Present perfect tense connects the past with the present to show that something happened in the past has an effect on something in the present. It is formed by the combination of helping verbs ‘has\\have’ and past participle form of the verb.Some present perfect tense examples are :have come and has gone.
Past perfect tense examples:
1.He has worked hard today.
Here the helping verb we use is ‘has’. ‘Worked’ is the past participle form of the verb ‘work’.
2.They have come to the party.
‘Have’ is the helping verb and ‘come’ is the past participle form of the verb ‘come’.
Present prefect tense connects the past with the present.It shows that something happened in the past has an effect on something in the present
There is an important distinction between past tense and present perfect tense.Let us understand that with a simple comparison.
For example:
1.Rajasree studied music for 12 years.
2.Rajasree has studied music for 12 years
The first sentence is in simple past tense.It makes the reader aware that the action happened in the past and it is not true in the present.Rajasree studied music for 12 years but she stopped it,But in the second sentence the meaning it tries to convey is that she still studies music.
Present perfect tense is used to convey that what happened in the past is true even now.
For example:
1.Anna has lost her diary.
Here Anna lost her diary and it is not found yet.So the diary is still missing.
If it is lost in the past and found then we can use simple past ‘Anna lost her diary’.
2.I have seen the opera.
Yes, you saw the opera and it is still true. ‘Have seen’ is the present perfect tense form .
3.I have written the mathematics test.
Yes,you wrote the mathematics test and it is true now and you do not have to write it anymore.
Present perfect tense is used to indicate an action that has just been completed.That means the action is finished .
For example:
1 .The bus has arrived.
Since the bus was a singular subject we used ‘has’. ‘Arrived‘ is the past participle form of the verb arrive.
2They have completed the task.
They completed the task .It is true and has relevance in the present time.‘They’ is a plural subject.So we used ‘have’. ‘Completed’ is the past participle form of the verb ‘complete’.
3.I have talked to Sara.
‘Have’ is used since the subject is ‘I’.’Talked’ is the past participle form of the verb ‘talk’.
4.Ann has bought the tickets.
The helping verb ‘has ‘ is used since the subject ‘Ann’ is singular. ‘Bought’ stands as the past participle form of the verb ‘buy’.
5.Alvin has done his cooking.
Alvin is a singular subject and therefore the helping verb or auxiliary verb ‘has’ followed it.’Done’ stands as the past participle form of the verb ‘do’.
Present perfect tense can be used to express something happened in the past but not finished.It’s result is still felt.
For example:
1.Roger has worked here for five years.
Roger started to work here five years ago and he still works here.
2.I have been to Alleppey.
‘Have been’ is the past participle form.
Present perfect tense is used to talk about an action which has happened in the past and still continues till the time of speaking about it.
For example:
1.Roger has been our team captain since 2020.
Here ‘has been’ is used to express present perfect tense.He is still the captain of the team..
2.Anna has been our leader for Twelve years now.
Here ‘has been’ is used to express present perfect tense. Sara is still their leader.
Present perfect tense can be used to express something that has happened a short time ago and it has relevance or effect on now.
For example:
1.I have just submitted the article.
So the result or effect of this statement is that I finished my task. And it is still true.’Have’ is the helping verb and ‘submitted’ is the past participle form of ‘submit’.
2.I have just sent the vegetables you ordered.
Here the subject is ‘I’ .So we used ‘Have’ as the helping verb . ‘Sent’ stands as the past participle form of the verb ‘sent’.
Present perfect tense can be used to express an action which is repetitive in nature.
For example:
1.She has eaten from here for many years.
Here present perfect tense helps to express a past action which is repetitive.
2. The servants have worked for us for many years.
Present perfect tense helps to express repeated action.
We can use some words with present perfect tense to show an action that has just happened in the past and is still true.
For example:
1.I have just finished my breakfast.
Here ‘have finished ‘is the present perfect form.It is just finished.So we used ‘just’ in between.
2.I have stayed there for two moths.
Here we used ‘for’ with the present participle ‘have stayed’ because a period of time is mentioned.
3.She has stayed there since March.
We used ‘since’ with the present perfect ‘has stayed’ because a point in time is mentioned.
4.She has not submitted her assignment yet.
Here the job is not finshed.We used the word ‘yet’ with ‘has not submitted’.From the past till this moment the assignment is not submitted.
Present perfect tense can be used to express the connection of all of your past life till now.
For example.
1Have you ever been to Malta?
The present perfect tense can come into action when we want to ask questions which connect your entire life to now.
2.Have you ever done scuba diving?
We can use present perfect to ask questions which connect your entire life to now.
We cannot use present perfect when we talk about a time period that was finished in the past.
For example:
1.(Incorrect) He has visited Japan last week.
We can simply say ‘he visited japan last week’ because it is over.Therefore we used ‘he visited’ which is simple past.
2.Have you started your online business?
We should not say ‘when have you started your online business ’.You can simply say ‘when did you start your online business?.
Present perfect tense can be used to express an unfinished time like ‘this year’, ‘this week’,’this month’ It can also be used when you need to ask questions which do not mention any time period.
For example:
1.I have gone to the church two times this week.
Here ‘this week’ is not finished.It is an unfinished time.So we made use of the present perfect tense. ‘Have gone’ is the present perfect tense form of ‘go’.
Note :If an action took place yesterday ,you can use simple past.For example,’I went to Church yesterday’.You should not say ‘I have gone to church yesterday’ because yesterday is a finished time. Same goes with ‘last year’, ‘last month’,etc.We should not express those in present perfect tense.
2.Have you ever been to Singapore?
Here there is no specific time.We can use present perfect tense here too.
Let us look at how present perfect tense is formed with regular verbs.
1.Ann has returned my book.
Here ‘return’ is the regular verb.We added an ‘–ed’ to make it past participle. ‘Has returned’ is the present perfect tense form of the verb ‘return’.
2.Have you finished your science project?
Here ‘finish’ is the regular verb.We added an ‘-ed’ to it to make it past participle .’Have’ +’finished’ formed the present participle tense.
Present perfect tense can be formed with irregular verbs too.let us go through it.
1.The actors have done ten commercials this week.
Here ‘done’ stands as the past participle form of the irregular verb ‘do’.
2.Maya has gone to Ooty.
Here ‘gone’ stands as the past participle form of the irregular verb ‘go’.
Present perfect tense expresses negative sentences by adding a ‘not’ between the auxiliary verb and the past participle form of the main verb.
For example:
1.I have not seen your Geography textbook.
Note the addition of the word a ‘not’ between the helping verb ‘have’ and the past participle form of the verb ‘see’.
2.He has not come to the convocation ceremony.
The word ‘not’ is inserted between ‘has’ and the past participle form of the main verb ‘come’.
Conclusion: Present prefect tense is used to connect the past with the present so that its effect on the present can be conveyed.
Hi, My name is Ammu Shaji. I hail from Kerala. I hold a post-graduate degree in English Language and Literature. I am an Academic writer by passion and profession.