Extra: Present perfect - 1
It is useful to distinguish two uses of the Present Perfect Tense.
- Unspecified Time Before Now
- Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
Use 1 Unspecified Time Before Now
We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now.
The exact time is not important.
Examples:
- I have seen that movie twenty times.
- I think I have met him once before.
- There have been many earthquakes in California.
- People have travelled to the Moon.
- People have not travelled to Mars.
- Have you read the book yet?
- Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
What is an unspecified time before?
The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners.
It is best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:
- Topic 1 Experience
- Topic 2 Change Over Time
- Topic 3 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting
- Topic 4 Multiple Actions at Different Times
Extra: Present perfect - 2
Topic 1: Experience
You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of..."
You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience.
The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.
Examples:
- I have been to France.
This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France.
Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
- I have been to France three times.
You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
- I have never been to France.
This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
Topic 2: Change Over Time
We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.
Examples:
- You have grown since the last time I saw you.
- The government has become more interested in arts education.
- My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
Topic 3: An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting
We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened.
Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.
Examples:
- James has not finished his homework yet.
- Susan has not mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
- Bill has still not arrived.
Note that Dutch uses the Onvoltooid Tegenwoordige tijd in some of those cases:
- James is nog niet klaar met zijn huiswerk/Susan beheerst het Japans niet,
but:
- Willem is nog niet aangekomen/ Het is nog niet opgehouden te regenen (of: Het regent nog steeds).
Topic 4: Multiple Actions at Different Times
We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times.
Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.
Examples:
- The army has attacked that city five times.
- I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
- She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.
- We have had many major problems while working on this project.
Extra: Present perfect - 3
Use 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs (= verbs that need no -ing to express the Progressive. Examples are: to be, to need, to exist, to own, to want) we use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now.
"For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.
Examples:
- I have had a cold for two weeks.
- She has been in England for six months.
- Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
Note that Dutch uses the Onvoltooid Tegenwoordige Tijd in those cases:
Ik ben al twee weken verkouden/Ze is al zes maanden in Nederland/Ze houdt van chocola van jongs af aan.
