Section outline

  • Present Perfect Tense is the link between the past & the present.

    To form present perfect tense:

    1. For 'he, she, it & singular nouns':
    Type of sentence Verb Example
    Affirmative has + past participle The cat has slept all day.
    Negative hasn't + past participle Tom hasn't gone out today.
    Interrogative has + subject + past participle Has she forgotten the cake?
    2.  For 'I, we, they, you & plural nouns':
    Type of sentence Verb Example
    Affirmative have + past participle

    		 I have collected the papers.
    They have eaten dinner.
    Negative haven't + past participle We haven’t gone out.
    Interrogative have + subject + past participle Have you found a house?

    For more information on past participle, click here.

    Use:

    To Express actions Examples
     Begin in the past but affect in the present. They have opened a new shop.
    Done in a time frame which are unfinished. He has studied hard for this exam.
    Done repeatedly in past which continue in the present. Tom has worked here since he left college.
     That are completed in the recent past.  We have just finished our dinner.
    Carrying on in the present. I have never met my aunt.
    Where time period is not important. I have read ‘Harry Potter’.
    Happened in the past but relevant while speaking in the present. Jane has lost her wallet.