Present Perfect Tense in English: How to use it + examples

The present perfect tense is one of the most common English verb tenses, and it’s used in several different ways. This lesson will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about the present perfect – try the four quizzes with grammar exercises in each section!

Table of contents:

• What is the present perfect tense & when do we use it?
• How to form the present perfect: Positive, Negative, Questions
• What is the past participle?
• Present perfect with ever/never
• Present perfect with already, yet, recently, lately, just
• Present perfect with for and since
• Present perfect active voice and passive voice
• Present perfect simple vs. Present perfect continuous

What is the present perfect tense and when do we use it?

The present perfect is formed by subject + have/has + past participle of the main verb, for example:

• I have bought a car recently.
  • I = subject, have = auxiliary verb, bought = past participle of the main verb “buy”
  • She = subject, has = auxiliary verb, visited = past participle of the main verb “visit”

  We use the present perfect for unfinished time (a period of time that continues to the present moment), differently from the simple past tense which describes finished time:

  • Present Perfect: We have lived in New York since 2002.
    (and we still live in New York)
  • Simple Past: We lived in New York from 2002-2006.
    (and we do not still live in New York)

  We also use the present perfect tense for unspecified time (when we don’t know or don’t say exactly when), differently from the simple past tense which describes specific time:

  • Present Perfect: I‘veseen that movie.
    (I don’t say exactly when)
  • Simple Past: I saw that movie a year ago.
  • Present Perfect: He has sold his house recently.
    (it happened recently, but I don’t know exactly when)
  • Simple past: He sold his house last week.

  

  How to form the Present Perfect

  Present Perfect Positive

  SUBJECT	HAVE / HAS	PAST PARTICIPLE
  I / you / we / they	have	written
  he / she / it	has	written

  Note: In spoken English, it’s common to use the contraction for the auxiliary verb have or has:

  • I’ve written three books.
  • We’ve already seen that movie
  • Barbara’s forgotten her cell phone.
  • He’s just woken up.

  In this case, he’s, she’s, Barbara’s, etc. mean he has, she has, and Barbara has, not he is, she is, or Barbara is.

  Present Perfect Negative

  SUBJECT	HAVEN’T / HASN’T	PAST PARTICIPLE
  I / you / we / they	haven’t	seen
  he / she / it	hasn’t	seen

  • I haven’t seen John this week.
  • Mary hasn’t come to class for the past two days.

  Present Perfect Questions

  HAVE / HAS	SUBJECT	PAST PARTICIPLE
  Have	I / you / we / they	finished?
  Has	he / she / it	finished?

  • Have you finished the project yet?
  • Has George ever been to New York?

  How to answer present perfect questions:

  We can create a “short answer” using the auxiliary verb have/has, or their negative forms haven’t/hasn’t:

  • Have you been to London?
    Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.
  • Has Alex met Miriam yet?
    Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.
  • Have the results of the election been announced?
    Yes, they have. / No, they haven’t.

  

  Have had

  In the present perfect, it’s possible to say “have had” and “has had” when “have” is BOTH the auxiliary verb (helping verb) AND the main verb in the sentence, for example:

  • I‘ve had a lot of computer problems lately.
    (I have had)
  • She’s had three children in the past five years.
    (She has had)
  • We haven’t had time to visit our relatives.
  • He hasn’t had a haircut for months.

  

  What is the past participle?

  The past participle form of the verb describes a completed action or state.

  For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past simple tense:

  • I worked (simple past) all day yesterday.
  • I’ve worked (past participle) here since August.

  This is also the case for many irregular verbs:

  • He sold (simple past) his car last week.
  • He’s sold (past participle) 200 books so far.

  However, some irregular verbs’ past participles are different from their simple past form:

  • We wrote (simple past) an article for the newspaper.
  • We’ve written (past participle) for many famous publications.

  Many of these irregular past participles end in –n:

  Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participle
  be	was / were	been
  break	broke	broken
  choose	chose	chosen
  do	did	done
  drive	drove	driven
  eat	ate	eaten
  fall	fell	fallen
  fly	flew	flown
  forget	forgot	forgotten
  give	gave	given
  go	went	gone
  know	knew	known
  see	saw	seen
  show	showed	shown
  speak	spoke	spoken
  steal	stole	stolen
  take	took	taken
  wear	wore	worn
  write	wrote	written

  Other irregular past participles have a change in the vowel:

  Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participle
  become	became	become
  begin	began	begun
  come	came	come
  drink	drank	drunk
  ring	rang	rung
  run	ran	run
  sing	sang	sung
  swim	swam	swum

  Present Perfect Quiz

  Is each sentence grammatically correct or incorrect?

  Congratulations - you have completed Present Perfect Quiz. You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%. Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
  

  Your answers are highlighted below. Question 1 We haven't chosen a name for the baby yet. Question 2 I haven't take the test yet. Question 2 Explanation: The correct sentence is: "I haven't taken the test yet." Question 3 Help, police! That man's just stolen my wallet! Question 4 Laura have sold her car. Question 4 Explanation: The correct sentence is: "Laura has sold her car." Question 5 Gary is known Darla for a long time. Question 5 Explanation:

  The correct sentence is: "Gary has known Darla for a long time." or: "Gary's known Darla for a long time."

  Question 6 They already given me the money. Question 6 Explanation: The correct sentence is: "They've already given me the money." Question 7 We've recently wrote a book. Question 7 Explanation: The correct sentence is: "We've recently written a book." Question 8 I've lived in Orlando for three years. Question 9 Have you ever drived a Ferrari? Question 9 Explanation: The correct sentence is "Have you ever driven a Ferrari?" Question 10 Has you ever met my brother? Question 10 Explanation: The correct sentence is: "Have you ever met my brother?" Question 11 She's been to Berlin twice. Question 12 Has he ever eaten Brazilian food? Question 13 No, they hasn't eaten lunch yet. Question 13 Explanation: The correct sentence is: "No, they haven't eaten lunch yet." Question 14 I haven't read today's newspaper yet. Question 14 Explanation: the past participle of "read" is "read" - but it's pronounced like "red" Question 15 Have you heard the new song by Adele?

  Once you are finished, click the button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect. Get Results

  There are 15 questions to complete. You have completed Your score is Partial-Credit You have not finished your quiz. If you leave this page, your progress will be lost. Correct Answer You Selected Not Attempted Final Score on Quiz Attempted Questions Correct Attempted Questions Wrong Questions Not Attempted Total Questions on Quiz Question Details Time allowed Answer Choice(s) Selected Question Text Need more practice! Keep trying!

  Present Perfect tense with unfinished time

  Present Perfect with ever / never

  The present perfect is used with ever and never to talk about actions done at any time in a person’s life, or at any time in history until now.

  • Have you ever been to Japan?
  • Has she ever seen Titanic?
  • Have they ever ridden a motorcycle?
  • Has Jason ever failed a test?

  Use ever in questions only – NOT in statements.

  • “I’ve ever been to Japan.”
  • “I’ve been to Japan.”

  Use never in statements – but only with have/has, not with haven’t/hasn’t:

  • “My sister hasn’t never seen Titanic.”
  • “My sister has never seen Titanic.”
  • “My sister hasn’t seen Titanic.”

  Present Perfect with already, yet, recently, lately, and just

  The words already, yet, recently, lately, and just all refer to a recent and non-specific time period. (A specific time would be “yesterday” or “three hours ago” or last Friday,” and in these cases we would use the simple past).

  Already and yet

  Already can be used in positive statements and questions.

  • “I’ve already read today’s newspaper.”
  • “Have you already paid the electric bill?”
  • “She’s finished the test already.”

  Note: Already can go in between “have/has” and the past participle (as in the first two examples) or at the end of the sentence.

  Yet can be used in negative statements and questions.

  • “We haven’t cleaned the house yet.”
  • “Has he told you the good news yet?”
  • “Have they booked their tickets yet?”

  Note: Yet usually goes at the end of the sentence or phrase.

  Recently, lately, and just

  Recently and lately can be used in positive statements, negative statements, or questions:

  Recently

  • “He’s recently lost some weight.”
  • “I haven’t seen her recently.”
  • “Have you spoken to Beth recently?”

  Lately

  • “I’ve gotten a lot of spam e-mails lately.”
  • “Adam and Jessica haven’t been to church lately.”
  • “Have you seen any good movies lately?”

  Just (usually means very recent) is typically only used in positive statements and questions:

  • “Don’t touch the walls – I’ve just painted them and they’re still wet.”
  • “What book have you just finished reading?”

  Spoken American English often uses the simple past with already, yet, and just:

  • “Did you book the tickets yet?”
  • “I already replied to the e-mail.”
  • “We just got back from the gym.”

  Quiz: Present Perfect with ever, never, already, recently, lately, and just

  Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

  Congratulations - you have completed Quiz: Present Perfect with ever, never, already, recently, lately, and just. You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%. Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
  

  Your answers are highlighted below. Question 1 She's _______ taken two weeks of vacation this year. Question 2 Has anyone ________ told you that you have lovely eyes? Question 3 He quit because he's _______ gotten any type of recognition for his hard work at the company. Question 4 Have you eaten lunch ________? Question 5 My husband's sick, so he hasn't been able to help me with the housework ________. Question 6 They've ________ bought a house - the sale was finalized last week. Question 7 Sorry, Mr. Greene isn't available at the moment. He's ______ stepped out for lunch.

  Once you are finished, click the button below. Any items you have not completed will be marked incorrect. Get Results

  There are 7 questions to complete. You have completed Your score is Partial-Credit You have not finished your quiz. If you leave this page, your progress will be lost. Correct Answer You Selected Not Attempted Final Score on Quiz Attempted Questions Correct Attempted Questions Wrong Questions Not Attempted Total Questions on Quiz Question Details Time allowed Answer Choice(s) Selected Question Text Need more practice! Keep trying!

  Present Perfect with for and since

  The present perfect is also used with for and since to talk about actions that began in the past and continue to the present.

  • “I’ve lived here since 2004.”
  • “I’ve lived here for 8 years.”

  Since is used with a point in time, and means “from that point in time until the present.” Use since with dates (2011, January, Tuesday, etc.), times (6:15, noon, this morning, etc.), and past events (I was a child, he graduated from college, etc).

  Since is always used with the present perfect, and not the simple past:

  • “I’ve gone to the beach every year since I was a child.”
    (repeated action that continues until today)
  • “I went to the beach when I was a child.”
    (finished action at a specific time in the past; I don’t go to the beach today)

  For is used with a time period, and means “for that period of time until the present.” Use for with time periods of any length (five seconds, eight hours, two days, six weeks, nine months, ten years, a decade, centuries, etc.)

  Be careful with for, because using the present perfect or the simple past can change the meaning:

  • “We’ve lived in Berlin for 6 months.” (and we live in Berlin now)
  • “We lived in Berlin for 6 months.” (and we don’t live in Berlin now)

  Quiz: Present perfect with FOR and SINCE

  Choose "for" or "since" to complete each sentence.

  Congratulations - you have completed Quiz: Present perfect with FOR and SINCE. You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%. Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%