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Home > English Grammar > Tenses > Present Perfect Tense
     
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  ENGLISH GRAMMAR  
Alphabet
Vowels & Consonants
Word Building
Sentences
Articles
Cardinal-Ordinal Numbers
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adverb
Adjective
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection
Tenses
Opposites
Active & Passive Voice
Direct & Indirect Speech
Vocabulary
TENSES
Kinds of Tenses Tense Table
Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous
Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous
Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous
Present Conditional Tense Conditional Sentences
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Present perfect tense is used when there is a connection with the past and with the present. It is used when the action is complete or has ended. The exact time when the action happened is not important and hence, it is not mentioned in this tense.

Structure for Present Perfect

subject auxiliary verb main verb
subject has/have past participle
I have gone to college.

Structure for Negative sentence

subject auxiliary verb main verb
subject has/have + not past participle
I have not gone to college.

Structure for interrogative sentence

auxiliary verb subject main verb
Has/Have subject past participle
Have you gone to college?

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. e.g. We are not interested in when you did homework. We only want to know if you did homework:

We use the present perfect tense to:

talk about experience,
talk about change,
talk about continuing situation.
  USES OF PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
To indicate completed activities in the immediate past:
 
Examples
He has just gone out.
It has just struck ten.
To express past actions whose time is not given and not definite:
 
Examples
Have you read ‘Gulliver’s’ Travels?
I have never known him to be angry.
To describe past events when we think more of their effect in the present than of the action itself:
 
Examples
Gopi has eaten all the biscuits (i. e. there aren’t any left for you).
I have cut my finger. (and it is bleeding now/ I can not do work now).
I have finished my work. (= now I am free).
To denote an action beginning at time in the past and continuing up to the present moment:
 
Examples
I have known him for a long time.
He has ill health since last week.
We can also use 'for' and 'since' with the present perfect tense.
 
We use 'for' to talk about a period of time - 15 minutes, 3 weeks, 5 years.
Examples
Maya hasn't called for 3 months.
I have been here for 15 minutes.
He has worked in Australia for a long time.
We use 'since' to talk about a point in past time-7 o'clock, 1st June, Wednesday.
Examples
Smita hasn't called since February.
I have been here since 10 o'clock.
She has worked in Canada since he left high school.

The following adverbs (or adverbs phrases) can be used with the present perfect:

    Examples
Adverbs phrases just, often, never, ever (in question only), so far, till now, yet (in negative and question), already, since-phrases, for today, this week, this month, etc.

 

Note that the Present Perfect is never used with adverbs of past time. We should not say, e.g., “He has gone to Calcutta yesterday.” In such cases Simple Past should be used (“He went to Calcutta yesterday.”)

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE TABLE
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE
I have gone. I have not gone. Have I gone?
You have gone. You have not gone. Have you gone?
We have gone. We have not gone. Have we gone?
He/She has gone. He/She has not gone. Has he/she gone?
They have gone. They have not gone. Have they gone?
You may also like to see
Kinds of Tenses Tense Table
Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous
Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous
Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous
Present Conditional Tense Conditional Sentences