The Present Perfect tense expresses actions that occurred at an unspecified time in the past but are relevant to the present. This tense is commonly used for life experiences, recent events, and ongoing situations that began in the past.
Structure
Affirmative
Subject + have/has + past participle (V3)
I/You/We/They | have + V3 |
He/She/It | has + V3 |
She has visited Italy. = She's visited Italy.
I have seen this movie. = I've seen this movie
They have finished their homework. = They've finished their homework.
Negative
Subject + have/has + not + past participle (V3)
I/You/We/They | have + not + V3 |
He/She/It | has + not + V3 |
She has not visited Italy. = She hasn't visited Italy.
I have not seen this movie. = I haven't seen this movie.
They have not finished their homework. = They haven't finished their homework.
Question
Have/Has + subject + past participle (V3)
Have | I/You/We/They + V3 |
Has | He/She/It + V3 |
Has she visited Italy?
Have you seen this movie?
Have they finished their homework?
Auxiliary Verb (Have)
The auxiliary verb "have" is used in the Present Perfect Tense to help form the verb phrase. It changes depending on the subject:
have with ''I'', "he," "she," "it," or singular nouns
has with "we," "you," "they," or plural nouns
In negative sentences, "not" is added after "have/has".
In questions, "have/has" comes before the subject.
Main Verb
In the Present Perfect Tense, the main verb is always in its past participle form. The past participle is typically the third form (V3) of the verb.
Regular Verbs
For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding "-ed" to the base verb.
visit→ visited
play → played
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs have unique past participle forms.
go → gone
eat → eaten