Formation of the present perfect tense. What is Present Perfect Tense? Cases of using the Present Perfect

25.12.2014

For many who study English, time PresentPerfect instills fear and confusion. And all because in the Russian language there is no such verb tense.

In fact, there is nothing scary about this time and you shouldn’t be afraid of it.

In today's article I will talk about the formation and use of the Present Perfect in English, and I hope that you will be able to “make friends” with this unusual tense of the English verb.

Let's first consider in what cases this time should be used.

Using the Present Perfect

The fact is that the Present Perfect expresses an action that began in the past and was completed at the time of speech.

The duration of action is not important to us; it is not indicated. What is important to us is the result of this action or the very fact of its commission.

Often, time markers help us determine that this is exactly the case: just, already, yet, recently, lately etc.

For example:

Jane has already read this book. - Jane had already read this book (before the moment they started talking about it).
We haven’t seen each other recently. - We haven't seen each other lately.

When we talk about a repeated action between the past and the present, the use of the Present Perfect is more relevant than ever:

I have visited Rome 3 times. - I've been to Rome three times.
We have eaten at this restaurant many times. - We have eaten at this restaurant many times.

Also, the Present Perfect or present perfect tense can describe an action that began in the past and continues in the present. For example:

They have known each other for 3 years. - They have known each other for 3 years.
I have studied English since childhood. - I studied English since childhood.

In the case where the period in which the action occurred has not yet ended, and can be indicated by the words today, this week, this month, this year, we also use the present perfect tense. Let's look at examples:

Ellie has written 20 articles this month. - Ellie wrote 20 articles this month.
My sister has finished painting her room this week. This week my sister finished painting her room.

And the last rule present usage Perfect: when we talk about our experiences so far. For example:

Have you ever been to London? -Have you ever been to London?
He has never been to Japan. - He has never been to Japan.
We have never spent so much time together. - We have never spent so much time together.

In this case, the following adverbs of time are used: ever, never, so far,uptonow, untilnow.

We must not forget that in sentences with PresentPerfectTense there cannot be precise time indicators, like yesterday, 5 years ago, last summer,at 3 o’ clock and so on. It would be appropriate to use here Past Simple.

Education Present Perfect

Now let's look at how the simple perfect tense is formed in English.

The scheme is quite simple: have/has + past participle/V-ed.

This means that you need to take the verb have or has, depending on the person performing the action and add a semantic verb to it in the form of the past tense, that is, add an ending -ed, if the verb is correct, or select the appropriate form from the third column of the table if the verb is irregular.

View table Not regular verbs can be found in the article The Past Simple: how it is formed and when it is used. This table should be memorized.

Below you will see an example of the formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative sentence in Present Perfect with regular verb work- work.

Accordingly, the particle not helps to form a negative sentence and is placed after the verb have/has.

They can also be shortened: have+ not= haven’ t; has + not = hasn't’ t. For example:

I haven’t asked you to come and yell at me. “I didn’t ask you to come and yell at me.”
It hasn’t stopped raining until today. “It hasn’t stopped raining until today.”

To form a general question, move have/has to the beginning of the sentence:

Have you cleaned the room yet? - Have you already cleaned the room?
Has she bought that dress? - Did she buy that dress?

If you want to ask a question to a specific member of the sentence, put have/has after question word, then comes the subject, followed by the semantic verb. Examples:

What has Zoe sent you? - What did Zoe send you?
Why have you done that? - Why did you do this?

But remember this: if you want to know information about time (question with the word when), use Past Simple instead of Present Perfect.

When did you come here? - When did you come here?
When did they meet? - When did they meet?

To practice the Present Perfect tense in everyday life, mentally pronounce the actions you just did, for example: I have just read this article.My friend has already shared it to our group.

See you soon!

I am sure that many people who study a language on their own reach the Present Perfect and... this is where their study ends, because according to the explanations from the textbook, not everyone can understand How is it? and Why is this? In this article I will not rewrite the rules, I will try to clearly and clearly explain what Present Perfect is.

First of all, let me remind you of the formation of this time.

We form the statement using the auxiliary verb have or has and the main verb in the third form, which in grammar is called Past Participle. If the verb is regular (regular), then the ending is added to it -ed, if the verb is irregular (irregular), then we take the third form from the third column of the table of irregular verbs. In this article I will denote Past Participle as V3:

In negation, the auxiliary verb is added negative particle not:

To form a question form auxiliary verb placed before the subject ( Subject):

Not all special questions can be asked in the Present Perfect. For example, a question with a word is impossible, so in the Present Perfect interlocutors are only interested in the result. If we are interested in time, then we need to use another grammatical construction to express actions in the past.

Using the Present Perfect

Present Perfect - present perfect tense. From the name it is clear that this tense denotes an action that was performed in the past, but is connected with the present. How is it connected to the present? How do we understand that it is connected?

From theory, you probably remember that this tense should be used when talking about the result of an action; if the action began in the past, but is still ongoing; and also if we talk about our life experiences; when the action took place in a period of time that has not yet ended... Surely you have already read about this many times in books or heard from a teacher.

I will try to explain to you step by step and clearly in what cases the Present Perfect is used in English. I will try to give situations from life that you encounter every day, and in which it is appropriate and even necessary to use Present Perfect. In this article I will give you small tasks, by completing which you will be able to see the importance of using this time. I would like to note that my explanation will be significantly different from those you read in grammar books.

What makes the Present Perfect different from other tenses? These are his markers (they are also called defining words, time indicators). Let us highlight the main markers of this time:

I'm going to tell you about each of them because each marker reflects the main points of time use.

1. Just (just now)

The tense indicator just is often used with Present Perfect and indicates that an action has just occurred and there is a certain visible and significant result.

In the statement, the place of just is after the auxiliary verb:

Just is not used in negatives. IN general issues extremely rare.

Just is used in special questions with question words ( , Why, etc.) You may encounter questions like this with just :

What has just happened? - What just happened?

What has he just done/ said? - What did he just do/say?

What just happened? Someone just broke a cup.

When did this action take place? In the recent past, we don't know exactly when.

What do we know? We only know the result of an action. And we can say this in Present Perfect:

What did they just do? They just cleaned the room.

We don't know the exact time, but we have a visible result - the room is clean.

They have just cleaned the room.

What did he just do? He just woke up.

The time of his awakening is unknown to us (although there is a clock in the photo), but we see the result: he is no longer sleeping.

He has just woken up.

What did you just do? You just read the explanation. The action is completed, there is a result: you learned about the word just.

You can say:

I have just read the explanation.

Exercise: Having performed some action and received a result, talk about its completion:

I have just had my breakfast.

You can look out the window and comment on what just happened there:

The tall man has just crossed the street. Two girls have just entered the shop.

2. Already/ yet (already; yet)

Present Perfect is used to describe an action that has already happened or has not yet happened. In these cases, we are invariably interested in the result, not in time. To make it clearer, let's look at an example from life.

Imagine that you come to a store with a shopping list.

Having already done some shopping, you stop to see what you have already purchased.

Let's consider different situations.

You read and translate complex text. You have only translated ten pages so far. You are still working with the text. You say:

I have translated ten pages so far. - I have translated ten pages so far.

Your friend is a writer. He writes novels. On at the moment he has published one novel and continues to write. About him you will say:

He has published one novel so far. - He has published one novel so far.

The company you work for is expanding rapidly. At the moment, you have opened twenty new offices throughout the country and the company continues to grow:

Our company has opened twenty new offices so far. - Our company has opened twenty new offices at the moment.

All the actions described above took place in the past, but we evaluate their results at the moment while the action continues.

Question: How many paragraphs of this article have you read so far?

5. Never / ever (never / ever)

If you decide to indulge in memories and talk about your life experience, then without time Present Perfect you can't get by.

Do you like to travel? What countries have you visited?

I have been to France. - I was in France.

I have been to Italy. - I was in Italy.

I have been to Spain. - I was in Spain.

It doesn’t matter at all when you went to these countries, the main thing is that you visited there, got impressions, and can talk about it.

Which countries have you never been to? You can use negation or the word never to talk about it. The place of never in a sentence is after the auxiliary verb have/has:

I haven't been to India. - I have never been to India. - I've never been to India.

I haven’t been to China. - I have never been to China. - I have never been to China.

I haven't been to Japan. - I have never been to Japan. - I've never been to Japan.

If the word never is used, then the negative particle not is not needed because never itself has a negative meaning.

You want to ask questions to your interlocutor. Use the word ever:

Have you ever been to London? -Have you ever been to London?

I really hope that my explanation helped you understand the essence of the Present Perfect tense. Send your feedback

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Formation of the Present Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Tense is formed using the auxiliary verb have + (third column in the table of irregular verbs)

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Pay attention to the formula for the formation of R.R.T. indicated in the table. As you can see, the Present Perfect Tense is formed with the help of a verb and a past participle, and the participle is a fixed, unchanging part of the formula, and the verb have changes depending on the person and number of the subject and acts as an auxiliary verb in a given tense.

When forming the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb have (has) is placed before the subject. When translating interrogative sentences, follow the established word order of the interrogative sentence: 1 – question word (for example, who? when? what?), 2 – auxiliary verb (have or has), 3 – subject, 4 – predicate (in this case, participle)

Have you ordered pizza? -Have you ordered pizza? (there is no question word, so the question begins with have)
Where has he put my glasses? – where did he put my glasses?

A question to the subject begins with the word Who?

Who has painted this picture? – who painted this picture?

When is Present Perfect Tense used?

The present perfect tense, although it belongs to the group of present tenses, denotes an action that has already happened and has completed by now. This time is used when oneself is important fact of action.

I have already bought bread - the action has already taken place, it does not matter when it happened - I have bought some bread

The action expressed by the Present Perfect is translated into Russian perfect past tense verb (what did you do?)

The time of the action is either not indicated at all, or covers a period of time that has not yet expired (that is, the period has not yet ended, but the action has already occurred ): Today ( today), this morning, afternoon or evening ( this morning/ afternoon/ evening), this week ( this week), this month ( this month), this year ( this year)

Peter has washed his car today - Peter washed the car today (still today, but the car has already been washed)
I have met her twice this week - This week I met her twice (the week is still going on, and I have already met her twice)

Often adverbs are used with the Present Perfect:

I have already finished reading this newspaper.- I have already finished reading the newspaper
Have you posted the letter yet? —Have you already sent the letter?

The adverb already in questions conveys surprise and means not “already”, but “really... already.” Compare:
Has your brother arrived yet? “Has your brother arrived yet?” And
Has your brother arrived already? “Has your brother already arrived?”
Please note that the adverb yet always comes at the end of the sentence.

The verb to be is used in the present perfect tense to mean “to visit, go, visit” and is accompanied by the preposition of direction to:

Have you ever been to London? -Have you ever traveled to London?
I have been to Japan twice - I visited Japan twice

For and Since

Verbs in the Present Perfect Tense can also denote actions that began long before the moment of speech, but have not yet ended. In this case, verbs are used with such tense adverbs as for - during and since - since (as long as)

In this case, the verb is translated into Russian in the present tense:

- She has known my brother for five years - She has known my brother for five years
- I’ve known her sister since 1992 - I’ve known her sister since 1992

Present Perfect or Past Simple?

In Russian, verbs in both the Past Simple and Present Perfect are translated into past tense verbs, so it is sometimes difficult for English learners to determine which tense to use in a given situation. The following table will help you understand the difference between these two English tenses more clearly:

Today in our article we will look at how to use the verb tense in the present perfect, the rules for forming this grammatical form, examples of use and much more. It must be said that this is one of the most difficult tenses used in the English language. denotes someone’s action that took place (began) in the past, but at the same time is related to the present moment in time. That is, you can observe the result of this action in the present.

Present perfect: formation rules

The present perfect is formed as follows:

I/we/you/she/he/it + have or has + past participle

Means in the past tense). For so-called “regular” verbs (as we remember, the majority of them) can be obtained by adding the ending “-ed” at the very end of the word. This method is not suitable for “irregular” verbs; their past form must be learned by heart. Note that the helping verbs have and has are usually shortened to 've and 's, see:

In case of negation, you should use have not or has not, briefly we get haven’t/hasn’t.

Present Perfect: used correctly

It is often difficult for beginning students to understand when to use the Present Perfect tense, since it is often confused, for example, with the Past Simple. Read this section carefully, here we will look in great detail at the Present Perfect tense and the rules for its use:

Present Perfect is used when we're talking about about actions that began in the past, but, nevertheless, they continue to this day. The words “for” and “since” are often found in such sentences:

This old beautiful building has stood on this square for three hundred fifty years - This old beautiful building has stood (and, in fact, continues to stand) on this square for 350 years.

I'm starving. I haven’t eaten since lunch - I’m incredibly hungry. I haven't eaten anything since lunch.

Maria has been to London once, but she would like to travel there again - Maria has already been to London once, but she would like to visit there again.

The present past tense is used with these phrases: this year/day/week/month, recently, ever, yet. It can be seen that the time period is not defined, but it is closely related to the present. For example:

Have they heard from John recently? -Have they heard anything about Mark lately?

I’ve been in a lot of places last few weeks - Over the past few weeks, I’ve been to a lot of places.

I’ve had five cups of green tea today - I’ve already drunk 5 cups of green tea today

As for the Present Perfect tense: the rules for its use also apply to those situations when we can already see the result of some action. For example:

The earthquake has destroyed the industry in the whole region - The earthquake destroyed the industry of an entire region (as a result, the region still has problems with industrial production).

Present Perfect is the short and most common name for the tense, the rules of use of which we have just examined. We hope that our article helped you understand this difficult grammatical topic. And remember - everything is learned in practice, that is, the more exercises you do to consolidate the use of the present perfect tense, the fewer mistakes you will make in the future. Note also that the Present Perfect is a rather simple tense to use compared, for example, with the rules of which imply both the formation of a complex construction (have or has been + Verb-ing) and use in cases when the action began in the past, but at the same time it has not ended yet and, moreover, continues to this day. One way or another, only practice will help you master English at a sufficient level to speak and write clearly and competently.

Present Perfect (present perfect) is used to denote an action that took place in the past and has a result in the present.

Education Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the present tense ( have, has) and the past participle form of the semantic verb. This form of the verb is also called the “third form of the verb” and is designated conventionally as V3 (verb 3). For regular verbs this is the infinitive ending –ed, for irregular verbs it is the third column V ):
I have played.
He has played.
We have played.

Interrogative form: have (has) + subject + V3:
Have I played?
Has he played?
Have we played?

In a special question, the necessary interrogative pronoun is placed before have (has):
Where have I played?
Why has he played?
With whom have you played?

In a question to the subject, an interrogative pronoun who is placed before the predicate instead of the subject itself (in this issue The auxiliary verb has is always used):
Who has worked?

Negative form: have (has) + not + V3:
I have not played.
He has not played.
We have not played.

Interrogative negative form: have (has) + subject + not + V3 or haven"t (hasn"t) + subject + V3:
Have I not played?
Has he not played?
Have we not played?

IN colloquial speech Abbreviations used:
have not = haven"t = "ve not
has not = hasn"t = "s not
have = "ve
has = "s
I haven't played. = I"ve not played.
I've played.
Haven"t I played ?

Affirmative form	Negative form
I have play ed He (she, it) has play ed We have play ed You have play ed They have play ed	I have not play ed He (she, it) has not play ed We have not play ed You have not play ed They have not play ed
Question form	Interrogative-negative form
Have I played? Has he (she, it) play ed ? Have we play ed ? Have you play ed ? Have them play ed ?	Have I not play ed ? Has he (she, it) not play ed ? Have we not play ed ? Have you not play ed ? Have they not play ed ?

Using Present Perfect Tense

Present Perfect is used:

1. To express an action that took place in the past, but has a result in the present. The presence of such a result connects the past action with the present:
I have lost my keys. I lost my keys.
(lost in the past, but there is a result - now I don’t have them, I can’t open the door)

Has the rain stopped? Has the rain stopped?
(interesting in the lack of rain at the moment)

The duration of the action may not be specified (as in the previous sentences) or may be expressed by adverbs just, ever, never, already, yet(in questions and negatives), lately recently, lately, recently recently. In this case, the sentence should not contain adverbs indicating the past tense:
I have never been in London. I've never been to London.
He hasn't come home yet. He hasn't come home from work yet.

But compare:
My mom has already cooked dinner. Mom has already prepared lunch.
My mom already cooked dinner yesterday. Mom already prepared lunch yesterday. (yesterday indicates past tense, which is why it is used )

Note. The Past Simple Tense is just used with the adverb just now:
I broke it just now. I just broke it.

2. To express both a one-time action and an action repeated several times in the past (the sentence may contain the words often often, twice twice etc.) and in sentences answering the question how much/many how much:
I have read that book twice. I read this book twice.
I have been in London three times. I've been to London three times.
I "ve ironed 8 skirts. I ironed 8 skirts.

3. Present Perfect is used with adverbs denoting periods of time that have not yet elapsed today today, this week this week, this month this month, this year this year etc.:
Have you listened to the radio today? Did you listen to the radio today? (not expired today)
It has not rained this week. There was no rain this week. (this week has not expired)

But if the specified period of time has already ended, then it is used Past form Simple Tense:
I have drunk coffee this morning. I drank coffee this morning.(said in the morning)
I drank coffee this morning. I drank coffee this morning.(the morning has already passed, it is said, for example, in the afternoon or evening)

4. The Present Perfect is used to express an action that began in the past and continued until the moment of speech or is still ongoing at the moment of speech. The sentence must contain the prepositions since (from some past moment to the present) or for during. At the same time, the Present Perfect can be translated either in the present tense or in the past, depending on the situation.
a) with verbs not used in the Continuous (for more details, see):
I haven't seen you for ages. I haven't seen you for ages.(I didn’t see it and just saw it at the moment of speaking)
Has not been here since two o'clock. He (has been) here since two o'clock.(started at two o'clock and is still here now)
I have known him for three years. I've known him for three years.

b) with some verbs instead of Present Perfect Continuous, if the speaker wants to focus not on the duration, but on the fact of the action.
I have lived in Moscow for five years. I have been living in Moscow for five years.(fact is important)
I have been living in Moscow for five years. I have been living in Moscow for five years.(duration, process is important)

The Present Perfect is also used with the conjunction since since. In this case, the Present Perfect is used in the main clause, and in the subordinate clause starting with since, the Past Simple is used:
I have written only one letter to my relatives since I left. I've only written one letter since I left.
I haven't letters received from him since he left. I haven't received any letters from him since he left.

Present Perfect is also used with the adverb since since:
We moved to a new flat last year, and we haven't met our friends since. We moved last year, and haven't seen our friends since then.

5. The Present Perfect is used to express a perfect future action instead of the Future Perfect in adverbial subordinate clauses of time and conditions, which are introduced by conjunctions after, when, as soon as, until (till), if etc. In this case, the Present Perfect is translated into the future tense of the perfect form:
He will wait for you until you have come. He will wait for you until you come.

Usage of Present Perfect Tense

An action, the result of which is evident in the present tense (in Russian it corresponds to the past tense).
An action repeated several times in the past.
With adverbial words denoting periods of time that have not yet expired.
To express an action that began in the past and continued until the moment of speech or is still ongoing at the moment of speech: instead of the Present Perfect Continuous (in Russian it corresponds to the present and past tense).
The future perfect action in subordinate clauses of time and condition (in Russian corresponds to the future tense).