Present perfect
Look at these examples to see how the present perfect is used.
He's been to ten different countries.
I haven't seen her today.
My phone's run out of battery. Can I use yours?
Have you ever dyed your hair a different colour?
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use the present perfect simple (have or has + past participle) to talk about past actions or states which are still connected to the present.
Unfinished time and states
We often use the present perfect to say what we've done in an unfinished time period, such as today, this week, this year, etc., and with expressions such as so far, until now, before, etc.
They've been on holiday twice this year.
We haven't had a lot of positive feedback so far.
I'm sure I've seen that film before.
We also use it to talk about life experiences, as our life is also an unfinished time period. We often use never in negative sentences and ever in questions.
I've worked for six different companies.
He's never won a gold medal.
Have you ever been to Australia?
We also use the present perfect to talk about unfinished states, especially with for, since and how long.
She's wanted to be a police officer since she was a child.
I haven't known him for very long.
How long have you had that phone?
Finished time and states
If we say when something happened, or we feel that that part of our life is finished, we use the past simple.
We visited Russia for the first time in 1992.
I went to three different primary schools.
Before she retired, she worked in several different countries.
We also use the past simple for finished states.
We knew all our neighbours when we were children.
I didn't like bananas for a really long time. Now I love them!
Past actions with a result in the present
We can use the present perfect to talk about a past action that has a result in the present.
He's broken his leg so he can't go on holiday.
There's been an accident on the main road, so let's take a different route.
They haven't called me, so I don't think they need me today.
Again, if we say when it happened, we use the past simple.
He broke his leg last week so he can't go on holiday.
However, we often use the present perfect with words like just, recently, already, yet and still.
We've recently started going to the gym.
She's already finished season one and now she's watching season two.
Have you checked your emails yet?
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
1 mistake in the second exercises
Well hello,
I'm here to share something I have just recognized and has been bugging me for some time.
I think had problems comprehending the meanings of "Present Perfect" because of the word "Perfect". In my mother tongue (Vietnamese), we translate the word "Perfect" into "Finished", which is true to the word's Latin root. That means we literally call the tense "Finished Present Tense". Due to this, I had difficulty in learning the meanings of the tense on the website since not everything is finished such as unfinished times, states.
Specifically, my brain had a hard time processing when I stumbled on the example: "She has lived in Liverpool all her life," as you can see, nothing is finished here lol. (At least I think so).
I have concluded that it's better to think the Present Perfect Tense helps connect between the past and the present. The actions/states can be finished or unfinished in the past, but they still connect to the present.
P/s: I hope this help someone facing the same problem. Please correct if I'm wrong. And also, I wonder why people still keep the name "Perfect". Wouldn't it confuse/cause problems for learners, like me?
P/s 2: I have to write this comment the second time as the page logged out lol.
Hello HoangHuyVNOMG,
I agree that the names of some forms in English grammar can be confusing. These are terms originally used to describe Latin and do not fit English so well. There are alternative terms which are better aligned to English as it truly functions, such as 'retrospective' rather than 'perfect' or '-ing form' rather than 'gerund' and 'present participle'. It's difficult to change terms which have been used for a long time, however!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hii,
Can you please differentiate "states" and "time"? I found the 2 concepts quite confusing.
For example, when we say "I haven't seen her today", is it an unfinished state or an unfinished time?
Hello HoangHuyVNOMG,
States refer to things which we see as constant: usually thoughts, feelings, opinions, states, or relationships. This is contrasted with dynamic actions which are things we do actively such as walk, eat or speak and which have a clear beginning and end. The distinction is not really important here but it is relevant when we consider the continuous aspect, which is generally used only with actions rather than states.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello!
Yesterday I was asked whether this sentence is correct:
Travelling was always popular although not everybody could afford holidays abroad.
Apart from the missing comma, I've started to wonder about the tense and the adverbial of time. I'm not sure, it sounds somewhat off.
Yes – always goes with the Past Simple, when talking about past actions/habits etc.
But here we're not talking about a completed action, are we? It's not as if travelling stopped being popular.
And travelling is popular now too, so shouldn't it be: Travelling has always been popular...?
If my reasoning is correct, what about the modal verb then? Could then, but can now?
As always, thank you for your help!
Hello szoszke,
The sentence is fine aside from the missing comma. As you say, the past simple is used for completed time periods, so the assumption here is that the speaker is referring to a particular time in the past which is specified elsewhere in the broader context (in the 19th century, amongst my school friends, in the 1960s etc). With a past time context like this the use of always tells us that the popularity of travelling did not fluctuate in that period - in other words, it was not popular at some points and unpopular at others, but was rather always popular.
On the other hand, if the speaker wants to talk in more general terms then the present perfect is needed, as you say: it has always been popular up to the present day.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
At eight o’clock in the evening, the clock struck and we gathered around the table.
Mary asked me about the food, and I replied, “It’s a delicious dish; 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 anything like it 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎.” She smiled and told me that since moving to the countryside, she 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐝 on the pure vegetables she grows herself on her farm.
Then she told me about my town, and I said to her that the garden where we used to play 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝 to a wealthy man who built a large store on it, so we no longer have another place to have fun as we did before.
After that, she sat in front of a large musical instrument, and then asked me, “𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 you 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 the piano?” I replied :"No, 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 it".
She then suggested that I spend a few days of my holiday with her family, but I told her that I 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 my training 𝘺𝘦𝘵, but I still really appreciate the invitation.
What is the difference between the present perfect and the past perfect and how can I know where to use each one?
Hello Akumi_123,
Verbs with perfect aspect are retrospective, meaning they refer backwards to another time. The present perfect looks backwards from the present, connecting the present to the past. The past perfect refers backwards from the past, connecting the past to an earlier past.
You can read more about these forms in our grammar section on verbs:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/verbs
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team