Present perfect

Present perfect simple

Have you ever tried

No, I haven’t!
Chinese food, Grandma?

Affirmative form (✓) Negative form (✗) Questions (?)

Full Short Full Short Full
form form form form form
I have been I’ve been I have not been I haven’t been Have I been…?
you have gone you’ve gone you have not gone you haven’t gone Have you gone…?
he has finished he’s finished he has not finished he hasn’t finished Has he finished…?
she has read she’s read she has not read she hasn’t read Has she read…?
it has eaten it’s eaten it has not eaten it hasn’t eaten Has it eaten…?
we have played we’ve played we have not played we haven’t played Have we played…?
you have had you’ve had you have not had you haven’t had Have you had…?
they have done they’ve done they have not done they haven’t done Have they done…?

We form the Present perfect simple with: In the negative form the sentence pattern is:
have / has + past participle of the main subject + have / has + not + past
verb participle
They have left. The teacher hasn’t given any homework.
Daniel has come back. In questions the sentence pattern is:
The students have done all their have / has + subject + past participle
homework. I have lost my umbrella. Have you seen my MP3 player?
My brother has broken his leg. In short answers we repeat the pronoun
and the auxiliary verb have / has:
The past participle of go can be gone
(= gone and still there), or been (= gone Yes, + subject + have / has
and come back) No, + subject + haven’t / hasn’t
Mom has gone to the supermarket. Have you had breakfast?
(and she is still there) Yes, I have.
Wh- question words come before the
Mom has been to the supermarket.
auxiliary verb have / has.
(and she has now come back)
What have you bought?
Where has she gone?

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 Present perfect

To form the past participle of regular with ever in questions (= at any time), never
verbs we add -ed to the base form. This in statements (= at no time), and time
is the same as the Simple past (see expressions like once, twice, many times.
Simple past – Spelling, page 66). Ever and never come before the past
Base Simple Past participle. Other time expressions
form past participle come at the end of the sentence.
Have you ever tried Japanese food?
visit visited visited No, I’ve never tried it.
talk talked talked Yes, I’ve tried it many times.
enjoy enjoyed enjoyed I’ve never been so terrified in my life.
study studied studied
stop stopped stopped We can use ever in affirmative
sentences after superlatives.
It really is the most interesting thing I’ve
Many common verbs have an irregular
ever done!
past participle (see the list of irregular
verbs in the inside cover of your Personal with recently, so far, since…, for a long
Toolkit). time, for ages, etc.

Base Simple Past You must be hungry. You haven’t eaten

form past participle anything since breakfast.
Have you bought any new CDs recently?
have had had
be was / were been to talk about recent completed or non-
eat ate eaten completed actions or events.
get up got up gotten up We can use the present perfect with just
lose lost lost ( = a short time ago), already ( = sooner
come came come than expected), yet (= until now, in
think thought thought questions), not… yet (in negative
statements).

! Be careful: the Present perfect may Just and already come before the
look like a past tense in your language, past participle. Yet comes at the end of
but the meaning may be different. In the sentence or question.
English we use the Present perfect when I’ve just sent an email.
a past action or event has a connection We’ve already done the homework.
with the present. Has the dog eaten yet?
No, it hasn’t eaten yet.
We can use the Present perfect:
to refer to an unfinished period of time.
to talk about a past action which has a
We can use the present perfect with
result in the present. We don’t say the
today, this morning / week / month /
exact time of the past action or event.
year / fall, etc.
Sandy’s gone home. (= she isn’t here now)
It has rained a lot this fall.
Nick’s bought a new skateboard. (= he’s
I haven’t seen Dad today.
got a new skateboard now)
Jason hasn’t studied very hard this year.
Who has taken my backpack?
to say that it’s the first, second, etc. time
He’s eaten all the candy! There isn’t any
something has happened.
left.
This is the first time I’ve flown. I am
terrified!

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 Present perfect
Don’t feed the dog,
dear. He has
already eaten. Affirmative form

1 Complete the sentences with the

Present perfect of the verbs in
parentheses.
have traveled a lot.
My parents (travel) _______________
1 We (finish) ______________ our homework.
2 My friend Daniel (study) ______________
hard this week.
3 You (watch) ______________ a lot of TV
recently.
Present perfect simple with for /
4 You (come) ______________ too early!
since
5 My brother (eat) ______________ all my
candy.
We can use the Present perfect simple 6 My mother (speak) ______________ to my
when an action or situation started in the teachers.
past and still exists in the present.
7 I (have) ______________ a terrible
I’ve always lived in the downtown area. headache all day.
(And I still live there.)
8 Amelie (spend) ______________ a lot of
To talk about actions which continue money.
from the past to the present we use the
present perfect with for or since.
To say how long something has Negative form and questions
lasted we use for + a period of time.
I’ve been here for an hour!
She has lived there for three years. 2 Write negative sentences and
We’ve known him for a long time. questions.
To say when something began we Mom’s gone to work.
use since + the start of a period. Mom hasn’t gone to work.
I’ve been here since two o clock! Has Mom gone to work?
She has lived there since 2007.
1 They’ve seen my new skateboard.
We’ve known him since we were children.
2 She’s gone to Paris.
After for we can use time expressions
like: two hours, a long time, a week, four 3 Beth’s invited all her friends to her party.
days, years, etc. 4 Mom’s made a really good cake.
After since we can use time expressions
5 They’ve visited New York.
like: breakfast, lunchtime, June, Friday,
Easter, he arrived, etc. 6 Kyle’s written an e-mail to his e-pal.
When we want to know how long something 7 I’ve bought a new English dictionary.
has lasted, we make questions with: 8 Sandy’s washed her hair.
How long + have / has + subject +
past participle
How long have you been here?
How long has she lived there?
How long have you known him?

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 Present perfect

3 Make questions with ever. Then write Affirmative and negative forms, and
the answers. questions

4 Use the prompts to make sentences in

you / speak to a rock star? the Present perfect.
never I / already / see / that movie / .
Have you ever spoken to a I’ve already seen that movie.
rock star?
No, we’ve never spoken to 1 We / not / have / any news from them /
a rock star. yet / .
2 They / just / go out / .
3 you / recently / meet Sharon / ?
4 Grace / yet / clean her room / ?
Ewan / be to Barcelona?
5 Yes, / I / already / speak to your teachers / .
once
6 Dad / not / read today’s newspaper / yet / .
1 ___________________________
___________________________ 7 I / already / wash the dishes / this
___________________________ evening / .
8 No, / Kieran / never / play golf / .

For and since

Louise / be on a plane?
never
5 Complete the sentences with for or
2 __________________________ since.
__________________________ for
She’s been my best friend ____________
__________________________
ten years.
since
She’s been my best friend ____________
we were children.
1 I’ve been at home ____________ half an
Liam and Dale / sleep in a tent? hour.
never 2 We’ve had this car ____________ last year.
3 ___________________________ 3 I’ve known the truth ____________
___________________________ yesterday.
___________________________ 4 Sheila’s lived in London ____________ ten
years.
5 It hasn’t been sunny ____________ many
weeks.
6 I haven’t eaten chocolate cake
you / try Japanese food? ____________ my birthday!
many times
4 __________________________
__________________________
__________________________

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 Present perfect

Present perfect / Simple past

Simple past Present perfect

(Completed actions or situations. Specific (Unfinished situations.
time in the past) Non specific time in the past.)

Affirmative He ate Indian food last week. I’ve eaten Indian food recently.
Negative He didn’t eat Indian food yesterday. I’ve never eaten Indian food.
Questions Did he eat Indian food last month? Have you ever eaten Indian food?
Wh- question What did he eat last night? What have you eaten today?

We use the Simple past 6 Circle the correct form of the verb.
to talk about a completed action, a I have gone / went to New York last
completed situation, or a repeated year.
action in the past. 1 We have seen / saw a good movie last
to say when something happened. week.
With When…? in questions. 2 I took / have taken a lot of pictures last
summer.
We use the auxiliary did for questions
and didn’t for the negative form. 3 I haven’t phoned / didn’t phone my
friend yet.
We use the Present perfect:
to talk about recent actions or events, 4 Daniel has already finished / already
or past actions with a result in the finished his homework.
present, or for a period of time which 5 The teacher corrected / has corrected
continues until now. our tests yesterday.
have / has in questions and haven’t 6 My sister has studied / studied Spanish
/ hasn’t in the negative form. this year.
With How long…? in information
questions.
The Present Perfect / The Simple past
I saw her yesterday.
7 Complete the paragraph with the
present perfect or the simple past of
I’ve just seen her.
the verbs in parentheses.
Did you play tennis last Saturday?
Hi Rachel, how are you?
Have you ever played tennis?
I’m really happy! Yesterday we arrived
We studied Spanish two years ago. (arrive) in New York. It’s wonderful!
We have studied Spanish for two years. I 1 (already / see) _______________________
When did you study Spanish? Central Park, but I 2 (not be / yet) _________
How long have you studied Spanish? to the Statue of Liberty _________ . Last
In conversation we often use present night we 3 (have) _________ dinner at an
perfect (for a present situation) and Italian restaurant. Today we 4 (not have / yet)
simple past (for a past action) together. _________ dinner _________ . I’ll write again
soon. Bye!
Have you ever been to Greece?
Yes, I have. I went there last summer.

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 Present perfect

Present perfect progressive You’ve been

texting all day!

Affirmative form (✓)

Full form Short form
I have been running I’ve been running
You have been cooking You’ve been cooking
He has been reading He’s been reading
She has been waiting She’s been waiting
It has been raining It’s been raining
We have been working We’ve been working We form the present perfect
You have been dancing You’ve been dancing progressive with:
They have been crying They’ve been crying subject + have / has been + -ing form
of the main verb
He’s been working hard.
Negative form (✗)
The -ing form is invariable. The auxiliary
Short form verb have changes depending on the
I haven’t been running subject and on whether the sentence is
You haven’t been eating affirmative, negative or a question.
I have been waiting for hours.
He hasn’t been reading
The negative form is:
She hasn’t been waiting
It hasn’t been raining subject + have / has + not (n’t) been
+ -ing form of the main verb, but we
We haven’t been working usually use the short form.
You haven’t been dancing He has not been living there for long.
They haven’t been crying He hasn’t been living there for long.
In short answers we repeat the pronoun
Questions (?) and the auxiliary verb have / has:

Full form Yes, + subject + have / has

No, + subject + haven’t / hasn’t
Have I been running?
Have you been waiting for long?
Have you been eating? No, I haven’t.
Has he been reading? Has she been studying for long?
Has she been waiting? Yes, she has.
Has it been raining? Wh- questions come before the
auxiliary verb have / has.
Have we been working?
Have you been dancing? What have you been doing recently?
Have they been crying? When we want to know how long
something has been in progress we
make questions with:
How long + have / has + subject +
been + -ing form of the main verb
How long have you been waiting?

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 Present perfect

We use the Present perfect progressive: With live, work, teach we can use either
to talk about progressive actions the Present perfect progressive or
which have recently stopped and simple.
have a result in the present. We use the Present perfect simple for
I’m tired. I’ve been working very hard. long, settled situations.
I’ve lived here since I was born.
to talk about progressive or repeated We use the Present perfect progressive
actions which started in the past and
for shorter and temporary actions, or to
continue up to now.
emphasize the duration of the action.
The action can still be happening
or have just stopped. I’ve been living here for two months, but
It has been raining all day, and now I’m moving next week.
it’s sunny. We don’t often use the negative form of
I’ve been calling her all afternoon. the Present perfect progressive unless
to talk about actions which started in we want to emphasize the duration of the
the past and are still in progress in action or contrast it with another action.
the present. I’ve been learning I haven’t been studying Spanish for
Chinese for 3 years. long, but I’ve learned a lot.
to talk about actions repeated over a I haven’t been running. I’ve been
period of time. jogging.
She’s been playing tennis since she
was 10. In negative statements we often prefer to
use the Present perfect simple.
To say how long a progressive action
has been in progress, we use for + a I haven’t watched TV for ages. You
period of time. How long has she haven’t phoned since last Saturday!
been teaching music?
She’s been teaching music for over
12 years.
To say when a progressive action 1 Complete the sentences with the Present
began, we use since + the start of a perfect progressive of the verbs in
period. Nick is still texting his friends. parentheses.
He’s been texting since lunchtime! has been talking (talk)
I’m fed up. She ________________
We use the Present perfect progressive about her problems all day.
with action verbs only. We don’t use it with
stative verbs (see Stative verbs, page 61).
1 I _______________ (organize) the party
We don’t generally use the Present
all week.
perfect progressive with verbs like know,
like, hate believe, have (got). 2 They are breathless. They
_______________ (run) for hours.
How long have you known each other?
I’ve known her since we were young. 3 You’re a TV addict. You _______________
(watch) TV all day.
4 I _______________ (decorate) my
bedroom, and I’m exhausted!
5 My little brother _______________ (play)
computer games for hours.
6 It _______________ (rain) for two days!

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 Present perfect

2 Put the words in the right order. Present perfect simple / Present
crying / the / been / since / left / I / has / perfect progressive
baby / ?
Has the baby been crying since I left?
1 studying / hasn’t / for long / she / been / . Affirmative (✓)
2 many years / has / Mrs Reynolds / singing Present perfect simple
/ for / been / . I have fixed my bike. It’s OK now.
3 all afternoon / been / onions / chopping /
Present perfect progressive
you / have / ?
I’ve been fixing my bike all afternoon.
4 piano / for / teaching / been / he /
15 years / has / .
Negative (✗)
5 we / since / what / been / have / you /
last met / doing / ? Present perfect simple
6 too much / have / eating / you / lately / I haven’t played that game for ages.
been / chocolate / . Present perfect progressive
I haven’t been playing that game for an
hour, only for fifteen minutes.
3 Write questions and answers. Use the
Present perfect progressive and for or Questions (?)
since.
you / wait (half an hour) Present perfect simple
How long have you been waiting? Have you ever been to the USA?
I’ve been waiting for half an hour.
Present perfect progressive
1 they / learn Japanese (6 months) Have you been waiting for long?
_____________________________________
_____________________________________ Wh- questions
2 your friend / live in New York? (last June)
Present perfect simple
_____________________________________
_____________________________________ How long have you known Emma?

3 the children / study (three hours) Present perfect progressive

_____________________________________ How long have you been learning English?
_____________________________________
4 Mom / cook (two o’clock)
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
5 Dad / work in the garden (breakfast)
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
6 you / read that book (last month)
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

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 Present perfect

4 Circle the correct verb tense.

Both the Present perfect simple and the Ouch! I’ ve cut / ve been cutting my
Present perfect progressive relate a finger!
past action to the present. 1 Dad has had / has been having his car
We use the Present perfect simple for for ten years.
recent, completed actions, and when we 2 I’ ve met / ve been meeting your brother
want to emphasize achievements or three or four times.
results.
3 You have eaten / have been eating all
I’ve written an e-mail. day!
I’ve written five e-mails this morning. 4 We have sat / have been sitting here all
The teacher’s angry because we haven’t morning.
done our homework. 5 I’m tired. I have cleaned up / have been
I’ve eaten too much chocolate. I feel ill. cleaning up since eight o’clock.
We can use both stative and action 6 Our team has scored / has been scoring
verbs in the Present perfect simple. two goals.
We use the auxiliary verb have / has /
haven’t / hasn’t + past participle.
We can use the Present perfect simple with 5 Complete the sentences with the
ever / never, already / just / yet, for / since. Present perfect simple or progressive of
Have you heard their new CD yet? It’s the verbs in parentheses.
amazing! have been going to the gym for
I (go) __________________
I’m not going to watch the movie on TV a year.
tonight. I’ve already seen it. 1 My brother (use) ________________
We use the Present perfect progressive the computer since eight o’clock this
for completed or non completed morning!
actions, and when we want to emphasize 2 Great! I (do) ________________ all my
the duration of an activity. homework. Now I can go out with my
How long have you been playing the piano? friends.
I’ve been playing the piano all morning. 3 Our parents (buy) ________________ a
new house. We’re going to move soon.
How long has she been learning the violin?
She’s been learning the violin for two years. 4 I (meet) ________________ two friends of
mine this morning.
In the Present perfect progressive we
can use action verbs only. We can’t use 5 He’s so boring! He (talk) ______________
stative verbs. about himself all evening.
We use the auxiliary verb have / has / 6 Everything’s wet. It (rain)
haven’t / hasn’t + been + -ing form of _______________ for a week.
the main verb.
We don’t generally use the negative form.
We can use the Present perfect
progressive with for or since.
How long have you been learning Spanish?
I’ve been learning Spanish for two years.
I’ve been learning Spanish since I was 12.

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