The present perfect refers to an action that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past or began in the past and continued to the present time.
We form the present perfect as follows:
Subject + have/has + the past participle.
Table of contents of this lesson: Present Perfect
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Present perfect - Affirmative form
The present perfect is formed by HAVE/HAS + the past participle (the third column of our irregular verbs tables).
The past participle of the verbs is formed by adding -ED or -D to the verb:
- Live → Lived
- Cry → Cried
- Stop → Stopped
However, there are some irregular verbs whose participle changes:
- Be → Been
- Have → Had
- Write → Written
So, here's some examples of the affirmative form:
- I have loved the movie.
- She has been busy.
- They have lost their temper.
Download the worksheet below and practise!
Present perfect - Negative form
The negative form of the present perfect is formed by HAVE/HAS + NOT + the past participle (the third column of our irregular verbs tables):
- I have not studied today.
- She has not had breakfast today.
- We have not seen him today.
The contracted form of HAVE NOT is HAVEN'T and the contracted form of HAS NOT is HASN'T:
- I haven't studied today.
- She hasn't had breakfast today.
- We haven't seen him today.
Download the worksheet below and practise!
Present perfect - Interrogative form
The interrogative form of the present perfect is formed by HAVE/HAS + NOT + subject + the past participle:
- Have you read this book?
- Has he done his homework?
- Have they seen the movie?
Download the worksheet below and practise!
We always use the present perfect with the following words:
- For (per) - I have had this coat for six months.
- Since (da) - I have been here since five o'clock.
- Never / Ever (mai) - I have never been to Scotland. / Have you ever been to Scotlad?
- Already (già) - I have already had lunch.
- Yet (ancora) - I haven't met him yet.
Look at the sentences and memorise their position, it never changes.
