The Present Perfect tense is one of the most important tenses in the English language.
The Present Perfect is used to:
1.Express past action which is not defined by time of occurrence
Maria isn’t at home. I think she has gone to the market.
2.Express an action which started in the past and has continued up until now.
She has worked in the bank for 5 years.
The Present Perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a verb.
Affirmative Present Perfect is formed:
Subject + have/has + Past Participle of Verb
Example:
The train has left! What are we going to do?
I have played | I have written |
You have played | You have written |
He/She/It has played | He/She/It has written |
We have played | We have written |
You have played | You have written |
They have played | They have written |
The Negative Present Perfect:
Subject + have/has + not + Past Participle
Example:
I have not seen him since last night.
Negative Short Form:
Have not → Haven’t
Has not → Hasn’t
Form | Short Form |
I have not written | I haven’t written |
You have not written | You haven’t written |
He/She/It has not written | He/She/It hasn’t written |
We have not written | We haven’t written |
You have not written | You haven’t written |
They have not written | They haven’t written |
And the Interrogative Present Perfect:
Have/Has + Subject + Past Participle of Verb
Example:
Have you seen the new movie?
Have I played? | Have I written? |
Have you played? | Have you written? |
Has he/she/it played? | Has he/she/it written? |
Have we played? | Have we written? |
Have you played? | Have you written? |
Have they played? | Have they written? |
