The Present Perfect Tense

The following lesson will show you how to use the Present Perfect Tense in English.

FORMS

The Present Perfect Tense has the following forms:

• Affirmative: S + HAVE/HAS + Past Participle
• Negative: S + HAVE NOT/HAS NOT + Past Participle
• Interrogative/Question: HAVE/HAS + S + Past Participle

USAGE

The Present Perfect Tense is used to express:

• an action that began in the past and has continued to the present and possibly to the future
  
  Examples:
  
  I have lived in this house for twenty years.
  My father has taught American literature since 1995.


• an action that has happened in the past but the exact time of the action is either not known or not indicated
  
  Examples:
  
  I have seen that film before.
  She's been to America several times.


• an action that has been completed a relatively short time before the moment of speaking
  
  Examples:
  
  The manager has just gone out.
  Tom is jealous because his friend has bought a new car.

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