Present perfect

Present perfect

Do you know how to use phrases like She's called every day this week, I've broken my leg and Have you ever been to Scotland? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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

Present perfect: 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

Present perfect: Grammar test 2

Language level

Average: 4.1 (83 votes)
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I guess my English on the right way to perfection. LOL!!!! Just kidding. While reading the question I was making up an answer in my mind and when I finally read yours, it was exactly I thought. I love this site!

Submitted by JoAp on Mon, 19/07/2021 - 07:03

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Hello, could you please tell me if these sentences are correct and what the difference in meaning is: 1. Sarah has told me I’m talking in my sleep. I already knew I was. 2. Sarah told me I’ve been talking in my sleep. I already knew I was. 3. Sarah has told me I’ve been talking in my sleep. I already knew I was. And both these same first sentences again, but with ‘I already know I am.’ as the accompanying second sentence. Can “already knew” and “already know” mean the same thing as “already” suggests to having prior knowledge?

Hello JoAp,

All the sentences are correct. The differences are really ones of emphasis,

 

Sentence 1: The information from Sarah is recent; it is still 'news' to you. Speaking in your sleep is still a problem/issue.

 

Sentence 2: The information from Sarah is not seen by you as 'news'. either she told you some time ago, or you consider it something not relevant to your present. For example, you may not be interested in acting upon the information – you don't care that you speak in your sleep. The change from I'm talking to I've been talking does not make any difference in this context.

 

Sentence 3: This is a combination of 1 and 2; see the relevant parts of the descriptions above.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Kapil Kabir on Fri, 09/07/2021 - 05:03

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Hello Sir. I have a question regarding article "the" and possessive case of Noun. India's President and the prime minister condoled on Monday. Sir, as far as I know we can rewrite india's president = The President of India. Whenever I study regards the possessive case of noun, I study when we want to show possession of two nouns, for instance, It is Jake and Lilly's House As we know the "House" belongs to both Jake and Lilly. But the question that mentioned above sounds good but in my opinion it spoils the possessive case of noun,because, if we assume "the word 'India' has also possession on the word 'the prime minister' then why we need to write article 'the' before prime minister as we know we can write "India's prime minister = The prime minister of india". As far as I know If we write any possessive case before a noun we know it makes the noun definite. I want to ask you Does the Possessive case "india's" have possession on the prime minister as it has possession on president. Please Elaborate it.
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Submitted by Peter M. on Fri, 09/07/2021 - 06:44

In reply to by Kapil Kabir

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Hello Kapil Kabir,

I think the clearest way to expain this is to compare two version of your sentence:

1. India's President and the prime minister condoled on Monday.

2. India's President and (India's) prime minister condoled on Monday.

 

In sentence 2 the possessive India's refers to both people. It is clear that both the prime minister and the president are Indian.

In sentence 1 the possessive form describes only 'President'. The prime minister could be from India or from another country. We would only know this from the context. The article here must refer to another mention of the prime minister earlier in the text.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Kapil Kabir on Mon, 28/06/2021 - 18:00

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Hello sir, "Farmers like Baburao Tadas in India are praying for normal monsoon rains after their incomes were hit by erratic weather and lower crop prices over the past few years. Sir, I want to ask a question regarding the use of 'past/next/last' words when they follow Article 'the'. I read a blog of yours on the same website where a teacher explained the use of last/next with article 'the' when they follow it. In the blog, The teacher said "If article 'the' precedes these word we have to use present perfect tense." But in the question above mentioned, past tense is used, i want to ask you Whether is Simple Past Tense correct here or Present Prefect should be there instead of Simple Past? Please elaborate it.
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Tue, 29/06/2021 - 08:15

In reply to by Kapil Kabir

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Hello Kapil Kabir,

It's difficult to make generalizations about grammar, and especially without specific examples in context. To me the general rule of using the present perfect sounds correct, but this is not to say that it's always the only possible form. 

I'm afraid I can't explain the sentence you ask about. I don't think I'd say 'the past few years' -- instead I'd probably say 'in recent years'. I wouldn't say the sentence is wrong, but I'd suggest changing that last part.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Kapil Kabir on Sun, 27/06/2021 - 04:14

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Hi, Sir I'm facing a problem with the a specific structure of "OF". When it comes before the Noun Phrases. There are so many structures of "OF" with noun phrases. While I was reading a newspaper, I came by it. The sentence is The first image was of the more distant one. I want to know when 'of' precedes 'be' verb, what it means to us. I'm not dawning on the meaning what it is conveying. Please elaborate it.
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Sun, 27/06/2021 - 14:52

In reply to by Kapil Kabir

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Hello Kapil Kabir,

It looks to me as if some words have been omitted from the sentence you ask about. I'd need to know the context to give you an exact answer, but it sounds as if the text this sentence is from probably discusses two or more images before this sentence -- for example, maybe it's two images of two comets, one of which is relatively close and the other is further away.

The sentence you ask about indicates that it's talking about the more distant comet, which is represented in the first image. In other words, it's another form of 'The first image was [a photograph] of the more distant [comet].'

Hope this helps you make sense of it. 

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team