Present Perfect - basic Předpřítomný čas by Petra Halfarová

Forms – positive sentences HAVE + 3rd form of an irregular verb / -ed regular HAS I HAVE DONE HAVE PLAYED YOU HAVE DONE HAVE PLAYED HE/SHE/IT HAS DONE HAS PLAYED WE HAVE DONE HAVE PLAYED THEY HAVE DONE HAVE PLAYED

Forms – negative sentences HAVEN’T + 3rd form of an irregular verb / -ed regular HASN’T I HAVEN’T DONE HAVEN’T PLAYED YOU HAVEN’T DONE HAVEN’T PLAYED HE/SHE/IT HASN’T DONE HASN’T PLAYED WE HAVEN’T DONE HAVEN’T PLAYED THEY HAVEN’T DONE HAVEN’T PLAYED

Forms - questions reverse order HAVE I DONE…? HAVE I PLAYED…? HAVE YOU DONE…? HAVE YOU PLAYED…? HAS HE/SHE/IT DONE…? HAS HE/SHE/IT PLAYED…? HAVE WE DONE…? HAVE WE PLAYED…? HAVE THEY DONE…? HAVE THEY PLAYED…? Why have you done this? How many times have you played golf? Who has he done it for? Why has he played so badly?

Forms – short answers we use auxilliary verb to make short answers – have / haven’t, has / hasn’t Have you ever been to Scotland? Yes, I have. Once. Have you done your homework yet? No, I haven’t. I’m going to do it now, mum. Has Tonia ever seen Phil? No, she hasn’t. I should introduce them. Have they played tennis all their lives? Yes, they have. That’s why they’re so good.

Use – differences with Czech this tense doesn’t exist in the Czech language ( difficult for Czech students) we can translate it by a past or present tense it always has some connection to present ( it’s called present perfect after all) it’s a widely used tense, more in Britain (Americans don’t use it sometimes) it’s used for a lot of common situations

What do you need the Present Perfect for ? to tell what you have done so far/ up to now. to tell what you have never/ ever done to tell what you have done recently/ lately. to tell what you have just /already done; or something you haven’t done yet. a period of time – since / for.

so far / up to now / before now We look back from the present into the past and we say what has happened before now. I’ve met a lot of famous people. (before now) She has won many awards. (in her life) J.K. Rowling has written 9 books. (up to now)

ever / never We talk about our experience in our lives. Have you ever been to Paris? Yes, once. It’s a beautiful city. Have you ever eaten sushi? No, not yet. Is it good? She’s never met his ex-wife. Has your boyfriend ever forgotten about your anniversary?

recently / lately we use Present Perfect to talk about what has happened recently, lately I haven’t seen you lately. What have you been up to? Have you seen any good movies lately? My parents have recently decided to move to the countryside. Have you seen Mel recently?

just / already / yet / not yet / still Present Perfect is often used to express completion or achievement often used with ALREADY, YET, NOT YET, JUST, STILL I’ve finally managed to finish all my homework. Tim, have you done the washing yet? Yes, ma, I’ve already done it. My brother hasn’t found a new job yet. I still haven’t found the keys I lost last week. I’ve just downloaded the new Radiohead CD.

something has happened it has always some relation to present I’ve lost my keys. (and I don’t have them now) He’s broken his leg. (it’s still broken) Someone has let the cat in. (the cat is inside) Our dog has died. (and is dead) Dana has had a baby. (she has a baby now) My dad’s bought a new car. (he has a new car now) Lenny has become a doctor! (he’s a doctor now)

Use – finished events - news Lisa has crashed her car again! finished action news now past present

It’s WRONG to use present tense: Use – for, since to talk about actions and situations that have continued up to the present we use it for state verbs (be, know, have…) and sometimes for “live” and “work” It’s WRONG to use present tense: I know her for a long time. I’ve known her for a long time. They are married since 2000. They’ve been married since 2000.

for / since FOR = po nějakou dobu we use it when we talk approximatelly I’ve known him for a very long time. We’ve been married for 10 years. I’ve had this car for ages. They’ve lived in this house for 30 years. SINCE = od určité doby, od určitého data we use it when we talk specifically I’ve known him since 2000. We’ve been married since 2006. I’ve had this car since my 18’s birthday They’ve lived in this house since 1980. we use Present Perfect to announce news of recent events Patricia has crashed the car again.

When NOT to use Present Perfect? when we use words which refer to a completely finished period of time YESTERDAY, LAST WEEK, THEN, WHEN, THREE YEARS AGO, IN 1970, WHEN I WAS 10, IN DECEMBER, ON MONDAY, AT THE PARTY… these words focus on PAST not present when we talk about people who are dead, about things which happened long time ago etc. (there’s no connection to present)

Examples – Present Perfect / Past Simple Have you seen Sam recently? Yes, I saw him yesterday. I’ve lost my mobile phone. I lost my mobile phone on Friday, but somebody found it and gave it back to me. I was so lucky! My girlfriend has left me. My girlfriend left me two months ago. Leo and Karen have got married! Leo and Karen got married last week. Terry Pratchett has written many “Discworld” books. Charles Dickens wrote many books about poor people. When have you seen her? When did you see her?

Literature SWAN, M. Practical English Usage OXFORD: Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 13: 978 0 19 442096 9 Online www.helpforenglish.cz – to 26. 11. 2011