Present Perfect Simple
I. Forms
Positive: Subject +
has/ have + verb (past participle) + …
§
They have lived in Phnom Penh since 2006.
§
We have sung for a week.
§ You have seen that movie many times.
Negative: Subject
+ has/ have + not + verb (past participle) + …
Examples:
§
You have not
seen that movie many times.
§
She has not studied with me.
§
He has not worked as a teacher since 2008.
§ I haven’t lived
in Paris.
Question: Has/ have + subject + verb (past
participle) + ….
Examples:
§ Have you seen
that movie many times?
§
Where have you lived since 2007?
§
What has she done?
§
How many languages have they studied?
II. Contracted
forms
Have not = haven’t, has
not = hasn’t
I have = I’ve, he
has = he’s, she has = she’s, it has = it’s
we have =
we’ve, You have = you’ve, they have = they’ve
III. Short form of answer of question begun with have/ has.
Positive
answer: Yes, subject + have/
has.
Negative
answer: No, subject + haven’t/
hasn’t.
Example
-
Have you ever studied English before?
Yes,
I have.
No,
I haven’t.
III. Uses
The Present Perfect Simple is used to express:
1. Unspecified time before now or indefinite past action
We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an
unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use
the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year
ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day,
one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such
as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
Examples:
· I
have seen that movie twenty times.
· I
think I have met him once before.
· There
have been many earthquakes in California.
· People
have traveled to the Moon.
· People
have not traveled to Mars.
· Have
you read the book yet?
· Nobody
has ever climbed that mountain.
· A:
Has there ever been a war in the United States?
B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.
B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.
Note: ==> How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?
The concept of
"unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is
best to associate Present Perfect with the following point:
1a. People’s experience
You can use the Present
Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the
experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never
had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a
specific event.
Examples:
·
I have been
to France.
This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there ONCE or several times.
This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there ONCE or several times.
·
I have been
to France
three times.
You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
·
I have
never been to France.
This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
· I think I have seen that movie before.
· He has never traveled by
train.
· Joan has studied two foreign languages.
· A: Have you ever met him?
B: No, I have not met him.
B: No, I have not met him.
1b. Change over time
We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that
has happened over a period of time.
Examples:
· You
have grown since the last time I saw you.
· The
government has become more interested in arts education.
·
Japanese has become one of the
most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was
established.
· My
English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
1c. Accomplishments
We often use
the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity.
You cannot mention a specific time.
Examples:
· Man
has walked on the Moon.
· Our
son has learned how to read.
· Doctors
have cured many deadly diseases.
· Scientists
have split the atom.
1d. An uncompleted action you are expecting
We often use the Present
Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the
Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.
Examples:
· James
has not finished his homework yet.
· Susan
hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
· Bill
has still not arrived.
· The
rain hasn't stopped.
1e. Multiple Actions at Different Times
We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several
different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present
Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.
Examples:
· The
army has attacked that city five times.
· I
have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
· We
have had many major problems while working on this project.
·
She has talked to several
specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.
Note: è Time
Expressions with Present Perfect
When we use
the Present Perfect, it means that something has happened at some point in our
lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not
important.
Sometimes,
we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this
with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this
month, so far, up to now, etc.
Examples:
· Have
you been to Mexico
in the last year?
· I
have seen that movie six times in the last month.
· They
have had three tests in the last week.
·
She graduated from university less than three
years ago. She has worked for three different companies so
far.
· My
car has broken down three times this week.
==> NOTICE
"Last year" and "in the last year" are
very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year before now, and
it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past.
"In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not
considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.
Examples:
·
I went
to Mexico
last year.
I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
·
I have been
to Mexico
in the last year.
I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.
I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.
2. Duration from the Past until Now (Unfinished past action)
We use the Present Perfect to
show that something started in the past and has continued up until now and
maybe to the future. "For five minutes," "for two weeks,"
and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present
Perfect.
Examples:
· I
have had a cold for two weeks.
· She
has been in England
for six months.
· Mary
has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
· I
have lived in Phnom Penh
since 1979.
· She
has studied Japanese for nearly two years.
3. A recent
finished past action which the result is still happening.
Examples:
· Her
husband has died.
· I have turned of the
phone.
· I have lost my hand
phone.
· She
has had an accident. Now she is in the hospital.
· He
has grown a beard. Now he has a beard.
4. To talk about future time in an adverb
clause of time and condition to emphasize the completed action in the future.
Examples:
· If
I have passed my fighting, I could meet you again.
· I
will come back as soon as I have finished my work.
· I
have known you were sick, I would have visited you.
· She
won’t be satisfied until she has finished another chapter.
5.
Implied in newspaper headlines, letter, postcard …etc,.
· Tourists destroyed two
cars. (have destroyed)
· We
have just arrived in Hong Kong,
I though we haven’t had time to see much yet, we are sure we are going to enjoy
ourselves.
IV. Present Perfect Simple Active / Passive
Receiver action + has/ have + been + Past
participle + (by …)
Examples:
· Many tourists have visited that castle. Active
· That castle has been visited by many
tourists. Passive
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