Present
Perfect Tense
I have
sung
|
The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the present perfect, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:
The structure of the present perfect tense is:
subject
|
+
|
auxiliary
verb
|
+
|
main verb
|
have
|
past participle
|
Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:
subject
|
auxiliary
verb
|
main verb
|
|||
+
|
I
|
have
|
Seen
|
ET.
|
|
+
|
You
|
have
|
Eaten
|
mine.
|
|
-
|
She
|
has
|
not
|
Been
|
to Rome.
|
-
|
We
|
have
|
not
|
Played
|
football.
|
?
|
Have
|
you
|
finished?
|
||
?
|
Have
|
they
|
Done
|
it?
|
A.3.2Contractions
with the present perfect tense
When we
use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and
auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write.
I have
|
I've
|
You have
|
You've
|
He has
She has It has John has The car has |
He's
She's It's John's The car's |
We have
|
We've
|
They have
|
They've
|
Here are
some examples:
- I've finished my work.
- John's seen ET.
- They've gone home
- .
John has
broken his leg.
|
||
past
|
Present
|
future
|
+
|
-
|
|
Yesterday John had a
good leg
|
Now he has
a bad leg.
|
|
