The Present Perfect Tense

:USE

:The present perfect is used when the time period has not finished
.I have seen three movies this week
)This week has not finished yet(

The present perfect is often used when the time is not mentioned
.Gerry has failed his exam again

The present perfect is often used when the time is recent

John has just arrived in Victoria

The present perfect is often used with for and since

Greg has lived here for 20 years
Greg has lived here since 1978

FORM
The present perfect is formed like this
/have plus past participle has

The present perfect tense is common in English. It is used for many different
functions. This page will explain the most important uses of the present perfect tense.

Use 1: Actions which started in the past and are still

continuing
The present perfect is often used for an action which started at some time in the past,
and are still continuing now. Often, the words for )with a length of time( and since
)with a starting time( are used along with the present perfect.

He has lived in Canada for five years.

)He started living in Canada five years ago, and he's still living there now.(

She has worked at the University since 1994.

)She started working at the University in 1994, and she's still working there
now.(
Use 2: Actions which happened at some unknown
time in the past
Sometimes, it's important to say that something happened )or didn't happen(, but it's
not important )or not known( when it happened. In this case, we can use the present
perfect too. In this case, we often use the words already, yet, ever or never along with
the present perfect. These words usually go before the past participle in the sentence.

I've already seen that film. I don't want to see it again.

)It doesn't matter when I saw it.(

Have you ever been to Germany?

)It doesn't matter when you went -- I just want to know whether you have been
there or not.(

Use 3: Actions which happened in the past, but have

an effect in the present
This use is a little more difficult than the other two. In this case, the action happened
at some time in the past, but the effect of the action is still important now. It's easiest
to understand this use if we compare present perfect sentences with simple past
sentences.

Tense Sentence Meaning

Present I haven't found the keys yet -- they're
I've lost my keys.
perfect still missing.

I lost my keys I've probably found them again

Simple past
yesterday. already.

Present She's broken her

The arm is still injured.
perfect arm.

Simple past She broke her arm. The arm is probably OK by now

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

• We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.

• We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January,
Monday.
 for since
a period of time a point in past time

x------------

20 minutes 6.15pm

three days Monday

6 months January

4 years 1994

2 centuries 1800

a long time I left school

ever the beginning of time

etc etc

Here are some examples:

• I have been here for 20 minutes.

• I have been here since 9 o'clock.
• John hasn't called for 6 months.
• John hasn't called since February.
• He has worked in New York for a long time.
• He has worked in New York since he left school.

For can be used with all tenses. Since is

usually used with perfect tenses only.

EXERCISE

.Use since/for to fill in the blanks

 .Maya has been a professional singer ________ 1989

So far, it has rained ________ five hours .

.I haven't been snowboarding ________ last winter

.Jo has been a student here ________ March

.Cougars have almost disappeared from the Victoria area ________ humans settled

.Mary has kept a diary ________ she was ten years old

.First Nations people in British Columbia have told stories about the eagle __hundreds of years

.Canadian two-dollar coin )or toonie( has been in circulation ________ 1996

Each of these sentences should be either simple past or present perfect. The
simple past is usually used with definite times (such as "at six o'clock"), while the
present perfect is usually used if an action started in the past and is still going on
now. Choose the best tense for each sentence.

Dolphins ________ in BC waters for millions of years, and are still common today.
lived
have lived
 .I ________ my binder yesterday, but my brother found it this morning
lost
have lost

.The Titanic ________ in 1912

sank
has sunk

.This wine--- in the cellar for 15 years. When we take it out and open it, it will taste beautiful
was
has been

.He ________ when his girlfriend left him, but he's OK now
cried
has cried

.I_____ some new shorts, but I don't think I like them. Maybe I'll take them back to the store
bought
have bought

.Junko ________ bacon in her life! She's a true vegetarian

never ate
has never eaten

.I ________ these boots to go hiking yesterday

wore
have worn

.The children ________ all the orange juice! We'll need to get some more
drank
have drunk