Present Perfect Tense: Comprehensive Guide to Usage and Examples

Present Perfect Tense: Structure and Usage

The present perfect tense is a crucial aspect of English grammar, used to describe actions and states that connect the past with the present. It's formed using the auxiliary verb "have" (or "has" for third-person singular subjects) and the past participle of the main verb.

Examples of Present Perfect in Use

• The secretary has decided to look for a new job.
• I'm afraid I have forgotten your name.
• How long have you worked here?
• She has been away on business since last week.

Duration: 'How long...?', 'For', and 'Since'

We use How long...? in questions about duration. We use for (to express the duration of an action) and since (to indicate when the action started) in the answers.

• I have worked here for twelve months.
• I have worked here since January.

Common Adverbs with Present Perfect

The present perfect is often used with adverbs such as:

• just (justo)
• yet (aún, ya)
• still (todavía)
• already (ya)
• ever (alguna vez)
• never (nunca)
• recently (recientemente)
• lately (últimamente)
• so far (hasta aquí)
• up to now (hasta ahora)

Signal Words: Identifying Verb Tenses

Certain words can help you identify the correct verb tense:

• 'Already' is a signal word for... Present Perfect Simple
• 'Just' is a signal word for... Present Perfect Simple
• '2 years ago' is a signal word for... Simple Past
• 'Yet' is a signal word for... Present Perfect Simple
• 'Yesterday' is a signal word for... Simple Past
• 'How often so far' is a signal word for... Present Perfect Simple
• '... ago' is a signal word for... Simple Past
• 'Until now' is a signal word for... Present Perfect Simple
• 'Yesterday', 'last week', and 'in 2006' are signal words for... Simple Past
• 'Just', 'already', 'yet' are signal words for... Present Perfect Simple

Example Letter

Dear Ana,

Hi! How are you? I hope you are all right. I am writing to tell you that I miss you so much since you have been living in Miami! How are things going?

I am learning English now at college. I am really enjoying my classes.

I hope you are well and happy and that your family is also well. Please, write to me soon.

All the best,

Jesús.

Suffixes: Expanding Vocabulary

Suffixes are word endings that modify the meaning of a root word. Here are some common suffixes:

• -dom: wisdom, kingdom
• -ity: quality, necessity
• -ment: argument, agreement
• -sion/-tion: television, information
• -ness: happiness, Scottishness
• -ance/-ence: appearance, difference
• -er/-or: teacher, visitor
• -ist: scientist, pianist

We enlarge vocabulary thanks to suffixes.

Present Perfect in Context

S + have/has + Past Participle:

Paco has already left London. He has enjoyed it a lot. He has been on the Scottish Pullman for over an hour now. He has read 25 pages of Harry Potter so far. He has never read a real English book before. He has seen all the films. J.K. Rowling has lived in Edinburgh for many years and she has imagined and written the stories there. An old lady has just started speaking to Paco: ‘My relatives have just had a baby and I haven’t seen them yet. Have you ever been to Edinburgh?’

Verb Forms

• Irregular verbs (learn by heart) -> Example: find/found/found
• Regular verbs (-ed) -> Example: want/wanted/wanted

Vocabulary: Education

Primary school, secondary education, university, term, half-term holiday, GCSE, A-level exams, Sixth Form College, vocational training, degree, lectures, seminars, uniforms.

Simple Past Tense

The simple past is used for:

1. Actions that started and finished in the past.
   • I saw a horror film yesterday.
   • Mary passed all her subjects.
2. Expressing the duration of an action in the past (often with "for" or "all").
   • I waited for my girlfriend for an hour.
   • We studied all day.
3. Past habits.
   • My father played the electric guitar when he was young.
   • John's grandfather never went to school.
4. Specific past events and situations that are no longer true.
   • Franco died in 1975.
   • We used pesetas to buy things.

Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous is used for:

1. Actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.
   • At eight, he was having breakfast.
   • In 1973, the Americans were still fighting in Vietnam.
2. Actions that were developing gradually (without a specific time).
   • It was getting dark.
   • Alonso was overtaking his rivals.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns