A: I haven't heard this album yet. Have you?
B: Yes, I have. It's really good.
Present Perfect Simple
have or has + past participle
Positive & Negative Sentences
| I You We They |
have have not haven't |
eaten breakfast today. had a cup of coffee this morning. been to many concerts. |
| He She It |
has has not hasn't |
Questions
| Have | I you we they |
eaten breakfast today? had a cup of coffee this morning? been to many concerts? |
| Has | he she it |
Use
Past → Present
The Present Perfect is used to connect the past with the present. It is used when we think about the past and present together:
I have met Jim.
She has learnt how to play the saxophone.
I haven't seen Chris.
There's been an accident.
It is often used to say that a finished past action is connected with the present. It is not important when the action happened. Our meaning is that it happened in the past, but this event is connected to now in some way:
- The tree has died.
- Present = It is dead.
- Peter hasn't arrived yet.
- Present = He is not here.
- Have you seen this movie?
- Present = Do you know the movie?
- I haven't checked my emails.
- Present = I don't know if I have any emails.
The Present Perfect isn't used if we are not thinking about the present:
- Adele has released three studio albums.
- Present = She is still making music.
- John Lennon released eight studio albums (Past Simple / No Present Perfect).
- Only past information / no information about the present
Up to Now
We often use the Present Perfect with words that mean "at some time up to now" such as:
- never
- ever
- before
- lately
- so far
- already
- in the last / past few days
- yet
- recently
- The weather's been really good lately.
- What have you done today so far?
- Even though it's only 11 o'clock, I've already eaten lunch.
- I know what to do because this has happened before.
Unfinished Time Periods
We can use the Present Perfect to describe actions that have happened in a time period that has not yet finished. Some examples of unfinished time periods are:
- today
- this week
- this year
- this class
I haven't seen John today. Have you?
I'm trying to save money. I haven't spent much money this month.
This week has been difficult.
Experience
Another unfinished time period is one's life. Because of this, when we talk about life experiences, we often use the Present Perfect. Ever, never, and before are often used when talking about life experience:
Has there ever been a band more famous than the Beatles?
I've never eaten at that restaurant. How is it?
Adele's performed in this city before.
Been Vs. Gone
When we want to use the verb go in the Present Perfect, we must choose to use either been or gone as its past participle form. Been means that someone has visited and returned from some place. Gone means that the person has not yet returned:
- Have you been to the USA?
- I haven't been to the bathroom yet. I need to go.
- Have you been to the gym today?
Because of this, the use of been is popular when describing experiences:
- She's never been to another country.
- Has Tom ever been to work on time?
How Many Times?
It is very common to use the Present Perfect to say that something has happened many times up to the present or to describe the number of times something has happened:
- I've been there a few times.
- How many times have you seen this band play live?
- How many albums has she recorded?
- She's smoked so many cigarettes tonight.
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.