the Continuous form. At the same time, an unfinished period of time is often indicated by circumstances of time with the preposition for - during(for years - for many years, for ages - for ages, for three weeks - within three weeks etc.), with the preposition since - With(since Sunday - from Sunday, since 10 o'clock - from 10 o'clock, since 1990 - since 1990 etc.), and also subordinate clause with the conjunction since - since then.

I haven’t seen you for ages. We haven't seen each other for ages.
Has not been here for three weeks already. He's been here for three weeks now.
I haven’t heard from him since August. I haven't heard from him since August.
We have known her since 1990. We have known her since 1990.

Please note:
In this case, verbs in the Present Perfect can be translated into Russian by verbs in the past or present tense - depending on the context.

Note also the following:

The difference in the use of Present Perfect and Simple Past/Past Indefinite is that Simple Past/Past Indefinite is always associated with a past period of time (which may be indicated or clear from the context) and expresses an action-fact, while Present Perfect is always associated with present and expresses the action-result or experience acquired as a result of the action.

Compare:

The Present Perfect is not used if there is an exact indication of time in the past (yesterday, last night, etc.), since in this case the connection with the present moment is broken. The presence of this connection is a prerequisite for using the Present Perfect. If there is no such connection, then Simple Past/Past Indefinite is used.

Compare:

a) I have heard his speech and I liked it. I heard his performance and I liked it.
b) I heard his speech last night. I heard him speak last night.

In the first case (a), the time of the action is not specified, but it happened in the past and the connection with the present is expressed by the fact that you like it (the performance) even now - the Present Perfect is used. In the second case (b) the duration of action is indicated, and therefore Simple Past/Past Indefinite is used.

Compare also:

a) I have seen her this morning. I saw her this morning.
b) I saw her this morning. I saw her this morning.

In the first case (a), this can be said if the conversation takes place in the morning, the morning time has not yet expired. In the second case (b), this can be said if the conversation takes place during the day or evening, the morning time has already expired. With the expression this morning, the Present Perfect can only be used if the action took place before one o'clock in the afternoon. If it happened later, for example, at one thirty (13.30), then Simple Past/Past Indefinite is used, since, according to the British, “morning” lasts only until one o’clock in the afternoon.

3. The Present Perfect is also used in sentences in which the action, although it happened in the past, can be repeated.

I have seen wolves in this forest. I saw wolves in this forest. (It is implied that they can be found there and now.)
I saw wolves in this forest. I saw wolves in this forest. (The use of the Simple Past expresses a statement of fact.)

Compare also:

a) Pushkin wrote many wonderful poems. Pushkin wrote many beautiful poems.
b) Yevtushenko has written many wonderful poems. Yevtushenko wrote many beautiful poems.

In the first sentence (a) we used Simple Past/Past Indefinite - wrote, since Pushkin is no longer alive and the possibility of repeating the action, i.e., writing more poetry, is excluded. In the second sentence (b) the verb in the Present Perfect is used - has written, since the author is alive and, perhaps, will write many more beautiful poems.

4. The Present Perfect is used in answers to a question asked in the Present Perfect (unless the tense is specified in the answer). If the time of action in the answer is specified, then it is given in Simple Past/Past Indefinite.

Have you seen the new English film? Have you seen the new English film?
Yes, I have (seen the new English film). Yes, I saw (the new English film).
But: Yes, I saw it yesterday. Yes, I saw him yesterday.

Please note:

If the dialogue is not limited to one question and answer, but continues, then the first one or two questions and answers are used in the Present Perfect, and the conversation continues in the Simple Past / Past Indefinite, because The main thing is not actions, but circumstances.

Husband: Where have you been? Husband: Where have you been?
Wife: I’ve been at the sales. Wife: I was in the store (at a discount sale).
Husband: What have you bought? (What did you buy?) Husband: What did you buy?
Wife: I’ve bought (I bought) yellow pajamas. Wife: I bought yellow pajamas.
Husband: Why did you buy yellow? I told you never to buy yellow for me. Husband: Why yellow? I told you to never buy yellow for me.
Wife: I couldn't resist it. They were very much reduced. Wife: I couldn't resist. They were so cheap. (They were greatly discounted).

Place of adverbs in sentences when used with the Present Perfect form

1. Adverbs ever, never, often, rarely, just, as a rule, are placed before the semantic verb.

I have never read that book. I've never read this book.
Doesn't have often been there. He visited there often.
They have just left the house. They just left.

2. Adverb already also placed before the semantic verb in affirmative sentences, and in interrogative sentences, as a rule, at the end of the sentence and usually expresses surprise in the latter case (already with a connotation of the meaning “so soon”).

Have you translated the article already?
Have you really (so soon) translated the article?

3. Adverbs lately, recently, once and combinations up to now, many times, as a rule, are placed at the end of the sentence.

I haven’t received any letters from him lately. I haven't received any letters from him lately.
We have seen him recently. We saw him recently.

4. Adverb yet is used in negative sentences in the sense of “still” and is usually placed at the end of the sentence. In interrogative sentences it means “already” and is also placed at the end of the sentence.

Hasn’t finished his work yet. He hasn't finished his work yet.
Have they come back yet? Have they returned yet?

Present Perfect - present perfect tense, which denotes an action that has already taken place in the previous period before the moment of speech, but has a direct connection with the present moment.

Not everything in a foreign language can be mastered the first time. This is especially true for grammar rules, of which there are many in English. More than once, students, in their quest to master a foreign language, have to return to the same topic and analyze it again and again. Today we propose to consider the aspect of the perfect present tense, and to do this not only from the theoretical side, but also in close tandem with practice. We will give examples for each present perfect rule that will act as a visual example. Thanks to the methodical development of structures, knowledge of the rules will be absorbed subconsciously; all that remains is to consolidate it with training exercises.

In order to understand the significance of this aspect, it is necessary to rethink the Russian approach to the tense system. In our speech, completed actions automatically refer to the past. In English, it is not the fact of completion that is important, but the relevance of the action. Therefore, the perfect can be in the past, in the present and in the future.

The present perfect tense includes those actions whose results are relevant at the moment. Accordingly, the events of this aspect:

were completed quite recently;
happened once, but the result appeared only now;
express everyday experience;
are long-term (started in the past, are happening now and will continue in the future).*

*The last paragraph uses verbs that cannot be used in meaning with the Perfect Continuous, or can be used equally in both tenses.

Let's move on to mastering meanings in practice, which the next section will help us with.

Present perfect example sentences

Predicates in this form are grammatical constructions consisting of two elements. Let us examine in detail each type of sentence in the present perfect.

Statement

Affirmative phrases that carry a positive result of an action are formed using the auxiliary have and the past participle. Moreover, the auxiliary verb has different forms: for the 3rd person singular. (he, she, it) – has, for everyone else – have. Let us derive a generalized diagram.

Nick(1)has(2) bought(3)anewdressforme(4) - Nick bought me a new dress.

This is the basic form from which other types of utterances are derived. To practice it, we will give examples of 10 affirmative sentences with translation in the present perfect.

They have finished theprojectA-20 thisweek– They completed the A-20 project this week.
I have used thiscomputersince2010 – I have been using this computer since 2010.
She has lived in England for three months –ShelivedVEngland 3months.
We have just cooked potatoes with vegetables –We just cooked potatoes and vegetables.
You have already been in Prague –YoualreadywereVPrague.
I have seen a koala in the local zoo three times. It has always slept – I saw a koala at the local zoo three times. SheAlwayssleeping.
They have owned this building since they bought it in 1999 –TheyownthisbuildingWiththosesince thenHowboughthisin 1999year.
He has always liked such films –To himAlwayslikedsuchmovies.
We have never flown byamilitaryplane– We have never flown on a military plane.
It is the first time she has painted someone's portrait –Shefirstdrewwhose-Thatportrait.

Please note that present perfect phrases are translated into Russian using both perfect verbs and imperfect constructions.

Negation

The particle not is responsible for the negative result of an action, as in all English aspects. Once it is added to the corresponding form of have, the affirmative statement turns into a negation.

Children(1) have not (2) done (3) their homework yet (4) – ChildrenmoreNotdonemyhomework.

Much more often, both in colloquial speech and in writing, the abbreviations haven’t/haven’t are used.

He hasn't been in Africa for five months –HeNotwasVAfrica 5months.
I haven 't feed mydogyet– I haven’t fed my dog yet.
We haven't packed our suitcases –WeNotpackedoursuitcases.
She hasn't been seen her best girlfriend for many years –SheNotsawmythe bestgirlfrienda lot ofyears.
You haven 't passed thisexam– You failed this exam.

Being derived from statements, negative sentences are not fraught with complexity. The only thing worth mentioning is that if the expression contains negative adverbs, then the second negation (not) is no longer placed, because There cannot be two negatives in a sentence in English!

She has never played football– She never played football.
She hasn't 't played footballthisweekShe didn't play football this week.

Keep this rule in mind when using negative adverbs.

Questions

To create a general question, you need to perform a syntactic rearrangement of the verb have, moving it to the beginning of the phrase.

Has(1) she (2) answered(3) all your questions already (4)? – ShealreadyansweredonAllyoursquestions?

Have you ever cooked a Caesar salad? –YouWhen-somedaypreparedsaladCaesar?
Have they gone to the city’s museum two times? –Did they go to the city museum twice?

Such questions can be answered using brief constructions Yes, shehas/wehave or No, shehasn't't/wehaven't. In place of she/we, any pronoun corresponding to the statement is inserted.

Alternative questions that provide a choice of two indicated options require a more precise answer. Outwardly, they are similar to general questions, but have an additional (alternative) part, attached by the conjunction or.

Have you been friends since 2004 or since 2005? –Yoube friendssince 2004of the yearorsince 2005?
Has she studied Japanese or Chinese for 7 years? –ShesevenyearsteachesJapaneselanguageorChineselanguage?

When using special question words, general sentences change their construction for the present perfect tense, skipping significant words forward.

Where has he bought such a dictionary? –WhereHeboughtsuchdictionary?
How long have we known each other? –How long have we known each other?
A separate type of special combinations is a question for the subject.
Who has written is it on the blackboard? –WhowroteThisonblackboard?
Who has just used mysmartphone? – Who just used my smartphone?

By the way, to answer this question they can use short phrases: Ihave, shehas and so on.

carry a special emotional connotation interrogative sentences with a negative construction. They are used only in colloquial speech.

Hasn 't he called hismotheryet? “Hasn’t he called his mom yet?”
Haven 't I told themaboutthatsituation? “Didn’t I tell them about that situation?”

And the last type is dividing questions. At first glance, they look like statements, but if you look closely, you can identify a question tail with a pronoun and the verb have. It is noteworthy that the additive will always be opposite in meaning to the main phrase.

You have played basketball this week, haven't you? – YouplayedVbasketballonthisweek,isn't itNo?
She has ridden an elephant, hasn't she? – She rode an elephant, didn't she?
They haven 't been inthejungle, have they ? “They weren’t in the jungle, were they?”
Jack hasn't 't visited you, has he ? “Jack hasn’t visited you yet, has he?”

So, we have considered all possible types of the perfect present in statements of various types. Before moving on to the exercises, let’s summarize the information received and remember once again what grammatical constructions of the present perfect and example sentences can be found in the speech of native Englishmen.

Statement		Negation
We have had this cat for 10 years already. We've had this cat for 10 years.		She hasn't cooked a cake this week. She didn't make a cake this week.
Questions
General	Alternative		Special
Have they seen this performance? They watched thisplay?	Has he bought a scooter or a bicycle? Did he buy a scooter or a bicycle?		When have we been in Berlin? When were we in Berlin?
To the subject	Negative		Dividing
Who has opened the door? Who opened the door?	Haven't they gone to the club? Didn't they go to the club?		She has read this book, hasn't she ? She read this book, didn't she?

Any tenses of the Perfect category indicate the perfection of the action, that the situation is complete, and not long-term or permanent. As for The Present Perfect Tense is a tense that is definitely associated with real action, as its name suggests.

general information

main feature This type of tense form is that in sentences with the Present Perfect we are talking about a completed action, the result of which has a direct connection with the current time. Very often there is a time where there is no emphasis on connections with the present, and it is based solely on the fact of the event that occurred.

Here are examples of sentences that show how the present perfect tense looks and is used in English:

· You have done more than stay young; you have stayed a child - You did more than just stay young - you remained a child
· I have made you a bed upstairs, make yourself at home - I made you a bed upstairs, make yourself at home

As can be seen from these examples, the present perfect tense, as it is called in Russian transcription, is used to express not just an event that took place in the past, but reflects the result of a completed action that is relevant now.

Education Present Perfect

The present completed tense often causes difficulties for those who are still at the stage of learning English, because here several nuances come into force at once, which are extremely important to take into account. Firstly, the Present Perfect is necessarily formed using auxiliary verbs. These are auxiliary verbs such as have and has (the latter is used only for third person pronouns used in the singular - he, she, it). Secondly, this verb in the present perfect tense is followed by a main verb, which is in the form Past Participle, or Participle II (popularly the third form of the verb). It is important to navigate the list here irregular verbs, but for the correct ones everything is simpler, because the ending –ed is simply added to the word.

Therefore, the classic Present Perfect formula looks like this:

Have
Has + V(3) (–ed)

· I have never had a chance to meet anyone here – I have never had the opportunity to meet anyone here
· She has worked in this company for 3 years already – She has worked in this company for 3 years already

Questions and denials

Interrogative sentences

here they are formed with the same auxiliary verbs have and has, which in a general question, that is, in one to which the answer can be “yes” or “no,” are in the original position:

· Have you already finished your course work? – Have you finished your coursework yet?
· Has he just returned from his trip? – Has he just returned from his trip?

Special questions

at the beginning of which there is a question word like when, why, how, etc., are formed according to a similar principle, with the only difference that the initial position is occupied by these question words:

· How long has she been here? – How long has she been here?
· Why has he written so many articles today? – Why did he write so many articles today?

Present Perfect formula in a negative sentence

practically no different from the affirmative form. Here the grammar provides for the simple use of the particle not after the auxiliary verb, where have not = haven’t, hasn’t = has not. Negation looks like this:

· I haven’t completed my daily report yet – I have not yet completed my daily report
· He still hasn’t brought us money - He still hasn’t brought us money

Note: the rule provides for the use of this tense in special interrogative and negative constructions with the inclusion of the phrase “ever”, where the Present Perfect time markers used are the adverbs ever or never:

· Have you ever been to Bangkok? – Have you ever been to Bangkok?
· I have never seen such a beautiful landscape! – I have never seen such a beautiful landscape!

Using the Present Perfect

The use of the Present Perfect is typical for the following situations:

1. Completed action

In order to display a completed action, which has a clear echo in the present tense and, unlike the simple tense, is used to express completeness. Companions of the Present Perfect in such situations are specific adverbs already, ever, never, yet (typical for interrogative and negative sentences, where its frequent position is at the end of the phrase), just, for (shows the duration of the action), as well as those time frames which show that the action is not yet completed (this year, today, etc.).

· He hasn’t called me for ages – He hasn’t called me for ages
· We have already found out the latest news - We have already found out the latest news
· I have done much this year - This year I have done a lot (in the sense that the year is not over yet)

Note: in the Present Perfect just, this is one of the markers that translates as “just now.” But if the construction just now is used, then it is typical use of Past Simple, despite the fact that the translation will be identical:

· I have just cooked breakfast - I just cooked breakfast
· I cooked breakfast just now - I just cooked breakfast

Note: the so-called American English, tightly integrated into modern life, very often does not provide for the use of the Present Perfect even in such obvious situations when there are special helpers in the form of adverbs or there are other factors regulating the use of the Perfect. In this version, the perfect is ignored, although classical grammar does not approve of this:

I have lost my key – I lost my key (I lost the key)

2. With the preposition “since” + Past Simple

The situation deserves special attention when with the Present Perfect since, the preposition, which is translated as “from”, “from the moment”, is used in the same sentence together with. With this sense, the construction of the sentence is constructed as follows:

I haven’t seen her since I left for Sydney – I haven’t seen her since I left for Sydney

In this example, the first part of the sentence uses the Present Perfect, and the second uses the Past Simple. Very often in such sentences it is recommended to look for the so-called starting point, i.e. the action from which it all began. In this example, this is the part “since I left for Moscow.” The use of Perfect is relevant here for the reason that the action is performed (or not performed from then until now, which shows the result to this day). In the Present Perfect, examples of such situations are not uncommon, and the English language in this case provides a well-founded reason for such use.

3. In subordinate tenses

The use of this tense is also typical for those cases when the perfect is part of the subordinate parts of time. The present perfect marker words in this case are the same as in (Conditional I): these are conjunctions unless, when, as soon as, before, after, etc. The main feature here is that the emphasis is on the completeness of the event, and not on its fact. Present Perfect sentences here could be as follows:

· I will not call him until you have told me everything - I won’t call him until you tell me everything
· They will come as soon as I have finished my work - They will come as soon as I finish work

Note: There is an exception to this rule. Provided that the verbs in the Present Perfect here belong either to the category of movement (arrive, come, return, etc.) or sensory perception, then using the present perfect tense with them is undesirable; it would be correct to put the usual Present Simple, more often used in conditional offer first type:

· I will be glad when he comes - I will be glad when he comes
· She will get in a fury when she hears my words – She will get furious when she hears my words

But even here the Present Perfect is possible when there are indicators that the speaker is deliberately emphasizing completeness and not expressively emphasizing it; the translation in this case will prove the relevance of the use of the perfect:

I will learn the poem by heart when I have heard it a few times - I will learn the poem by heart when I listen to it several times(completeness, performed several times, is expressively emphasized)

Let's sum it up

As it becomes clear from all of the above, phrases in the perfect are formed and used when there is an intention to demonstrate the completeness of an action or to display the period of time that it occupies up to the present moment. The formation scheme for Present Perfect is quite simple, although it requires memorization. Like any other type of tense form, Present Perfect Tense has very clear rules for use, so the main thing is to strictly follow all the instructions, and then this time will not cause any inconvenience.