Present perfect

Present Perfect

	Positive	Negative	Question
I / you / we / they	I have spoken.	I have not spoken.	Have I spoken?
he / she / it	He has spoken.	He has not spoken.	Has he spoken?

For irregular verbs, use the participle form (see list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed	Example
after a final e only add d	love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled	admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i	hurry – hurried

Use of Present Perfect

• puts emphasis on the result

  Example: She has written five letters.

• action that is still going on

  Example: School has not started yet.

• action that stopped recently

  Example: She has cooked dinner.

• finished action that has an influence on the present

  Example: I have lost my key.

• action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking

  Example: I have never been to Australia.

Signal Words of Present Perfect

• already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
•  
  

  You can use the present perfect with just = (short time ago)

Examples
I have just lost my umbrella.
Ow! I have just burnt myself.
Oh…I have just  forgotten her address.

 

You can use the present perfect with already: when something has happened sooner than expected

 

Examples
Don’t forget to post the letter  ‘I have already posted it’.
Have you washed your hair?  ‘I have already washed it’
When is he going to start his job? ‘He has already started it’.

 

 

 

You can also use the present perfect with yet: Yet is used only in questions and negative sentences. It shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen.

 

 

Examples
I haven’t told her about the accident yet.
I haven’t seen that movie yet…But I am going to soon.
Have you been to Vienna yet?
Has it stopped raining yet?

SIMPLE PAST AND PRESENT PERFECT

In British English, the use of Simple Past and Present Perfect is quite strict. As soon as a time expression in the past is given, you have to use Simple Past. If there are no signal words, you must decide if we just talk about an action in the past or if its consequence in the present is important.

Note that the following explanations and exercises refer to British English only. In American English, you can normally use Simple Past instead of Present Perfect. We cannot accept this in our exercises, however, as this would lead to confusions amongst those who have to learn the differences.

Certain time in the past or just / already / yet?

Do you want to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it was just a few seconds ago) or that an action has just / already / not yet happened?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
certain time in the past Example: I phoned Mary 2 minutes ago.	just / already / not yet Example: I have just phoned Mary.

Certain event in the past or how often so far?

Do you want to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action has happened till now?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
certain event in the past Example: He went to Canada last summer.	whether / how often till now Example: Have you ever been to Canada? / I have been to Canada twice.

Emphasis on action or result?

Do you just want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasise the result (a past action’s consequence in the present)?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
Emphasis on action Example: I bought a new bike. (just telling what I did in the past.)	Emphasis on result Example: I have bought a new bike. (With this sentence I actually want to express that I have a new bike now.)

Signal Words

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
yesterday … ago in 1990 the other day last …	just already up to now until now / till now ever (not) yet so far lately / recently

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpas-preper

Exercises

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3211

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple/exercises

http://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/countries/uk/tour/loch-nesshttp://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/countries/uk/tour/loch-ness

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2705