Unlocking the English Tenses Lesson 6: Present Perfect Simple

Present Perfect Simple

Welcome back language learners! Today we will delve into the present tense, and present perfect simple in particular to give you a better understanding of this extremely commonly used tense aspect.

The present perfect simple is formed using have/has and the past participle/3rd form of the verb.

Example: “I have never been to Dubai before.”

The present perfect simple is conjugated as follows (using the verb eat as an example):

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I have eaten

You have eaten

He has eaten

She has eaten

It has eaten

John/Mary/the dog has eaten

We have eaten

They have eaten

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We use the present perfect for the following reasons:

1.?To describe a situation that we are still in/is still ongoing

“I have lived in this apartment for two months” (I still live here)

“I have always loved sweet things” (I still love sweet things)

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2.?To describe experiences that we have had/have not had up to now:

“I’ve ridden a horse before, but it wasn’t for me.”

“I’ve never tried escargot.”

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3.?To describe changes over time:

“The city has become quite big in the past few years.”

“My nephew has grown so much since I last saw him!”

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4.?To describe duration:

“I have loved you all my life.”

“I have been here for an hour.”

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Time words that can be used with present perfect

…before…

…ever…

…never…

…Once/twice/several times…

…since…

…just…

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Words that cannot be used with present perfect simple (Present Perfect Poison)

The following words cannot be used in a preset perfect simple construction. In fact, they are to be treated like poison; put them in your sentence, and it will die!

…When…

…Then…

…After…

…before _______.

…During…

In/on/at _______.

(Or any other word that describes a specific time)

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?Remember: If the situation you are describing is over and has no relation to current events, use past simple instead. Present perfect simple always describes an ongoing situation.

We hope you found this lesson useful, and we invite you to join us again next week, when we will explore the present perfect simple's close cousin - present perfect progressive.

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