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What is present perfect in English? Present Perfect - features of use

One of the most common difficulties in the English language for Russian speakers is the difference between Present Perfect and. Is it really that important? Is there a difference between the following sentences?

Ivan Taraskin was born in 1970.
Ivan Taraskin went to school in 1976.
Ivan Taraskin was in London 3 times.

Born, went, was- all three verbs are in the past tense. So I'll use Past Simple for all 3 sentences and at first I will be indignant when they tell me that in English they will sound like this.

Ivan Taraskin was born in 1970. (Past Simple)
Ivan Taraskin went to school in 1976. (Past Simple)
Ivan Taraskin has been to London 3 times.

Imagine if you said:

Ivan Taraskin went to London 3 times

This mistake would cost him his life! Why? Yes because in English language The past tense is used when an action cannot be repeated within a specified period of time. And in our case, it cannot happen again only if the person is no longer in the world.

Ivan Taraskin has been to London 3 times (by now he has been to London 3 times and may go there again)
Ivan Taraskin went to London 3 times (can't go there anymore)

When you want to say that you have watched (at the time of speech) 4000 films, eaten 50 kg of chocolate or met 100 people, you need to use the Present Perfect, that is, have/has(for he/she/it)+ 3rd form of the verb.

The present completed tense is a stumbling block for many English language learners. Firstly, because it is not as transparent and understandable as or . Indeed: simple time - one-time, regular simple actions; continuous tense - extended, long lasting. But completed time is not always a completed action. Therefore, this is a frequent case when you just need to memorize the use of time.

Secondly, the time itself is called PRESENT completed, and it denotes actions in the PAST.

And thirdly, between Present perfect and there is a very fine line that must be followed.

So, let's look at each of these three contradictions separately.

1. What actions do we call complete? These are actions necessarily in the past, which were completed recently, just now, etc. That is, those actions that are relatively close to the present time. That is why it is called PRESENT completed, because it has a connection with the present and must be completed by the present moment in time.

2. As we just agreed, the present completed tense is so called because it denotes actions in the past that are in one way or another connected with the PRESENT tense:

These actions can have a tangible result or evidence in the present tense: Anna has graduated from university. (Anna graduated from the university. The result is that Anna now has a diploma, you can touch it, for example).

This action is news, new information that you tell someone: The police have caught the thief. (The police caught the thief. This is news).

I have prepared for the seminar in biology. (I prepared for a seminar on biology. The result is that now I have some information on biology in my head, you can hear it).
The grandfather has painted the roof. (Grandfather painted the roof. The result is that the roof is now a different color, you can see it).
Jack has finally got his driver license! (Jack finally got his license! This is new information you tell a friend, co-worker, etc.)

3. What's the difference? between Past simple And Present perfect , if both of these tenses convey actions in the past? Schematically Past simple can be depicted like this:

Now let's see how the action is located in time space in Present perfect.

Do you see the difference? Actions in the present complete are only those that are sooooo close to the present moment in time, have a connection with it and are NOT INDICATED BY A CERTAIN TIME.

What is the structure Present perfect ? In this tense we have an auxiliary verb - have . This means that after pronouns he/ she/ it it changes to has . The main verb ends with -ed (if it is correct), or in the third form/participle form (if it is ). So it’s not in vain that our impressive list of irregular verbs is still being studied! Let's look at examples first with the regular verb:

Grandpa painted the roof. - The grandfather has painted the roof.
Grandpa didn't paint the roof. - The grandfather has not painted the roof. - The grandfather hasn’t painted the roof.
Grandpa painted the roof? - Has the grandfather painted the roof? - Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.

And now with the wrong one:

We bought a car (this is news). - We have bought a car.
We didn't buy a car. - We have not bought a car. - We haven’t bought a car.
Have you bought a car? - Have you bought a car? - Yes, we have. / No, we haven’t.

To consolidate the material, go through the exercise

It is necessary to learn to recognize and use another tense of the group Perfect - The Present Perfect Tense - present perfect tense . The very name “perfect” speaks for itself - the action has taken place, has ended.

For example: He has passed his exam. He passed the exam. That is WhatWith did you do? - passed, completed ( but not what did you do? - handed over).

Present Perfect Tense is used:

to express an action that has taken place to date and the result of which is known. e.g. I have just talked to my wife. I just talked to my wife.

in order to show that an action began in the past and lasted until the present moment e.g. 1)I have had a cold for a week. I've had a cold for a week now. 2) She has been at home for 10 minutes. She's home for 10 minutes. 3) Ann has loved apples since she was a little girl. Anya has loved apples since childhood.

to describe experience e.g. He has been to Spain. He visited Spain.

in order to show changes that have occurred over a period of time e.g. The government has become more interested in higher education. The government has become more interested in higher education.

to describe achievements (without specifying a specific time in the past) e.g. Our daughter has learned how to write. Our daughter learned to write. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. Doctors have found cures for many deadly diseases.

Marker words For Present Perfect Tense:

ever- ever, in any situation, in any case e.g. Have you ever heard about it?-Have you ever heard of this?

never - never e.g. She's never been to Mexico.— She has never been to Mexico.

recently- recently; the other day, recently. e.g. He’s been ill quite often recently.— He has been getting sick often lately.

lately- recently, recently e.g. I haven’t received any letters from him lately.

just- just now. more recently e.g. The taxi has just arrived.— The taxi has just arrived. IMPORTANT!!! With an adverb just now just now used e.g. I saw them just now. I just saw them.

alread y - already e.g. We've already told you what happened.- We already told you what happened.

yet- not yet, still (in interrogatives and negative sentences) e.g. He hasn’t seen the film yet.— He hasn’t watched this film yet.

for- during, in continuation e.g. We've known each other for half a year.- We've known each other for six months.

since- since then e.g. I have held two jobs since I graduated.- I have changed two jobs since I graduated.

this week- this week, this month- this month, this year- this year, provided that they indicate more unexpired periods of time. e.g. I haven’t seen her today. I haven't seen her today.

To make sentences in Present Perfect Tense, you need to know, namely, their third form (Past Participle)

THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Present perfect tense

Affirmative form Present Perfect Tense
+

Question form Present Perfect Tense

Structure
	you(you you) we(We) they(They)	V3/Ved?
	he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
– Has your mother come?		- Has your mother come? (the speaker is interested in the result)
– Have you ever been to China?		– Have you ever been to China?
– Has he done his homework?		– Did he do his homework?

Wh-?
Special questions in Present Perfect Tense

(start with special words)

Structure
		you(you you) we(We) they(They)
		he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
What have you learned?		What have you learned?
		Where has she been?
How has he found us?		How did he find us?
Important!!! Questions that begin with the adverb When? - when, require the use of the Past Simple rather than the Present Perfect, since such questions imply a past moment or period of time. e.g. When did you leave your country? When did you leave your country?

in Present Perfect Tense

— Who has finished this task? Who completed this task? - We have. We.

— Who has sent you this e-mail? - Who sent you this letter?

Negative form
Present Perfect Tense
—

Interrogative-negative form
Present Perfect Tense
(Speaking)
?-

Schematically the structure of the sentence in Present Perfect Tense looks like that:

+
S + have/has + V3/Ved.

?
Have/has + S + V3/Ved?

Wh - ?
Wh + have/has + S + V3/Ved?

–
S + haven’t/hasn’t + V3/Ved.

? –
Haven’t/hasn’t + S + V3/Ved?

Exercise. Watch the video and write down all the example sentences in Present Perfect Tense. Make up your own sentences in Present Perfect Tense using the written perfect forms.

I am sure that many people who study a language on their own reach the Present Perfect and... this is where their study ends, because according to the explanations from the textbook, not everyone can understand How is it? and Why is this? In this article I will not rewrite the rules, I will try to clearly and clearly explain what Present Perfect is.

First of all, let me remind you of the formation of this time.

We form the statement using the auxiliary verb have or has and the main verb in the third form, which in grammar is called Past Participle. If the verb is regular (regular), then the ending is added to it -ed, if the verb is irregular (irregular), then we take the third form from the third column of the table of irregular verbs. In this article I will denote Past Participle as V3:

In negation, a negative particle is added to the auxiliary verb not:

To form the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject ( Subject):

Not all special questions can be asked in the Present Perfect. For example, a question with a word is impossible, so in the Present Perfect interlocutors are only interested in the result. If we are interested in time, then we need to use another grammatical construction to express actions in the past.

Using the Present Perfect

Present Perfect - present perfect tense. From the name it is clear that this tense denotes an action that was performed in the past, but is connected with the present. How is it connected to the present? How do we understand that it is connected?

From theory, you probably remember that this tense should be used when talking about the result of an action; if the action began in the past, but is still ongoing; and also if we talk about our life experiences; when the action took place in a period of time that has not yet ended... Surely you have already read about this many times in books or heard from a teacher.

I will try to explain to you step by step and clearly in what cases the Present Perfect is used in English. I will try to give situations from life that you encounter every day, and in which it is appropriate and even necessary to use Present Perfect. In this article I will give you small tasks, by completing which you will be able to see the importance of using this time. I would like to note that my explanation will be significantly different from those you read in grammar books.

What makes the Present Perfect different from other tenses? These are his markers (they are also called qualifiers, time indicators). Let us highlight the main markers of this time:

I'm going to tell you about each of them because each marker reflects the main points of time use.

1. Just (just now)

The tense indicator just is often used with Present Perfect and indicates that an action has just occurred and there is a certain visible and significant result.

In the statement, the place of just is after the auxiliary verb:

Just is not used in negatives. IN general issues rarely.

Just used in special issues with question words ( , Why, etc.) You can see questions like this with just :

What has just happened? - What just happened?

What has he just done/ said? - What did he just do/say?

What just happened? Someone just broke a cup.

When did this action take place? In the recent past, we don't know exactly when.

What do we know? We only know the result of an action. And we can say this in Present Perfect:

What did they just do? They just cleaned the room.

We don't know the exact time, but we have a visible result - the room is clean.

They have just cleaned the room.

What did he just do? He just woke up.

The time of his awakening is unknown to us (although there is a clock in the photo), but we see the result: he is no longer sleeping.

He has just woken up.

What did you just do? You just read the explanation. The action is completed, there is a result: you learned about the word just.

You can say:

I have just read the explanation.

Exercise: Having performed some action and received a result, talk about its completion:

I have just had my breakfast.

You can look out the window and comment on what just happened there:

The tall man has just crossed the street. Two girls have just entered the shop.

2. Already/ yet (already; yet)

Present Perfect is used to describe an action that has already happened or has not yet happened. In these cases, we are invariably interested in the result, not in time. To make it clearer, let's look at an example from life.

Imagine that you come to a store with a shopping list.

Having already done some shopping, you stop to see what you have already purchased.

Let's consider different situations.

You read and translate complex text. You have only translated ten pages so far. You are still working with the text. You say:

I have translated ten pages so far. - I have translated ten pages so far.

Your friend is a writer. He writes novels. On this moment he has published one novel and continues to write. About him you will say:

He has published one novel so far. - He has published one novel so far.

The company you work for is expanding rapidly. At the moment, you have opened twenty new offices throughout the country and the company continues to grow:

Our company has opened twenty new offices so far. - Our company has opened twenty new offices at the moment.

All the actions described above took place in the past, but we evaluate their results at the moment while the action continues.

Question: How many paragraphs of this article have you read so far?

5. Never / ever (never / ever)

If you decide to indulge in memories and talk about your life experience, then without time Present Perfect you can't get by.

Do you love to travel? What countries have you visited?

I have been to France. - I was in France.

I have been to Italy. - I was in Italy.

I have been to Spain. - I was in Spain.

It doesn’t matter at all when you went to these countries, the main thing is that you visited there, got impressions, and can talk about it.

Which countries have you never been to? You can use negation or the word never to talk about it. The place of never in a sentence is after the auxiliary verb have/has:

I haven't been to India. - I have never been to India. - I've never been to India.

I haven’t been to China. - I have never been to China. - I have never been to China.

I haven't been to Japan. - I have never been to Japan. - I've never been to Japan.

If the word never is used, then the negative particle not is not needed because never itself has a negative meaning.

You want to ask questions to your interlocutor. Use the word ever:

Have you ever been to London? - Have you ever been in London?

I really hope that my explanation helped you understand the essence of the Present Perfect tense. Send your feedback

And if you find it difficult to learn English on your own and need professional help, our teachers will be happy to help you. Submit your request for a free introductory lesson today.

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Present Perfect– present perfect tense.

The main problem for understanding Present Perfect- that it is often confused with Past Indefinite (Past Simple). After all, we are talking about an action that happened, i.e. from the point of view of the Russian language, it refers to the past. What is the difference with Past Indefinite? After all, this is also the past tense?

The fact of the matter is that not too. In English Present Perfect- this is not the past, but present time. With its help, some information about the present is always given, there is a connection with the present.

If we are talking about the present, about the result for the present, and not about the past, then we need to use Present Perfect. And if we're talking about It is about the past, about what has already passed, what ended in the past and has no connection with the present, then Past Indefinite must be used.

There are two keys to understanding time Present Perfect. First - connection with the present, and second - importance of the result of the action for the present, and not for the time of the action in the past.

This is the difference between Present Perfect and Past Indefinite.

Present Perfect used if the action has been completed by now or has just ended. And although the action relates to the past, the main thing is that it has a connection with the present. The action belongs to the past, and the result belongs to the present.

Signs Present Perfect are the words: never(never), ever(ever) often(often), just(just now), already(already), yet(more), always(Always), rarely(rarely), etc.

Example

I've just finished my work. - I just finished work.
Those. I finished the work, the action was completed, it is in the past, but I finished the work just now, the action has completed by now, so there is a connection with the present.

Education Present Perfect

Present Perfect formed using an auxiliary verb to have/has and the third form of the semantic verb (Past Participle). The third form of regular verbs is formed using the ending - ed, and for incorrect ones see Irregular Verbs .

Abbreviated forms
I have = I've
He has = He's
I have not = I haven’t
He has not = He hasn’t

Using the Present Perfect

1. The action occurred at an unspecified time in the past (it is not the time that is important, but the result)

Expiration time is not specified. We do not know exactly when the action took place, or time does not matter. The action happened in the past at all, no matter when. It is not the time of the action that is important, but its result.

We think not about a past action, but about its result for the present.

Examples

I've seen this movie. - I saw this film.
Those. I have seen this film at all, no matter when. Only the result for the present is important.

Mike has traveled a lot. - Mike traveled a lot.
Mike traveled a lot in general, no one knows when.

I saw this movie when I was a child. - I saw this film when I was a child. The action refers to a period that ended in the past, because now I am no longer a child. Therefore, Past Indefinite is used here.

Mike traveled a lot from 1990 to 1995. - Mike traveled a lot from 1990 to 1995. And here the period of action ended in the past. Therefore, Past Indefinite is also used here.

In interrogative sentences like When..? What time...? Past Indefinite is used rather than Present Perfect because time is important here (When? What time?), and not the result.

Examples
When did she come? - When did she come?
What time did they leave? - What time did they leave?

But if the result is important (Did she come? Did they leave?), then it is used Present Perfect.

Examples
Has she come? - She came?
Have they left? - They left?

2. The action began in the past, continues in the present and can continue in the future.

The words can be used since(since) and for(during).

Examples

We have lived in Kiev since 1985. - We have lived in Kyiv since 1985.
Those. we started living in Kyiv in 1985, we continue to live and, perhaps, we will continue to live.

She has been my teacher of music for many years. - She was my music teacher for many years.
Those. she was, is and will probably continue to be my music teacher!

Difference between Present Perfect and Past Indefinite (Past Simple)

Past Indefinite is used to describe an action that ended in the past and has no connection with the present.

We lived in Kiev until 1985. - We lived in Kyiv until 1985.
Those. we lived until 1985, and we don’t live anymore. The action belongs entirely to the past.

3. The time for completing a completed action is determined by the words just (just), already (already), yet (yet)

There is a clear connection with the present: just now, already, yet!

Examples

I've just written a letter. - I just wrote a letter.
He has already arrived. - He has already arrived.
The show has not begun yet. - The show hasn't started yet.

4. The action took place during a period that has not yet ended

A period that has not yet ended could be: today(Today), this morning(this morning), this week(this week), this month(this month), this year(this year), etc., and even the whole life!

Period that ended: yesterday(yesterday), last week(last week), last month(last month), last year(last year), etc. And even, for example, this morning, if the morning has already ended and the day has come!

Examples

Mary has called her son this morning. - Mary called her son in the morning.
The morning is not over yet, which means the period of action continues. Therefore there is a connection with the present.

I have never been to China. - I have never been to China.
Have you ever been to Australia? -Have you ever been to Australia?

Here one could add - never (or ever) In my life! I've never been to China in my life. Validity period (in in this example- life) is not over yet.

Difference between Present Perfect and Past Indefinite

Past Indefinite: The action took place in a time period that has ended. For example, yesterday(yesterday), last week(last week), last month(last month), last year(last year).

Examples

I’ve had a cup of tea this morning. - I drank a cup of tea in the morning.
Those. the morning is not over yet, it continues, so we use the Present Perfect.

But if the morning has already ended (after 12:00), and the day has come, then the situation has changed dramatically:

I had a cup of tea this morning. - I drank a cup of tea in the morning.
That's it, the morning is over, and I had to use Past Indefinite!
And this despite the fact that both the morning and the cup of tea remained the same.

5. Description of events of the recent past

Usually the words used are recently(recently), lately(recently, recently).

Examples

He has come back recently. - He returned recently.
I've worked hard lately. - I've been working a lot lately.

The recent past is recent because it has a connection with the present. Essentially, this means that the time period has not yet ended (see point 4).

6. The action occurs for the first (second, third, etc.) time

Examples

It’s the first time I’ve been here. - This is my first time here.
It’s the first time I’ve done it. - I'm doing this for the first time.
It’s the first time I’ve driven a car. - I'm driving a car for the first time.
It's the third time she’s called him this morning. - She calls him this morning for the third time.

Attention! Not I do, but I've done!