Present perfect handout enblog
- 1. 1 We use the present perfect with have/has + the past participle. In spoken English we usually use the contracted form 've/'s. Remember that 's is also the contracted form of the verb to be, she is = she's, she has = she's. The past participle of regular verbs is the same as the past simple form. Example: work - worked. The same rules also apply to form the past participle of regular verbs. (See Section 1: Spelling of the past simple form, below.) However, irregular verbs also have irregular past participles. Examples: buy - bought - bought, see - saw - seen. AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE Full form Contracted form Full form Contracted form Questions Answers I have played I've played I have not played I haven't played Have I played...? Yes, I have. No, I haven't. You have played You've played You have not played You haven't played Have you played...? Yes, you have. No, you haven't. He has played He's played He has not played He hasn't played Has he played...? Yes, he has. No, he hasn't. She has played She's played She has not played She hasn't played Has she played...? Yes, she has. No, she hasn't. It has played It's played It has not played It hasn't played Has it played...? Yes, it has. No, it hasn't. We have played We've played We have not played We haven't played Have we played...? Yes, we have. No, we haven't. You have played You've played You have not played You haven't played Have you played...? Yes, you have. No, you haven't. They have played They've played They have not played They haven't played Have they played...? Yes, they have. No, they haven't. We use the present perfect to talk about:
- 2. 2 actions which started in the past and continue to the present. Example: They have been here since 2008. life experiences, but we don't specify when they happened. Example: I've tried Chinese food. actions that happened in the past and we can see their results in the present. Example: She's broken her leg. (When? We don't know, but we can see that her leg is in a plaster.) We often use the present prefect with the adverbs recently, this week and once, twice, etc. Example: I've seen Robin Williams in concert twice. We often use the present perfect with these expressions: EVER. We often use the present perfect with ever in questions. Example: Have you ever ridden a camel? NEVER. We use never in negative sentences with an affirmative verb. Example: He has never eaten snails. JUST. We use just before the past participle in affirmative sentences to say that something has happened very recently. Example: I've just spoken to Mike. ALREADY. We use already before the past participle in affirmative sentences and between has/have and the past participle in interrogative sentences. Examples: I have already had dinner. Has she already read the book? YET. We use yet at the end of a negative sentence. Examples: I haven't finished my homework yet. SINCE. We use since with points in time. Since tells us when the action started. Examples: since last year, since 8th June, since I met you, since last week, since I started the course. FOR. We use for with periods of time. For tells us about the duration of the action. Examples: for a few days, for half an hour, for two years, for a year, for three hours. Note the difference between been and gone. She's been to New York. (=She was in New York, but now she's back.) She's gone to New York. (=She's in New York or on her way there.)
- 3. 3 We use the present perfect for actions which started in the past and continue to the present or for personal experiences, but we don't specify the time. Example: Sorry, he isn't here. He's left. We use the past simple for actions which were completed in the past and we specify the time (two hours ago, yesterday, last week). Example: Sorry, he isn't here. He left at 8.00. We use the present perfect with How long...?, for and since when the situation or action, or period of time is not finished. Example: How long have you lived in London? I've lived in London for several years/since 2005. (=I still live in London.) We can use the past simple with How long...? and for and from... to when the time is finished and the action is completed. Example: How long did you live in London? I lived in London for ten years/from 1995 to 2005. (=Now I live somewhere else.) The rules of the past simple tense forms are: 1. Regular verbs ending in a silent e take /-d/ in the past simple and past participle: Example: close=closed 2. Regular verbs ending in a vowel + y take /-ed/ in the past simple and past participle: Example: play=played 3. Regular verbs ending in a consonant + y take /-ied/ in the past simple and past participle (the y becomes an i followed by /-ed/). Example: marry=married 4. All the other regular verbs take /-ed/ in the past simple and past participle. Example: visit=visited 5. If there is a consonant after a stressed vowel at the end of the word, double the consonant. Examples: stop – stopped, ban - banned. If the vowel is not stressed, we do not double it: open - opened (Here the stress is on'o', not the 'e'.) offer - offered ( Here the stress is on 'o', not the 'e'.) 6. In British English we double the last l even though the last vowel is not stressed. Examples: travel - travelled, cancel - cancelled.
- 4. 4 References Textbook: Spark 2 My English Pages File