Friday, December 25, 2015

Present Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Simple
AffirmativeNegativeInterrogative
Long FormContracted Form




I have doneI have not doneI haven't doneHave I done?
You have doneYou have not doneYou haven't doneHave you done?
He/she/it has doneHe/she/it has not doneHe/she/it hasn't doneHas he/she/it done?
We have doneWe have not doneWe haven't doneHave we done?
You have doneYou have not doneYou haven't doneHave you done?
They have doneThey have not doneThey haven't doneHave they done?
Present Perfect Continuous
AffirmativeNegativeInterrogative
Long FormContracted Form




I have been doingI have not been doingI haven't been doingHave I been doing?
You have been doingYou have not been doingYou haven't been doingHave you been doing?
He/she/has been doingHe/she/it has not  been doingHe/she/it hasn't been doing.Has he/she/it been doing?
We have been doingWe have not been doingWe haven't been doingHave we been doing?
You have been doingYou have not been doingYou haven't been doingHave you been doing?
They have been doingThey have not been doingThey haven't been doingHave they been doing?
The present perfect is used to refer to actions which take place in an
unfinished time period up to the time of speaking.
  • The present perfect continuous tense is used to refer to an action
        which started in the past and continues today.
    • I have been learning English since September.
          (I started in September and I continue to take lessons today.)

  • The present perfect simple is used to refer to the finished part of
        a continuous action.
      So far in my English course :
    • I have learnt new vocabulary.
    • I have revised some grammar rules.
          (My English course is not finished, but I have finished some of
           the lessons.)
Example:
Today is your English Revision day. It is now 2 p.m.
At 9 o'clock this morning you started your revision work. At 2 pm the day is not finished, so you can say :
"I have been revising my English since 9 o'clock this morning."
(You are still revising your English, so the continuous form is used.)

However, you have completed part of the revision work, so you can say,
for example:  "So far today I have revised tenses and irregular verbs."

N.B. 
If you refer to a specific time earlier in the day, you must use the Past Simple :
"This morning I revised tenses and irregular verbs." or,
"I met Charlie for lunch at 12.30"

No comments:

Post a Comment