The present perfect is a very common tense in English, but also one of the most confusing for learners. Why? Because the present perfect tense is used to connect the past with the present. It helps us talk about actions or experiences that have a result or meaning in the present moment.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to form the present perfect, when to use it, and how it’s different from the past simple. We’ll also look at common mistakes—and how to avoid them.
Let’s get started.
What is the present perfect?
We use the present perfect to talk about:
- Actions that happened at an unspecified time in the past
- Experiences in life
- Actions that started in the past and continue now
- Recent events with present results
Examples:
- I have visited Japan.
- ‘Have’ is the auxiliary verb for ‘I’, and ‘visited’ is the past participle of ‘visit’. This is a life experience with no specific time mentioned.
- She has lived here for five years.
- ‘Has’ is used with ‘she’, and ‘lived’ is the past participle of ‘live’. The action started in the past and continues now.
- They have just arrived.
- ‘Have’ is used with ‘they’. ‘Just’ means the action happened very recently. The result (they are here) is still important now.
- We have never eaten Thai food.
- ‘Have’ is used with ‘we’. ‘Never’ means not at any time. ‘Eaten’ is the past participle of ‘eat’, which is irregular. This is a life experience.
TIP: If the time is not finished (like “today” or “this week”), or if the effect of the action is still relevant, use present perfect.
How to form the present perfect
In this section, we’ll learn how to make positive sentences, negative sentences, and questions using the present perfect.
Positive sentences
The structure is:
Subject + have/has + past participle
Let’s look at the verb ‘to finish’:
| Subject | Auxiliary | Past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / You / We / They | have | finished | We have finished our work. |
| He / She / It | has | finished | She has finished her work. |
Note: Use the past participle of the verb. For regular verbs, this is usually the base verb + ‘ed’. For irregular verbs, the form may change.
Negative sentences
To make a negative sentence, add ‘not’ after ‘have’ or ‘has’.
Subject + have/has + not + past participle
Examples:
- I have not seen that movie.
- ‘Have’ + ‘not’ + ‘seen’ (past participle of ‘see’).
- She has not called me today.
- ‘Has’ + ‘not’ + ‘called’ (past participle of ‘call’).
Short forms:
- I haven’t seen that movie.
- She hasn’t called me today.
Questions
To make questions, place ‘have’ or ‘has’ before the subject:
Have/Has + subject + past participle?
Examples:
- Have you ever travelled alone?
- ‘Have’ + ‘you’ + ‘travelled’ (past participle of ‘travel’).
- Has he finished his homework?
- ‘Has’ + ‘he’ + ‘finished’ (past participle of ‘finish’).
When to use the present perfect
Here are the three main situations where we use this tense.
1. Life experiences
We use the present perfect to talk about experiences at some point in a person’s life, without saying exactly when they happened.
- I have been to Paris.
- ‘Have’ is used with ‘I’. ‘Been’ is the past participle of ‘be’. This is a completed experience.
- Have you ever eaten sushi?
- ‘Have’ is used with ‘you’. ‘Eaten’ is the past participle of ‘eat’. ‘Ever’ is used to ask about life experience.
- We have never seen snow.
- ‘Have’ + ‘never’ shows that something has not happened at any time.
Time words used: ever, never, before, once, twice, many times
2. Actions continuing into the present
We use the present perfect to talk about actions that started in the past and are still true now.
Examples:
- She has lived here for ten years.
- ‘Has’ + ‘lived’ shows the action started ten years ago and continues today.
- I have known her since school.
- ‘Have’ + ‘known’ shows the connection started in the past and is still true.
Time expressions:
since + starting point: since 2015, since I was a child
for + duration: for two weeks, for a long time
3. Recent actions with present results
We use the present perfect when something has just happened, and the result is important now.
Examples:
- I have lost my wallet.
- ‘Have’ + ‘lost’ (past participle of ‘lose’). The wallet is still missing now.
- She has just arrived.
- ‘Has’ + ‘arrived’. ‘Just’ means a short time ago. The result (she is here now) is important.
- They have broken the window.
- ‘Have’ + ‘broken’ (past participle of ‘break’). The damage is still visible.
Common time expressions: just, already, yet, recently, so far, this week
Present perfect vs. past simple
This is a common confusion.
The present perfect talks about the result now.
The past simple tells us when something happened.
Let’s compare:
| Present Perfect | Past Simple |
|---|---|
| I’ve lost my keys. (still lost) | I lost my keys yesterday. (finished) |
| He’s eaten lunch. (result now) | He ate lunch at 1. (time is given) |
| We’ve lived here since 2010. | We lived there in 2010. |
TIP:
- Use past simple when you say when something happened
- Use present perfect when the time is not important or not finished
Words often used with the present perfect
- ever, never, already, just, yet
- for, since
- recently, so far, until now
Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)
Using the wrong verb form
Wrong: I have saw that movie.
Correct: I have seen that movie.
‘Seen’ is the past participle of ‘see’.
Wrong: She has eat dinner.
Correct: She has eaten dinner.
‘Eaten’ is the past participle of ‘eat’.
Using present perfect with finished time
Wrong: I have been there yesterday.
Correct: I went there yesterday.
‘Yesterday’ is a finished time, so use the past simple.
Tips to remember the present perfect
Tip 1: Use it when the time is not mentioned
I’ve met your brother.
(We don’t know when—time is not important.)
Tip 2: Use it for actions that are still true now
They’ve lived here for five years.
(They still live here.)
Tip 3: Use “have” or “has” with the past participle
I have seen it.
She has finished.
Tip 4: Learn common irregular past participles
go → gone
see → seen
eat → eaten
do → done
write → written
Tip 5: Don’t use it with finished times
Correct: I went to the party last week.
Wrong: I’ve been to the party last week.