The Present perfect simple tense:
- The affirmative Present perfect simple tense
- The negative present perfect simple tense
- The interrogative the present perfect simple tense
- When to use the past simple tense
The affirmative Present perfect simple tense:
It consists of have/ has + the past participle form of the verb (pp):
I, we, you, they + have + pp
He, she, it +has + pp
For example:
I have studied hard for two years.
Sam has played football since 2010.
China has taken the third place in phones industry for 2 years.
The kids have cut 5 papers.
The past participle form of the verb (pp) is the third form of conjugating the verb and there is two ways for getting it according to the verb type:
Regular verbs:
We get the second form of the regular verbs by adding (-ed) to the verb ending in the same way we get the second form:
For example:
- start: started: started
- watch: watched: watched
- wash: washed: washed
If the verb ends with (-e), we add (-d) only.
For example:
- estimate: estimated: estimated
- smile: smiled: smiled
If the verb ends with (-y), there are 2 cases:
1. If the (-y) is preceded by a vowel as in (play), we add (-ed) as known.
- play: played: played
- stay: stayed: stayed
2. If the If the (-y) is preceded by a consonant as in (cry), we replace the (-y) with (-ied).
For example:
- cry: cried: cried
- fry: fried: fried
There is no rule for getting the third form (just like second form of the irregular verbs), so mainly we have to memorize them. In this pattern, there are 2 kinds of irregular verbs:
1. Irregular verbs with identical first, second and third forms.
For example:
- shut: shut: shut
- cut: cut: cut
2. Irregular verbs with different first, second and third form.
For example:
- write: wrote: written
- take: took: taken
- eat: ate: eaten
- see: saw: seen
- go: went: gone
- come: came: come
Note: there are 3 important verbs that you need to memorize as you are most likely need them:
to be:
- I am: I was: I have been
- We, you, they are: We, you, they were: We, you, they: have been
- He, she, it is: He, she, it was: He, she, it has been
to have:
- Have: had: had
For example: I have had dinner since long time.
to do:
Do: did: done
The negative present perfect simple tense:
The subject + have/has + not + pp
For example:
I have not eaten rice for dinner since long time.
Mel has not come home yet.
The interrogative the present perfect simple tense:
How to make questions using the present perfect simple tense:
Have/ has + the subject + pp..?
For example:
Question: Have they ever been to London?
Answer:
They have never been to London/ Yes, they have been to London.
Note: when constructing questions with question words, we add the question word before the last formulae as in:
Question: Where have you been before?
Answer: I have been to London before/ I have not been anywhere outside my home town yet.
When to use the past simple tense?
Words that express the past simple tense:
1. To express actions that started in the past and are still continuing till our present time (using for/ since)
For example:
I have studied English for 5 years.
2. To express things that happened recently (using just/ already)
For example:
Emil has just received good news.
3. To express actions that have not happened (using never/ yet)
For example:
Nancy and Alfred have not met yet.
We have never met.
Note: “never” is used in an affirmative sentence and gives the meaning of “not”.
4. To express quantity or numbers.
For example:
I have talked to Elizabeth already.
5. The present perfect tense comes with the following words:
Since, for, yet, already, just, so far, up till now, ever, never, over the time, lately, recently, etc.
