Elfin Marchiano

present perfect tense is

used to talk about activities in the past and have still a contact with the time now.

• Something happened in the past, and
• The result of happening is still there

This is different from the simple past tense:

1. I closed the window. (The result; You don’t know if the window is still closed or not)
2. bernard went to singapore. (The result; he is no longer in singapore)

The Affirmative Form
Pattern : S + Auxiliary Verb (Have/Has) + past participle + . . .
Examples:
1. He has bought a bicycle  here. (He has the bicycle)
2. I lived in paris (I know paris)

This tense often uses “for” and “since” especially to express the continuing events.
Examples:
1. I have been here for 30 minutes.
2. I have been here since 10 o’clock.

Contractions with the present tense:
I have → I’ve
You have → You’ve
He has → He’s
She has → She’s

It has → It’s
Wima has → Wima’s
We have → We’ve
They have → They’ve

Contraction of ‘s may be confusing sometimes. It can come from the verb be (is) or the auxiliary has. But you can understand it from the context.
The key are:
→ The contraction of ‘s from the auxiliary verb has when it is followed by past participle.
→ The contraction of ‘s from the verb be (is) when it is followed by nouns, adjectives, or V-ing
Examples;
1. She’s borrowed my headset. (auxiliary has)
2. She’s listening to music. (verb be)

The Negative Form
Pattern: S = Auxiliary verb (Have/Has) + not + past participle + …
Examples:
1. sandy has not gone to the movie.
2. He has not finished repairing the radio.

The Interrogative Form
Pattern: Auxiliary (Have/Has) + S + Past Participle + … + ?
Examples:
1. Has bernard finished his homework?
2. Have student done their assignments?

The present perfect tense often uses adverb “just, ever, never, and already”, especially to express the speaker’s experiences or new information. (Note: never = not ever)

Examples:
+ We have just lived in Japan.
- sandy has not already finished her homework.
? Has Sonny ever eaten quail eggs?