1. Present Perfect - basic
Předpřítomný čas
by Petra Halfarová

2. Forms – positive sentences
HAVE rd 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

3. 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

4. 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?

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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)

9. 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?

10. 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?

11. 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.

12. 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)

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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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)

17. 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?

18. Literature
SWAN, M. Practical English Usage OXFORD: Oxford University Press 2005 ISBN 13: Online – to