Present perfect tense

1.1 We use the present perfect tense to talk about: Compare:

Sam lost his glasses.
• an action in the past that has a connection to the present (Only the action is stated. We don’t know when
it happened. We don’t know if Sam’s glasses are
still missing, or if the glasses have been found.)
Hi Sam. What Sam has lost his glasses.
are you doing? (We are thinking of the present, and indicating
that the glasses are not with Sam now.)

I am looking for
my glasses. I have
lost them.

Sam lost his glasses some time ago. When Sam says that he ‘has lost’ his glasses,
he is telling his friend that ‘his glasses are still missing now’.

• something that started in the past and continues up to the present

How long have

you lived here?

I have lived
here for 5 years/
since 2007.

• a past event, but the time it happened is not known or not important

Hooray!
I have finished
my homework!

Great! You can help me

clean the kitchen, iron the
clothes, prepare dinner …

When the boy finished his homework is not important, but the fact that he has
finished it is.

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1.2 The present perfect is formed by have/has + the past participle of the verb.
I can’t borrow any books. I have lost my library card.
Aunt Sarah has returned from her business trip. Let’s go and visit her.
The past participle often ends in -ed (i.e. the same form as the simple past tense of many verbs).
However, the past participles of many important verbs are irregular. (See Appendix 1 for
details.)

Is your brother I’m afraid not. He

coming? has caught a cold.

NOTE
1 The past participle of the verb to be is been.
Mr Smith has been in the food business for 20 years.

2 We can use have/has been to or have/has gone to to talk about visiting

a place, but they have different meanings.
Mr Chan has gone to the canteen.
(= he is not here now; he is at the canteen/on his way to the canteen.)

Mr Chan has been to the canteen.

(= he went to the canteen, but now he is back.)

1.3 We form questions and negative sentences in the present perfect this way:

Have you
seen Paul?
No. I have not
seen him today.

In conversation, we often use the contracted form.

I have/I’ve washed my hands.
We have not/haven’t told her the news.
She has/She’s left for school.
Mrs Chan has not/hasn’t cooked dinner yet.

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1.4 Very often we use the present perfect tense with for or since.
for: a period of time since: a specific time or event

for two days, for several months, since yesterday, since last week, since he came
for a long time here, since she was born

Daniel has lived in Tuen Mun for three years.

Daniel has lived in Tuen Mun since 2009.

NOTE
We often use how long with the present perfect tense to ask about a period of time.
David: How long have you known Peter?
Nicole: I have known him for three months.
Ann: How long has Kate lived in New York?
Mike: She has lived in New York since 2010.

In addition to for and since, the present perfect tense is also used with other adverbs/
adverbial phrases such as just, already, recently, lately, yet, ever, never, before, once,
in a while and up to now.

Would you like some cake?

No, thanks, I’ve just had lunch.
The past participle of have/has is had.
Andy usually has dinner at
Jenny, this is Carol. 8 o’clock. (simple present tense)
It’s 8.45 pm now. Andy has had
I know. We’ve already met.
dinner. (present perfect tense)
Andy had dinner early last night.
Have you been busy lately? (simple past tense)
Yes, I’ve had a lot to do recently.
In questions, negative/limiting sentences
Is your brother here? and if-clauses, we usually use ever.
Have you ever failed a test?
No, he hasn’t arrived
She hardly ever eats in a restaurant. yet. He’s on his way.
What about Susan? If you ever need anything, just let
me know. No, not yet. We’re all waiting for her.
Has she arrived yet?
We also use ever in comparisons.
Have you ever been
This is the best book that I have No, I’ve never been there.
to Shanghai? ever read.
Never is a negative adverb.
Do you know that boy? Our parents never shout at us.
No, I haven’t seen him before.
I have never seen her.

How many times have you been to Beijing?

I’ve only been there once.

How’s Sally?
I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her in a while. (= up to now)

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 1.5 We use either the present perfect or the simple past tense to talk about something that
happened in the past. The present perfect tense always connects the past with the present.
The simple past tells us only about an action, situation or event completed in the past.
Jane is in bed. She has caught a cold. (Jane is still ill now.)
Compare: Jane had a cold last week, but she is all right now. (Jane is not ill now.)

When we tell someone some news, we often begin with the present perfect and go on with
the details in the simple past tense. We also use the simple past tense when we ask about
the time when something happened.

Have you heard

the news? Kate’s sister
got married! That’s wonderful!
When was the
wedding?

1.6 We do not use the present perfect tense with a word or phrase expressing a specific past time
(yesterday, yesterday morning, two days ago, last year, in 2011, just now, before I came, when I was little, etc.)

✓ He visited yesterday. ✗ He has visited yesterday.

However, we can use today, this morning, this afternoon, in the last few days, etc. with the
present perfect tense when the period of time referred to has not yet passed.
Compare:
I haven’t seen Tom I didn’t see Tom this
this morning. (Tom is morning. (The speaker
still yet to be seen.) might or might not
have seen Tom in the
afternoon.)

I’ve seen Tom this morning. I saw Tom this morning.

NOTE
We usually use just (= only a short time ago) with the present perfect
tense and just now (= a moment ago) with the simple past.
He isn’t here. He has just left.
He was here just now, but he didn’t stay long.

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Practice

A Complete the sentences with the given words using the present perfect tense.

1 The students are very happy because they have passed the examination (pass/
the examination).

2 The house is quiet now as everyone has gone to bed (go/to bed).

3 My brother has not read the novel yet (not read/the novel/yet).

4 Kate has never been to Macau (never/be/to Macau).

5 Peggy is crying; she has just cut her finger (just/cut/her finger).

6 Nobody can use the lift. It has broken down (break down).

7 Alan’s brother has not/hasn’t found a job (not find/a job). He is still looking
for work.

8 The picture isn’t on the wall any more. It has fallen down (fall down).

9 The house is still vacant. The Lees have not/haven’t moved in (not move in) yet.

10 My umbrella isn’t here. Somebody has taken it away (take away/it).

B Complete these exchanges using never, already or just and the correct form of the given words.

1 A: Has Jane arrived yet?

B: No, she hasn’t. I wonder why! She has never been late (she/be/late) before.

2 A: They have never worked together (they/work/together) as a team. Do you think

they’d get along?
B: They are both very nice and friendly. I think they’d get along just fine.
3 A: Is Brian playing for our school team tomorrow?
B: I don’t think so. He has just recovered (he/recover) from a bad flu.

4 A: I’m sorry I’m late. Have I missed much?

B: No, you haven’t; the show has just started (the show/start).

5 A: Is Sally going to the cinema with you?

B: No, she has already/just seen the film (she/see/the film).

6 A: We have had our washing machine for years, and we have never had a problem
(we/have/a problem) with it. It’s fantastic.
B: Could you tell me what brand it is?

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 7 A: Where is Tom? I’d like to talk to him.
B: I’m afraid he has already/just gone home (he/go/home).

8 A: Has your grandmother ever been to Japan?

B: No, in fact, she has never been abroad (she/be/abroad).

C Ask questions. Some have been done for you as examples.

(a) with ever and the given words

1 A: Have you ever seen (you/see) a ghost?

B: No, never.
2 A: Have you ever played (you/play) tennis?
B: Yes, a few times.
3 A: Have you ever been (you/be) to Beijing?
B: Yes, once.
4 A: Has Chloe ever come (Chloe/come) to your house?
B: Yes, several times.
5 A: Have you ever lost (you/lose) your ID card?
B: Yes, once. It was not fun.

(b) with how long or how many times and the given words

Jack is in bed with

(1) How long has he been ill?
a bad cold.
(he/be/ill)

The lift isn’t working. (2) How long has it been out of order?

(it/be/out of order)

I like the film very much. (3) How many times have you seen it?

(you/see/it)

I’ve been unable to

contact Ron. (4) How many times have you called him?

(you/called/him)

Tom is my best friend. (5) How long have you known him?

(you/know/him)

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 (c) with the given words
1 I’m looking for Derek. Have you seen him (you/see/him)?

2 A: I’ve sent Steven an email.

B: How did you get his email address (you/get/his email address)?

3 I wonder how Stella is getting on. Have you heard (you/hear) from her?

4 A: Ann looks unhappy.

B: What have you said / did you say (you/say) to her?

5 A: Clara is here to see you.

B: Has she been (she/be) here long?

6 A: I saw Mr Mok in Tsuen Wan last night.

B: Was he alone (he/be/alone)?

7 A: Mr and Mrs Chan took a lot of pictures while they were in Rome.
B: Have they put (they/put) them on their blog yet?

D Complete these sentences. Use either the present perfect tense or simple past tense of the given verbs.
1 Mr Lee is our class teacher. He has taught (teach) at this school for five years.

2 Mr Chan is retired. He taught (teach) our class when we were in Junior
Secondary 1 and 2.

3 Miss Lau is a writer. She has written (write) three books so far.

4 We are friends. We have known (know) each other for many years.

5 We are friends. We first met (meet) at John’s party years ago.

6 I don’t know what the place is like. I have never been (never/be) there.

7 We haven’t lived here long. We did not/didn’t move (not/move) into this flat until the
beginning of this year.

8 The weather is terribly hot. It has not/hasn’t rained (not/rain) for a long time.

9 They were late. They missed (miss) the beginning of the film.

10 I’m sorry I did not/didn’t greet (not/greet) you. I did not/didn’t see (not/see) you.

11 I don’t have the book. She did not/didn’t give (not/give) it back to me yesterday.

12 Stella isn’t here. Did she tell (she/tell) you where she was going?

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 13 There’s a message on your phone. Have you read (you/read) it?

14 Last year, we made (make) a trip to Beijing. We stayed

(stay) there for a week.

15 We have not heard (not/hear) from her for a long time. The last time we
received (receive) an email from her was two months ago.

E Complete these short dialogues by using the correct form of the given verbs.
1 A: (a)
____ (you/be/ever) to Shanghai? (1a)
Have you ever been

B: Yes, I (b) ____ (go) there on holiday last month. (1b)

went

A: (c)
____ (you/have) a good time at the party yesterday?
(1c) Did you have

B: Yes, it (d) ____ (be) great. (1d)

was

2 A: I (a) ____ (find) my Octopus Card. found/have found

(2a)

B: That’s good. Where (b) ____ (you/find) it? did you find
(2b)

A: In my desk drawer.
B: But you (c) ____ (look) there this morning.
(2c) looked

A: Yes, but I (d) ____ (not/see) it. (2d)

did not/didn’t see

B: All right, let’s go for breakfast then.

3 A: Where is Jimmy? (a) ____ (you/see) him? (3a)
Have you seen

B: He (b) ____ (be) here just now. I don’t know where he (3b) was
(c)
____ (go). has gone / went

(3c)

4 A: My father (a) ____ (give up) smoking. has given up

(4a)

B: That’s good news. When (b) ____ (he/start) smoking? did he start
(4b)

A: When he (c) ____ (start) working. started

(4c)

B: How (d) ____ (he/quit)? did he quit

(4d)

A: He got a special treatment from his doctor.
5 A: Do you know Carol Lai?
B: I (a) ____ (meet) her a few times, but I (b) ____ (never/speak) (5a) have met
to her. Why? have never spoken
(5b)

A: I (c) ____ (see) her photograph in today’s newspaper. (5c) saw
B: I (d) ____ (not/read) the paper yet. Can I borrow yours? (5d) have not/haven’t read
A: Sorry, I (e) ____ (lend) it to Pat this morning. (5e) lent

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F Your friend, Simon, is doing a project on Christopher Reeve. Study the underlined words in his report. Put a
tick (✓) in the blank if the words are correct. If it is an error, write the correct word(s) in the blank. Two have
been done for you as examples.

Christopher Reeve (1) was a famous actor. He (2) has appeared

(1) ✓

in different plays at school when he was young. His career

(2) appeared

(3)
has started to take off when he played the role of Superman
(3) started

in Superman: The Movie. He (4) played Superman in a total

(4) ✓

of four films from 1978 to 1987.

Besides his acting career, Christopher (5) has also been

(5) was also

successful in many sports. He (6) can scuba dive, ski and ride
(6) could

a horse. Unfortunately, during a riding show in 1995, his

horse (7) has suddenly stopped. Reeve was thrown off the
(7) suddenly stopped

horse and (8) landed on his head. Since then, he (9) has become
(8) ✓

paralysed from the neck down.

(9) became

After the accident, he (10) has to stay in a wheelchair for the (10) had

rest of his life. Reeve did not give up. He (11) has remained (11)
remained

optimistic and (12) has offered a lot of encouragement to other (12)

offered

patients.

Reeve (13) has died in 2004 from a heart attack. Although (13)
died

he is gone, his spirit of determination lives on.

Ask students to read the last paragraph
before they start work.

G Complete this conversation using the correct form of the given words.
Andy (1) Do you like (you/like) travelling?

Tracy Oh, yes, I do.

Andy Which countries (2) have you visited (you/visit)?

Tracy (3) I have been (I/be) to Greece, Italy, several countries in Asia and Egypt.

Andy Egypt? You must have visited the pyramids then?

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 Tracy (4) There are (there/be) more than 100 pyramids in Egypt, but I

(5) have only visited (only visit) a few of them. I hope I (6) will be able to

(be able to) visit more of them someday.

Andy Which pyramids (7) have you visited/did you visit (you/visit)?

Tracy The pyramids of Giza. The pyramid of Khufu is the biggest. (8) It is

(it/be) one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and it is the only one of those
wonders that is still standing.

Andy Did you see any mummies?

Tracy Yes, I (9) saw (see) some mummies and heard some
interesting tales about them.

Andy I see. (10) Do you always travel (you/travel/always) alone?

Tracy No, I (11) usually travel (travel/usually) with my parents. They

do not let
(12)
(not/let) me travel abroad by myself.

H Complete this blog entry using the correct form of the given verbs.

December 26. Fine.

There is nothing better than watching a film about Christmas on Christmas Day.
Last evening I (1) ____ (watch) the animated film Arthur Christmas. It is one of the (1)
watched

best Christmas films I (2) ____ (ever/see). (2)

have ever seen

(3)
is
Arthur Christmas (3) ____ (be) a film about Arthur, the son of Santa Claus. Every
year, Santa Claus and his team of elves deliver Christmas presents to children
(4)
deliver
around the world just before Christmas. This year, the elves successfully (4) ____
(5)
decides
(deliver) all but one of the presents. Arthur (5) ____ (decide) to deliver the present
with his grandfather, Grand-Santa, and an elf before daybreak on Christmas
Day. The film is very exciting and funny. I especially like the part where the elves
deliver the presents. The opening scene is also wonderful. In that scene, a little
(6)
is
girl asks Santa some very interesting questions. It (6) ____ (be) so cleverly done!

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 Here (7) ____ (be) some additional information about the film. The film was directed (7) is

by Sarah Smith. It is actually her first film. Before that, she (8) ____ (direct) and (8) directed

(9)
____ (produce) a few TV series. I (10) ____ (also/find) that the film was produced by (9) produced

the animation company Aardman. Aardman (11) ____ (be) famous for making (10) also found

stop-motion animation films using clay figures for different characters. It (11) is

(12)
____ (create) the popular Wallace and Gromit series and the Shaun the Sheep (12) created

series. I (13) ____ (see) the whole Wallace and Gromit series and I love it. My brother (13) have seen

(14)
____ (watch) the Shaun the Sheep series and he said it was funnier than Wallace (14) has watched

and Gromit. I think I (15) ____ (watch) it during the Chinese New Year holiday. (15) will watch

I Judy is writing a postcard to her brother. Complete it using the correct form of the given verbs.

Dear Simon

I (1) have had (have) a great holiday so far! I (2) have just arrived

(just/arrive) in Paris, the second stop of our journey.

I (3) was (be) in Britain last week and (4) spent

is
(spend) most of my stay in London. London (5)
(be) a great
Simon Lee
city. I (6) had (have) a good time there.
8B, Block A
I (7) visited (visit) a few museums, including the British Museum,
Lok Fu Garden
the Tate Modern and the National Gallery. I (8) also rode (also/ride)
1 Lok Fu Road
the London Eye, the large Ferris wheel. It was a wonderful experience.
Kowloon
I (9) arrived (arrive) in Paris this morning. Selina
is having plan Hong Kong
(10)
(have) lunch with me now. We (11)

(plan) to visit the Eiffel Tower this afternoon and we (12) will visit/are going to visit/
are visiting/will be visiting
(visit) the Louvre tomorrow.

Send my love to Mum and Dad. I miss you all.

Judy

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J Complete the email using the phrases at the bottom.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: 30 January, 20 _ _ 8:47 pm
Subject: Pyramids

Dear Gloria

Fred (1) (e) with a lot of photos of the Egyptian pyramids and tales of the curse of the
mummy.

You (2) (g) before, so I’m sure you know the Pyramids well. But (3) (m) any
of the tales about the curse of the mummy? Let me tell you one (4) (k) .

The curse of the mummy began (5) (a) after the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. One of
them concerned Lord Carnarvon, (6) (l) . He (7) (c) as a result of a mosquito
bite. At the exact moment of his death, (8) (h) and his dog howled and dropped dead at
two in the morning. Since then, (9) (b) many tales about the curse of the mummy. Believe
it or not, (10) (f) as to associate the sinking of the Titanic with a mummy! Rumour has it
that the passengers met their tragic deaths because (11) (d) on the ship.

I can’t go into details about all the horrible stories that Fred (12) (j) . You can ask him to
tell you more if you are interested. In fact, Fred (13) (i) to invite you and Paul to have tea
with us tomorrow at our usual meeting place. Can you join us?
Shirley

(a) when many terrible things happened (g) have been to Egypt

(b) there have been (h) the lights of Cairo mysteriously went out

(c) died shortly after the discovery (i) has asked me (j) has told me

(d) there was a coffin containing a mummy (k) that Fred told me

(e) has returned from Egypt (l) who funded the dig of King Tut’s tomb

(f) some have even gone so far (m) have you heard of

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K Decide which of the options below would best complete each blank in this passage and circle the
correct answers.

People around the world (1) ____ celebrate the New Year in the same way or on the
same day. For most people, however, New Year (2) ____ always important for one reason:
it (3) ____ a new start, a new beginning.

What (4) ____ a new start mean? lt (5) ____ you can forget the mistakes you (6) ____ and
you can forget the bad things you (7) ____ . All those mistakes and bad things are gone
as the old year (8) ____ . Then you can start again. You can be better and wiser during
the coming year.

In China, people (9) ____ to celebrate the Lunar New Year thousands of years ago and
Chinese people (10) ____ the same ancient customs for generations. On New Year’s Day,
they (11) ____ new clothes. They (12) ____ their children red packets. In doing so, they
(13)
____ to make a fresh start and (14) ____ all bad and unhappy things behind.

(1) A do not (6) A are making (11) A have worn

B did not B was making B wear
C have not C have made C were wearing
(2) A has (7) A is doing (12) A gave
B is B do B give
C was C have done C are giving
(3) A has marked (8) A left (13) A hope
B is marking B leaves B are hoping
C marks C leave C have hoped
(4) A is (9) A have started (14) A left
B does B has started B leave
C has C started C has left
(5) A means (10) A observed
B has shown B were observing
C was C have observed

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