Present Perfect

[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

You have seen that movie many times.

Have you seen that movie many times?

You have not seen that movie many times.

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time
before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect
with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I
was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN
use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once,
many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
Examples:

I have seen that movie twenty times.

I think I have met him once before.

There have been many earthquakes in California.

People have traveled to the Moon.

People have not traveled to Mars.

Have you read the book yet?

Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.

A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?

B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?

The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is
best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:

TOPIC 1 Experience
You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I
have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never
had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific
event.

Examples:

I have been to France.

THIS SENTENCE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING IN FRANCE. MAYBE YOU
HAVE BEEN THERE ONCE, OR SEVERAL TIMES.

I have been to France three times.

YOU CAN ADD THE NUMBER OF TIMES AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE.

I have never been to France.

THIS SENTENCE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE NOT HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF GOING TO FRANCE.

I think I have seen that movie before.

He has never traveled by train.

Joan has studied two foreign languages.

A: Have you ever met him?

B: No, I have not met him.

TOPIC 2 Change Over Time

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a
period of time.
Examples:

You have grown since the last time I saw you.

The government has become more interested in arts education.

Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university
since the Asian studies program was established.

My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.

TOPIC 3 Accomplishments
We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and
humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.
Examples:

Man has walked on the Moon.

Our son has learned how to read.

Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.

Scientists have split the atom.

TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting

We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not
happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the
action to happen.
Examples:

James has not finished his homework yet.

Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.

Bill has still not arrived.

The rain hasn't stopped.

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have
occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not
complete and more actions are possible.
Examples:

The army has attacked that city five times.

I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.

We have had many major problems while working on this project.

She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody
knows why she is sick.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some
point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is
not important.

Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can
do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this
month, so far, up to now, etc.

Examples:

Have you been to Mexico in the last year?

I have seen that movie six times in the last month.

They have had three tests in the last week.

She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has
worked for three different companies so far.

My car has broken down three times this week.

NOTICE
"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means
the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple
Past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a
specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.
Examples:

I went to Mexico last year.

I have been to Mexico in the last year.

I WENT TO MEXICO IN THE CALENDAR YEAR BEFORE THIS ONE.

I HAVE BEEN TO MEXICO AT LEAST ONCE AT SOME POINT BETWEEN 365 DAYS AGO AND NOW.

USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (NonContinuous Verbs)

With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the
Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up
until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all
durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.
Examples:

I have had a cold for two weeks.

She has been in England for six months.

Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.

Although the above use of Present Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous

Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach,"
and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT NonContinuous Verbs.

ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always,
only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:

You have only seen that movie one time.

Have you only seen that movie one time?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:

Many tourists have visited that castle. ACTIVE

That castle has been visited by many tourists. PASSIVE

Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms"
and "passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully
speak English.

Active Form
In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and
the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.
[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]
Examples:

Passive Form
In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence
and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence.
You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is
more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you
do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing
the action.
[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing
action]
Examples:

Active / Passive Overview

Simple
Present

Active

Passive

Once a week, Tom cleans the

house.

Once a week, the house is

cleaned by Tom.

Present
Continuous

Right now, Sarah is

writing the letter.

Right now, the letter is being

written by Sarah.

Simple Past

Sam repaired the car.

The car was repaired by Sam.

Past
Continuous

The salesman was

helping the customer when
the thief came into the store.

The customer was being

helped by the salesman when
the thief came into the store.

Present
Perfect

Many tourists have

visited that castle.

That castle has been visited by

many tourists.

Present
Perfect
Continuous

Recently, John has been

doing the work.

Recently, the work has been

being done by John.

Past Perfect

George had repaired many

cars before he received his
mechanic's license.

Many cars had been

repaired by George before he
received his mechanic's license.

Past Perfect
Continuous

Chef Jones had been

preparing the restaurant's
fantastic dinners for two years
before he moved to Paris.

The restaurant's fantastic

dinners had been being
prepared by Chef Jones for two
years before he moved to Paris.

Simple
Future

Someone will finish the work

by 5:00 PM.

The work will be finished by

5:00 PM.

Sally is going to make a

beautiful dinner tonight.

A beautiful dinner is going to

be made by Sally tonight.

At 8:00 PM tonight, John will

be washing the dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the

dishes will be being
washed by John.

At 8:00 PM tonight, John is

going to be washing the
dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the

dishes are going to be being
washed by John.

They will have

completed the project before
the deadline.

The project will have been

completed before the deadline.

They are going to have

completed the project before
the deadline.

The project is going to have

been completed before the
deadline.

WILL

The famous artist will have

been painting the mural for
over six months by the time it
is finished.

The mural will have been

being painted by the famous
artist for over six months by the
time it is finished.

Future
Perfect

The famous artist is going to

have been painting the

The mural is going to have

been being painted by the

WILL

Simple
Future
BE GOING TO

Future
Continuous
WILL

Future
Continuous
BE GOING TO

Future
Perfect
WILL

Future
Perfect
BE GOING TO

Future
Perfect
Continuous

Continuous
BE GOING TO

mural for over six months by

the time it is finished.

famous artist for over six months

by the time it is finished.

Used to

Jerry used to pay the bills.

The bills used to be paid by

Jerry.

Would
Always

My mother would always

make the pies.

The pies would always be

made by my mother.

Future in
the Past

I knew John would finish the

work by 5:00 PM.

I knew the work would be

finished by 5:00 PM.

Future in
the Past

I thought Sally was going to

make a beautiful dinner
tonight.

I thought a beautiful dinner was

going to be made by Sally
tonight.

WOULD

WAS GOING TO