Present Perfect Simple
Positive
- I have come.
- You have eaten.
- He has sung.
- She has driven.
- It has worked.
- We have played.
- They have competed.
Negative
- I haven't come.
- You haven't eaten.
- He hasn't sung.
- She hasn't driven.
- It hasn't worked.
- We haven't played.
- They haven't competed.
Questions
- Have I come?
- Have you eaten?
- Has he sung?
- Has she driven?
- Has it worked?
- Have we played?
- Have they competed?
Present Perfect Continuous
Positive
- I have been coming.
- You have been eating.
- He has been singing.
- She has been driving.
- It has been working.
- We have been playing.
- They have been competing.
Negative
- I haven't been coming.
- You haven't been eating.
- He hasn't been singing.
- She hasn't been driving.
- It hasn't been working.
- We haven't been playing.
- They haven't been competing.
Questions
- Have I been coming?
- Have you been eating?
- Has he been singing?
- Has she been driving?
- Has it been working?
- Have we been playing?
- Have they been competing?
In many languages, it is common to have a Present Tense to describe the present, and a past tense to describe the past. This is true in English as well, except we also have the Present Perfect, which connects the past to the present - the present situation is related to the past. In other words, the Present Perfect shows how the past is relevant to now.
- She has a new car. (present)
- She bought a new car last week. (past)
- She has bought a new car. (present perfect)
Because of this, it is important to understand that the use of the past tense in English has no clear connection to the present. When we use the past tense, we are concerned with a past time.
- They saw a great movie last night.
- He fixed the problem with the sink yesterday.
- He came to this city two years ago.
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