COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH SKILLS I

SIMPLE PRESENT PERFECT

SUBMITTED BY ALEMSEGED MAMMO

ID. NO - ECS1416/16

INSTRUCTOR’S NAME ENDALKACHEW BEKELE

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PERFECT TENSES
To indicate the perfect tenses, use have, has, or had and the past participle. These tenses past,
present, and future show the completion (or non-completion) of an action in relation to another
action or in relation to a time period or deadline. When you use the present perfect, you deal with
now (up to this moment) as the deadline and the action has or has not already taken place.

The present perfect is used for the following:

1. An action that took place at some indefinite time in the past:
 We have already seen that movie. (Sometime in the past in relation to now, that action
took place.)
 He has washed his hands and is ready to eat. (The hand washing took place at a time
before now.)
2. An action that happened more than once in the past:
 I have visited Mexico six times.
 Nancy has written dozens of letters.
3. An action that began sometime in the past and continues up to this moment:
 Daniel has studied here since 1992. (He still studies here.)
 Alan has lived in that apartment for six months. (He still lives there.)

Present Perfect vs. Past Simple (Review & Exercises)

Verb Tense Review: The Past Simple
We use the past simple verb tense to talk about events that happened at a specific time in the
past. Usually, in these sentences, there is a word like 'yesterday' or 'last year' which shows the
action happened at a time in the past that is finished.

Past Simple Keywords: yesterday, last week, last month, and last year, in 1994
 I washed my clothes yesterday. (yesterday is finished)
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 I met her in 2009. (2009 is finished)

 I woke up at 7 a.m. this morning. (this morning is finished)
This actions happened in the past, they are finished, and there is no connection with now.

Verb Tense Review: The Present Perfect

Subject + [Auxiliary verb ‘have’] + [Verb in Past Participle]
 I have met her.
 She has visited Seoul.
 John has exercised twice this week.
Present Perfect Keywords: today, this week, this month, this year, in my life, recently, lately,
since, ever, never, yet, still, so far
With the present perfect, we cannot use a specific time in the past such as 'yesterday' or 'in 2008.'
We use the present perfect when we talk about
1) Actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past,
2) Actions in a period that has not finished yet, and
3) Actions that began in the past and continue to the present.
Let's review each case.
1) Using Present Perfect with an Unspecified Time in the Past - Talking about Experience
 I have seen the movie Titanic.
 She hasn't met him.
These two sentences don't say anything about time. They don't have words like 'yesterday' or 'in
2008'. When we speak like this, we are talking about the experience we have had in life. These
sentences are the same as saying:
 I have seen the movie Titanic in my life. (I have this experience)
 She hasn't met him in her life. (She doesn't have this experience.)
We're talking about your life. Is your life finished? No, you are still alive. Your life is a period
that has not finished yet. This is usually how we use the present perfect (see the next case).
2) Using Present Perfect with a Period That Has Not Finished Yet
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 I have paid my rent this month. (this month = a period that is not finished yet)
 I have gone to the doctor twice this year. (this year = unfinished)
 I have been to Japan twice in my life. (your life = unfinished)
 I have flown in an airplane.*
*Again, in the last example, we use the present perfect because there is no mention of time.
We are talking our life experience. And because your life is not finished yet, we use the present
perfect. We cannot use the present perfect for dead people. For example, 'Michael
Jackson has sang in many concerts'. We cannot say 'has sang' because the period in which he
sang (his career, his life) is finished. There is no connection with the present, so we use the
Past Simple.

3) Using Present Perfect Progressive for Actions that Continue from the Past until Now

Subject + [Auxiliary verb ‘Have’] + [been] [Verb in ~ ing form (Present Participle)]
This is similar to the rule above.
 She has been working here since 2010.
 We have been waiting for 30 minutes.
In these examples, it's the action that is unfinished. You began working, or waiting, in the past,
and you are still doing it now. There is a clear connection with the present. We want to focus on
the fact that the action is still happening (now), we use the progressive tense -- in this case, it is
the present perfect Progressive.
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Note: With the verbs live, work, teach, and study, there is no difference in whether you use the
present perfect Simple or present perfect Progressive. For example, "I have lived here for two
years." is the same as "I have been living here for two years."
There is one more situation in which we often use the present perfect.
4) Present Perfect for Actions in the Very Recent Past
 I've just had breakfast, so I'm not hungry.
 Jane has lost her job, so she's sad.
We could use either the present perfect or the past simple (Jane lost her job) for these sentences.
True, both actions have finished, but because they have happened very recently, there is still
some connection with the present.
Prepositions with the Present Perfect: Since & For
We use since with the Present Perfect to indicate when an action (that continues to the present)
began.
 I've been studying English since 2004. (I am still studying it)
 She has been married since she was 20 years old. (She is still married)
 People have been fighting in wars since the beginning of time. (They are still fighting)
Again, these actions continued in the past until now. (Note: We use from for actions that started
in the past and have finished, for example: I lived in that house from 2002 to 2004.)
We use for to show the amount of time that has passed since an action began.
 I have been studying English for 12 years.
 She has been married for 8 years.
 People have been fighting in wars for thousands of years.
Compare the following sets of sentences.
 The Davis family lived in Awassa for six years, and then they moved to Adama. (They
no longer live in Awassa.)
The Davis family has lived in Adama for six years. (The family still lives there.)
 Marty wrote five letters last week. (one definite time, finished action)
So far this week, Marty has written ten letters. (He may write more before the end of the week.)
 It rained hard last night. (one completed past event)
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It has rained hard five nights this week. (It may rain again this week.)
 We worked late Friday night. (one completed action)
We have worked late every night this week. (We may continue to work late every night.)
 I paid 25Birr for last Saturday’s concert ticket. That was too much money! (one event)
I have paid 25Birr for all my concert tickets. (I still am paying 25Birr per ticket.)

EXERCISE 2
Write the correct form of the verb.
1. He (wrote, has written) the exercise many times before turning it in.
2. Mark (wore, has worn) his new suit to the party last night.
3. No one (thought, has thought) it would rain yesterday.
4. Larry (read, has read) each of the Harry Potter books this year.
5. Paul (quit, has quit) smoking since his heart attack.
6. While Neal was cutting the bread, he (hurt, has hurt) his finger.
7. Last summer we (took, have taken) a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains.
8. We (waited, have waited) since 2000 to visit my family in China.
9. The sun (set, has set) earlier every night this summer.
10. No one (saw, has seen) the new Mel Gibson movie yet.
11. Luis (finally received, has finally received) his tax refund last Tuesday.
12. After her death, Mother Theresa (left, has left) us a wonderful legacy.
13. José (danced, has danced) very well. Did you see him glide across the room?
14. Hugo (ran, has run) five miles every morning last summer.
15. The wind (blew, has blown) so hard last night that our awning came off.
16. Bart (sang, has sung) in concert ten times this month.
17. The children (ate, have eaten) the apples on their way to the cafeteria.
18. We (heard, have heard) the good news and are glad that you received the award.
19. Mark Spitz (swam, has swum) in many international competitions.
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20. The baseball player (caught, has caught) the high fly ball after leaping into the air.