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Verbs in the present perfect form. Usage of Present Perfect Tense

One of the most common difficulties in the English language for Russian speakers is the difference Present Perfect And . Is it really that important? Is there a difference between the following sentences?

Ivan Taraskin was born in 1970.
Ivan Taraskin went to school in 1976.
Ivan Taraskin was in London 3 times.

Born, went, was- all three verbs are in the past tense. So I'll use Past Simple for all 3 sentences and at first I will be indignant when they tell me that in English they will sound like this.

Ivan Taraskin was born in 1970. (Past Simple)
Ivan Taraskin went to school in 1976. (Past Simple)
Ivan Taraskin has been to London 3 times.

Imagine if you said:

Ivan Taraskin went to London 3 times

This mistake would cost him his life! Why? Yes because in English The past tense is used when an action cannot be repeated within a specified period of time. And in our case, it cannot happen again only if the person is no longer in the world.

Ivan Taraskin has been to London 3 times (by now he has been to London 3 times and may go there again)
Ivan Taraskin went to London 3 times (can't go there anymore)

When you want to say that you have watched (at the time of speech) 4000 films, eaten 50 kg of chocolate or met 100 people, you need to use the Present Perfect, that is, have/has(for he/she/it)+ 3rd form of the verb.

The present completed tense is a stumbling block for many English language learners. Firstly, because it is not as transparent and understandable as or . Indeed: simple time - one-time, regular simple actions; continuous tense - extended, long lasting. But completed time is not always a completed action. Therefore, this is a frequent case when you just need to memorize the use of time.

Secondly, the time itself is called PRESENT completed, and it denotes actions in the PAST.

And thirdly, between Present perfect and it goes very well fine line, and it must also be observed.

So, let's look at each of these three contradictions separately.

1. What actions do we call complete? These are actions necessarily in the past, which were completed recently, just now, etc. That is, those actions that are relatively close to the present time. That is why it is called PRESENT completed, because it has a connection with the present and must be completed by the present moment in time.

2. As we just agreed, the present completed tense is so called because it denotes actions in the past that are in one way or another connected with the PRESENT tense:

These actions can have a tangible result or evidence in the present tense: Anna has graduated from university. (Anna graduated from the university. The result is that Anna now has a diploma, you can touch it, for example).

This action is news new information, which you tell someone: The police have caught the thief. (The police caught the thief. This is news).

I have prepared for the seminar in biology. (I prepared for a seminar on biology. The result is that now I have some information on biology in my head, you can hear it).
The grandfather has painted the roof. (Grandfather painted the roof. The result is that the roof is now a different color, you can see it).
Jack has finally got his driver license! (Jack finally got his license! This is new information you tell a friend, co-worker, etc.)

3. What's the difference? between Past simple And Present perfect , if both of these tenses convey actions in the past? Schematically Past simple can be depicted like this:

Now let's see how the action is located in time space in Present perfect.

Do you see the difference? Actions in the present complete are only those that are sooooo close to the present moment in time, have a connection with it and are NOT INDICATED BY A CERTAIN TIME.

What is the structure Present perfect ? At this time we have auxiliary verb - have . This means that after pronouns he/ she/ it it changes to has . The main verb ends with -ed (if it is correct), or in the third form/participle form (if it is ). So it’s not in vain that our impressive list of irregular verbs is still being studied! Let's look at examples first with the regular verb:

Grandpa painted the roof. - The grandfather has painted the roof.
Grandpa didn't paint the roof. - The grandfather has not painted the roof. - The grandfather hasn’t painted the roof.
Grandpa painted the roof? - Has the grandfather painted the roof? - Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.

And now with the wrong one:

We bought a car (this is news). - We have bought a car.
We didn't buy a car. - We have not bought a car. - We haven’t bought a car.
Have you bought a car? - Have you bought a car? - Yes, we have. / No, we haven’t.

To reinforce the material, go through the exercise

a) The present perfect is used when describing an event that happened in the past and is relevant, significant, significant at the time of speech about it. It does not matter when this action took place. The present perfect is often used with the adverbs lately (recently), and just (just), already (already) never (ever), ever (ever), yet (yet).
Example: I have forgotten his name. – I forgot his name (and I don’t remember at the moment)

b) The present perfect is used when an action has already taken place, but the period of time when it occurred has not yet expired.
Example: I have met him today. – I saw him today. (“today” has not yet expired) He has bought a new car this year. – He bought a new car this year (“this year” has not yet expired)

Formation of narrative sentences in the Present Perfect: Formed using the present tense forms of the auxiliary verb to have(have; has)

Present tense forms of the verb to have:

I	have
we	have
they	have
you	have
he	has
she	has
it	has

Word order in a declarative sentence: subject + have/has + predicate ending –ed or, if the verb is irregular, then the 3rd form of the verb.
Examples: She has already come. - She has already arrived. I have just visited this supermarket. – I just visited this supermarket.

Formation of interrogative sentences in the Present Perfect: Formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the present tense forms –have; has. Word order in a special question: question word + have/ has + subject + predicate ending –ed or 3rd form of an irregular verb.
Examples: What have you done? -What did you do? Has he brought this book? - Did he bring this book?

Formation of negative sentences in the Present Perfect: The formation of negative sentences occurs using the same auxiliary verbs. After the auxiliary verb the particle not is placed.
Examples: She has not (hasn’t) come yet. - She hasn't arrived yet. I have not (haven’t) seen him. – I didn’t see him.

The Present Perfect should not be confused with the Past Simple. When using the Past Simple, one of the time indicators is usually used, indicating the moment when the event occurred.
Example: He saw her yesterday. – He saw her yesterday.

When using the Present Perfect, use any of the Present Perfect indicators - lately (recently), and just (just now), already (already) never (ever), ever (ever), yet (yet). When talking about an action that has already happened, we may not use any pointers at all. If this action or event is relevant at the moment, then the Present Perfect is used. Example: I have bought it. - I bought this.

All of the above tense forms are given here in the active voice.

It is necessary to learn to recognize and use another tense group Perfect—The Present Perfect Tense - present perfect tense . The very name “perfect” speaks for itself - the action has taken place, has ended.

For example: He has passed his exam. He passed the exam. That is WhatWith did you do? - passed, completed ( and not what did you do? - handed over).

Present Perfect Tense is used:

to express an action that has taken place to date and the result of which is known. e.g. I have just talked to my wife. I just talked to my wife.

in order to show that an action began in the past and lasted until the present moment e.g. 1)I have had a cold for a week. I've had a cold for a week now. 2) She has been at home for 10 minutes. She's home for 10 minutes. 3) Ann has loved apples since she was a little girl. Anya has loved apples since childhood.

to describe experience e.g. He has been to Spain. He visited Spain.

in order to show changes that have occurred over a period of time e.g. The government has become more interested in higher education. The government has become more interested in higher education.

to describe achievements (without specifying a specific time in the past) e.g. Our daughter has learned how to write. Our daughter learned to write. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. Doctors have found cures for many deadly diseases.

Marker words For Present Perfect Tense:

ever- ever, in any situation, in any case e.g. Have you ever heard about it?-Have you ever heard of this?

never - never e.g. She's never been to Mexico.— She has never been to Mexico.

recently- recently; the other day, recently. e.g. He’s been ill quite often recently.— He has been getting sick often lately.

lately- recently, recently e.g. I haven’t received any letters from him lately.

just- just now. more recently e.g. The taxi has just arrived.— The taxi has just arrived. IMPORTANT!!! With an adverb just now just now used e.g. I saw them just now. I just saw them.

alread y - already e.g. We've already told you what happened.- We already told you what happened.

yet- not yet, still (in interrogative and negative sentences) e.g. He hasn’t seen the film yet.— He hasn’t watched this film yet.

for- during, in continuation e.g. We've known each other for half a year.- We've known each other for six months.

since- since then e.g. I have held two jobs since I graduated.- I have changed two jobs since I graduated.

this week- this week, this month- this month, this year- this year, provided that they indicate more unexpired periods of time. e.g. I haven’t seen her today. I haven't seen her today.

To make sentences in Present Perfect Tense, you need to know, namely, their third form (Past Participle)

THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Present perfect tense

Affirmative form Present Perfect Tense
+

Question form Present Perfect Tense

Structure
	you(you, you) we(We) they(They)	V3/Ved?
	he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
– Has your mother come?		- Has your mother come? (the speaker is interested in the result)
– Have you ever been to China?		– Have you ever been to China?
– Has he done his homework?		– Did he do his homework?

Wh-?
Special questions in Present Perfect Tense

(start with special words)

Structure
		you(you, you) we(We) they(They)
		he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
What have you learned?		What have you learned?
		Where has she been?
How has he found us?		How did he find us?
Important!!! Questions that begin with the adverb When? - when, require the use of the Past Simple rather than the Present Perfect, since such questions imply a past moment or period of time. e.g. When did you leave your country? When did you leave your country?

in Present Perfect Tense

— Who has finished this task? Who completed this task? - We have. We.

— Who has sent you this e-mail? - Who sent you this letter?

Negative form
Present Perfect Tense
—

Interrogative-negative form
Present Perfect Tense
(colloquial speech)
?-

Schematically the structure of the sentence in Present Perfect Tense looks like this:

+
S + have/has + V3/Ved.

?
Have/has + S + V3/Ved?

Wh - ?
Wh + have/has + S + V3/Ved?

–
S + haven’t/hasn’t + V3/Ved.

? –
Haven’t/hasn’t + S + V3/Ved?

Exercise. Watch the video and write down all the example sentences in Present Perfect Tense. Make up your own sentences in Present Perfect Tense using the written perfect forms.

Present Perfect- present perfect tense of English. This tense is used to denote events that have completed to date or have completed during the present time period. See below the rules for forming the Present Perfect, a list of auxiliary words and examples of using the present perfect tense in English.

Education Present Perfect

In affirmative sentences, the Present Perfect is formed using the auxiliary word have (1st and 2nd person) or has (3rd person singular) and adding the ending -ed to the verb. If the verb is irregular, then the 3rd form is used - Past Participle.

Education Formula:

Noun + have / has + verb ending in -ed or 3rd form

A noun and an auxiliary verb have can merge and form I’ve, they’ve, etc. Examples of affirmative sentences in the Present Perfect:

He has just finished playing football. — He just finished playing football.

They've started doing their homework already. — They have already started doing their homework.

To form a negative sentence in the Present Perfect, after the auxiliary verb, you must add the particle not. rule:

Noun + have / has + not + verb ending in -ed or 3rd form

An auxiliary verb can be combined with the not part to form have not or has not. Examples of negative sentences:

I have not seen you for years! - I haven't seen you for a long time!

She has not made her work yet. “She hasn't done her job yet.”

To form an interrogative sentence in the Present Perfect, the auxiliary verb must be placed before the sentence. rule:

Have / Has + noun + verb ending in -ed or 3rd form

Examples of interrogative sentences:

Has there ever been a war in the United States? — Was there ever a war in the United States?

Have you ever met him? -Have you ever met him?

Auxiliary Present words Perfect

When forming sentences in the Present Perfect, auxiliary words are often used. These present perfect marker words are given below:

Cases in which the Present Perfect is used

Below are various examples uses of the Present Perfect tense, which may be useful to you.
I use case: Indefinite time before the present moment

Unspecified Time Before Now

The Present Perfect is usually used to describe something that happened relatively recently and at an inopportune time. The use of the following words such as yesterday, one year ago, last week, at that moment, that day, one day and others in the Present Perfect is prohibited, since when using this tense the emphasis is placed on the experience, and not on the time when the event occurred. In this case, the use of auxiliary words is used (see table above). examples:

I have been to France. — I was in France.

I think I have met him once before. “I think I met him once.”

Nobody has ever climbed that mountain. - No one has ever climbed this mountain.

You have grown since the last time I saw you. “You’ve grown up since I last saw you.”

James has not finished his homework yet. — Jace hasn't finished his homework yet.

Have you been to Mexico in the last year? — Have you been to Mexico? last year? ('In the last year' (as opposed to 'last year') means 'in the last 365 days', so it is an indefinite tense, requiring the use of the Present Perfect)

I have seen that movie six times in the last month. — I saw this film six times last month. (The time is indicated here, but the emphasis is on how many times a person has seen this film.)

Use case II: the action takes place to this day

Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)

The Present Perfect is also used with verbs that are not continuous (Non-Continuous Verbs) or with mixed verbs (Mixed Verbs). IN in this case The present perfect tense describes an action that began in the past and is still ongoing. In this case, it is typical to use phrases like for five minutes, for two weeks, since Monday and others. examples:

I have had a cold for two weeks. — I’ve had a cold for two weeks now.

She has been in England for six months. — She has been in England for 6 months.

Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl. — Mary loves chocolate since childhood.

There are tenses in English that are not in Russian. They are the main “culprits” of grammatical difficulties. These include the Present Perfect - the Present Perfect tense.

Education

Before turning to the question of when the Present Perfect Simple is used, it is appropriate to briefly consider the meaning and “structure” of this tense. It is translated into Russian as the Present Perfect tense. Its main function is to describe events that occurred in the past, but have been completed by now and their result affects the present day.

The Present Perfect tense is formed using two verbs. The first is the auxiliary verb have, which is “valid” only for I (I), you (you, you), we (we), they (they) or has - for he (he), she (she), it (it ).

The second is the main verb in the 3rd form. In English, the 3rd form of regular verbs is created by adding the ending -ed to the word stem (to wish - wished, to blame - blamed, to clean - cleaned). Irregular verbs don't "require" rules. The third form can always be found, respectively, in the third column in the table of irregular verbs.

The Present Perfect tense can be used instead of the Present Perfect Continuous to describe events that began in the recent past and continued until the present minute. This happens when the main verb belongs to the verbs of the state (to respect - to respect, to adore - adore), which are not used in the Continuous aspect (long).

Table: Present Perfect formation with regular and irregular verbs

Cases of using the Present Perfect

As can be seen from the table, the Present Perfect tense is translated into Russian using verbs in the past tense. The same thing happens with the translation of sentences used in the Past Simple (Simple Past) and Past Perfect (Past Perfect): we again translate them with verbs in the past tense. At first glance, there is no logic. But it is there. Only the rules can explain it present usage Perfect:

To describe events that happened not so long ago and have ended by now. In this case, the exact period of what happened is not determined, it is blurred, since it has no meaning. The point is different - in the end.

Have you ever watched The Lord of the Rings? - Have you ever watched “The Lord of the Rings”? (It doesn’t matter when the event happened, the main thing is whether you watched the film or not)

For a description that has ended, but the time period in which the event occurred has not ended(this year (this year), this week (this week), today (today), ever (ever) and others):

This week I have not visited my grandmother - This week I did not visit my grandmother (A week is a period of time that has not yet ended).

To express an action that was performed in the recent past, but its result is important for the present moment:

I have lost my key. I cannot open the door. - I lost my keys. I can't open the door. (The action happened in the past, but the result of losing the keys affects the present).