How is perfect formed? The Present Perfect Tense

One of the most common difficulties in the English language for Russian speakers is the difference between Present Perfect and. Is it really that important? Is there a difference between the following sentences?

Ivan Taraskin was born in 1970.
Ivan Taraskin went to school in 1976.
Ivan Taraskin was in London 3 times.

Born, went, was- all three verbs are in the past tense. Therefore, I will use the Past Simple for all 3 sentences and at first I will be indignant when they tell me that in English they will sound like this.

Ivan Taraskin was born in 1970. (Past Simple)
Ivan Taraskin went to school in 1976. (Past Simple)
Ivan Taraskin has been to London 3 times.

Imagine if you said:

Ivan Taraskin went to London 3 times

This mistake would cost him his life! Why? Yes, because in English the past tense is used when an action cannot be repeated in the specified period of time. And in our case, it cannot happen again only if the person is no longer in the world.

Ivan Taraskin has been to London 3 times (by now he has been to London 3 times and may go there again)
Ivan Taraskin went to London 3 times (can't go there anymore)

When you want to say that you have watched (at the time of speech) 4000 films, eaten 50 kg of chocolate or met 100 people, you need to use the Present Perfect, that is, have/has(for he/she/it)+ 3rd form of the verb.

The present completed tense is a stumbling block for many English language learners. Firstly, because it is not as transparent and understandable as or . Indeed: simple time - one-time, regular simple actions; continuous time - extended, prolonged actions. But completed time is not always a completed action. Therefore, this is a frequent case when you just need to memorize the use of time.

Secondly, the time itself is called PRESENT completed, and it denotes actions in the PAST.

And thirdly, between Present perfect and there is a very fine line that must be followed.

So, let's look at each of these three contradictions separately.

1. What actions do we call complete? These are actions necessarily in the past, which were completed recently, just now, etc. That is, those actions that are relatively close to the present time. That is why it is called PRESENT completed, because it has a connection with the present and must be completed by the present moment in time.

2. As we just agreed, the present completed tense is so called because it denotes actions in the past that are in one way or another connected with the PRESENT tense:

These actions can have a tangible result or evidence in the present tense: Anna has graduated from university. (Anna graduated from the university. The result is that Anna now has a diploma, you can touch it, for example).

This action is news, new information that you tell someone: The police have caught the thief. (The police caught the thief. This is news).

I have prepared for the seminar in biology. (I prepared for a seminar on biology. The result is that now I have some information on biology in my head, you can hear it).
The grandfather has painted the roof. (Grandfather painted the roof. The result is that the roof is now a different color, you can see it).
Jack has finally got his driver license! (Jack finally got his license! This is new information you tell a friend, co-worker, etc.)

3. What's the difference? between Past simple And Present perfect , if both of these tenses convey actions in the past? Schematically Past simple can be depicted like this:

Now let's see how the action is located in time space in Present perfect.

Do you see the difference? Actions in the present complete are only those that are sooooo close to the present moment in time, have a connection with it and are NOT INDICATED BY A CERTAIN TIME.

What is the structure Present perfect ? In this tense we have an auxiliary verb - have . This means that after pronouns he/ she/ it it changes to has . The main verb ends with -ed (if it is correct), or in the third form/participle form (if it is ). So it’s not in vain that our impressive list of irregular verbs is still being studied! Let's look at examples first with the regular verb:

Grandpa painted the roof. - The grandfather has painted the roof.
Grandpa didn't paint the roof. - The grandfather has not painted the roof. - The grandfather hasn’t painted the roof.
Grandpa painted the roof? - Has the grandfather painted the roof? - Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.

And now with the wrong one:

We bought a car (this is news). - We have bought a car.
We didn't buy a car. - We have not bought a car. - We haven’t bought a car.
Have you bought a car? - Have you bought a car? - Yes, we have. / No, we haven’t.

To consolidate the material, go through the exercise

Present Perfect is a special tense in English. It has no analogues in the Russian language. Therefore, it is not complex rules that will help you understand its construction and understand cases of use, but simple example sentences.

General information

Present Perfect tense or Present Perfect tense is one of the 12 English tense forms in the English language and belongs to the present group. It describes an action that occurred before a certain point in the past, but has a direct connection with the present. In other words, he has a special mission - to report the present result of an action that happened in the past. Not to be confused with Past Simple, which is intended to describe events that happened at a specific time in the past.

Present Perfect is translated into Russian as a verb in the past tense. It is this nuance that causes various kinds of doubts and difficulties among language learners. Numerous examples of Present Perfect Simple sentences with translation will help you figure it out.

Affirmative examples Present Perfect tense

*Offer*	*Translation*
I have just drunk my first morning cup of coffee	I just had my first cup of coffee of the morning.
The train has already come to the railway station by now	The train has already arrived at the railway station by now
We have received good results before and now we are happy	We got good results earlier and are now happy
He has never been to Great Britain
They have been a little tired lately	They've been a little tired lately
The meeting with a famous writer has already taken place	The meeting with the famous writer has already taken place
She has already achieved her purpose to become a doctor	She has already achieved her dream of becoming a doctor.
They have known one another for ages	They have known each other for many years

These examples help you understand the formation of the affirmative form of the Present Perfect: have/has + main verb in 3rd form . The auxiliary verb has is used after he (he), she (she), it (it) . In all other cases - have . The second part of the construction can be expressed by a regular verb with the ending -ed (received) or the form from the 3rd column of the table of irregular verbs (known).

Such “time markers” as already (already), just (just), lately (lately), for ages (many years), before (previously), by now (by this time) are clear signs of the Present Perfect time . As soon as they appear on the horizon, you can safely use this temporary form.

Negation

*Offer*	*Translation*
I have not drunk my first morning cup of coffee yet	I haven't had my first cup of coffee this morning yet.
The train has not come to the railway station yet	The train has not yet arrived at the railway station
We have not received good results yet	We haven't gotten good results yet
He has not ever been to Great Britain	He's never been to the UK
They have not been tired lately	They haven't been tired lately
The meeting with a famous writer has not taken place yet	The meeting with the famous writer has not yet taken place
She has not achieved her purpose to become a doctor yet	She has not yet achieved her dream of becoming a doctor.
They have not ever known one another	They never knew each other

These examples of negative sentences in the Present Perfect show the position of the negative particle not (not) : she stands between have/has and the main verb in the 3rd degree. In addition, the tense indicator is most often used in negation yet (yet) , which comes at the end of the sentence. pay attention to never (never) : It is used in affirmative sentences, but with a negative meaning, since double negatives are not possible in English. And its synonym ever can be used in negative and interrogative sentences with the meaning “never”, and in affirmative sentences with the meaning “ever”.

Question

Offer	Translation
Have you just drunk your first morning cup of coffee?	Have you just had your first cup of coffee of the morning?
Has the train already come to the railway station by now?	Has the train arrived at the railway station by now?
Have they received any good results before?	Have they gotten good results before?
Has he ever been to Great Britain?	Has he ever been to the UK?
Have they been a bit tired lately?	Have they been a little tired lately?
Has the meeting with a famous writer already taken place?	Have you already met with a famous writer?
Has she already achieved her purpose to become a doctor?	Has she already achieved her dream of becoming a doctor?

Any tenses of the Perfect category indicate the perfection of the action, that the situation is complete, and not long-term or permanent. As for The Present Perfect Tense - ‘this is a tense that is certainly associated with the present action, as evidenced by its name.

general information

The main feature of this type of tense form is that in sentences with the Present Perfect we are talking about a completed action, the result of which has a direct connection with the current time. Very often there is a time where there is no emphasis on connections with the present, and it is based solely on the fact of the event that occurred.

Here are examples of sentences that show how the present perfect tense looks and is used in English:

· You have done more than stay young; you have stayed a child - You did more than just stay young - you remained a child
· I have made you a bed upstairs, make yourself at home - I made you a bed upstairs, make yourself at home

As can be seen from these examples, the present perfect tense, as it is called in Russian transcription, is used to express not just an event that took place in the past, but reflects the result of a completed action that is relevant now.

Education Present Perfect

The present completed tense often causes difficulties for those who are still at the stage of learning English, because here several nuances come into force at once, which are extremely important to take into account. Firstly, the Present Perfect is necessarily formed using auxiliary verbs. These are auxiliary verbs such as have and has (the latter is used only for third person pronouns used in the singular - he, she, it). Secondly, this verb in the present perfect tense is followed by a main verb, which is in the form Past Participle, or Participle II (popularly the third form of the verb). Here it is important to navigate the list of irregular verbs, but for regular verbs everything is simpler, because the ending –ed is simply added to the word.

Therefore, the classic Present Perfect formula looks like this:

Have
Has + V(3) (–ed)

· I have never had a chance to meet anyone here – I have never had the opportunity to meet anyone here
· She has worked in this company for 3 years already – She has worked in this company for 3 years already

Questions and denials

Interrogative sentences

here they are formed with the same auxiliary verbs have and has, which in a general question, that is, in one to which the answer can be “yes” or “no,” are in the original position:

· Have you already finished your course work? – Have you finished your coursework yet?
· Has he just returned from his trip? – Has he just returned from his trip?

Special questions

at the beginning of which there is a question word like when, why, how, etc., are formed according to a similar principle, with the only difference being that these interrogative words occupy the initial position:

· How long has she been here? – How long has she been here?
· Why has he written so many articles today? – Why did he write so many articles today?

Present Perfect formula in a negative sentence

practically no different from the affirmative form. Here the grammar provides for the simple use of the particle not after the auxiliary verb, where have not = haven’t, hasn’t = has not. Negation looks like this:

· I haven’t completed my daily report yet – I have not yet completed my daily report
· He still hasn’t brought us money - He still hasn’t brought us money

Note: the rule provides for the use of this tense in special interrogative and negative constructions with the inclusion of the phrase “ever”, where the Present Perfect time markers used are the adverbs ever or never:

· Have you ever been to Bangkok? – Have you ever been to Bangkok?
· I have never seen such a beautiful landscape! – I have never seen such a beautiful landscape!

Using the Present Perfect

The use of the Present Perfect is typical for the following situations:

1. Completed action

In order to display a completed action, which has a clear echo in the present tense and, unlike the simple tense, is used to express completeness. Companions of the Present Perfect in such situations are specific adverbs already, ever, never, yet (typical for interrogative and negative sentences, where its frequent position is at the end of the phrase), just, for (shows the duration of the action), as well as those time frames which show that the action is not yet completed (this year, today, etc.).

· He hasn’t called me for ages – He hasn’t called me for ages
· We have already found out the latest news - We have already found out the latest news
· I have done much this year - This year I have done a lot (in the sense that the year is not over yet)

Note: in the Present Perfect just, this is one of the markers that translates as “just now.” But if the construction just now is used, then it is typical to use the Past Simple, despite the fact that the translation will be identical:

· I have just cooked breakfast - I just cooked breakfast
· I cooked breakfast just now - I just cooked breakfast

Note: the so-called American English, which has become an integral part of modern life, very often does not provide for the use of the Present Perfect, even in such obvious situations when there are special helpers in the form of adverbs or there are other factors regulating the use of the Perfect. In this version, the perfect is ignored, although classical grammar does not approve of this:

I have lost my key – I lost my key (I lost the key)

2. With the preposition “since” + Past Simple

The situation deserves special attention when with the Present Perfect since, the preposition, which is translated as “from”, “from the moment”, is used in the same sentence together with. With this sense, the construction of the sentence is constructed as follows:

I haven’t seen her since I left for Sydney - I haven’t seen her since I left for Sydney

In this example, the first part of the sentence uses the Present Perfect, and the second uses the Past Simple. Very often in such sentences it is recommended to look for the so-called starting point, i.e. the action from which it all began. In this example, this is the part “since I left for Moscow.” The use of Perfect is relevant here for the reason that the action is performed (or not performed from then until now, which shows the result to this day). In the Present Perfect, examples of such situations are not uncommon, and the English language in this case provides a well-founded reason for such use.

3. In subordinate tenses

The use of this tense is also typical for those cases when the perfect is part of the subordinate parts of time. The present perfect marker words in this case are the same as in (Conditional I): these are conjunctions unless, when, as soon as, before, after, etc. The main feature here is that the emphasis is on the completeness of the event, and not on its fact. Present Perfect sentences here could be as follows:

· I will not call him until you have told me everything - I won’t call him until you tell me everything
· They will come as soon as I have finished my work - They will come as soon as I finish work

Note: There is an exception to this rule. Provided that if the verbs in the Present Perfect here belong either to the category of movement (arrive, come, return, etc.) or sensory perception, then using the present perfect tense with them is undesirable; it would be correct to put the usual Present Simple, more often used in a conditional sentence first type:

· I will be glad when he comes - I will be glad when he comes
· She will get in a fury when she hears my words – She will get furious when she hears my words

But even here the Present Perfect is possible when there are indicators that the speaker is deliberately emphasizing completeness and not expressively emphasizing it; the translation in this case will prove the relevance of the use of the perfect:

I will learn the poem by heart when I have heard it a few times - I will learn the poem by heart when I listen to it several times(completeness, performed several times, is expressively emphasized)

Let's sum it up

As it becomes clear from all of the above, phrases in the perfect are formed and used when there is an intention to demonstrate the completeness of an action or to display the period of time that it occupies up to the present moment. The formation scheme for Present Perfect is quite simple, although it requires memorization. Like any other type of tense form, Present Perfect Tense has very clear rules for use, so the main thing is to strictly follow all the instructions, and then this time will not cause any inconvenience.

In all the variety of tenses in the English language, Perfect tenses (perfect or complete) are notable for the fact that you will not find their analogues in Russian grammar. Perhaps for this reason, many people have difficulty mastering perfect tenses. Let's learn to understand and use these useful and interesting English verb tenses.

Strictly speaking, in English there are only two tenses (tense), where only the semantic verb is present: present (We walk) And past (He left).
All other tenses of verbs in English, and there are about thirty of them, use auxiliary verbs.

There are six main tenses, which, once understood, will help you understand the entire temporal structure of English verbs.

Present Simple (Present Indefinite): We play. - We play.
Present Perfect: We have played. - We played.
Past Simple (Past Indefinite): We played. - We played.
Past Perfect: We had played. - We played (before a certain event in the past).
Future Simple (Future Indefinite): We will play. - We will play.
Future Perfect: We will have played. - We'll play (until a certain event in the future).

Students of English as a foreign language most often experience problems with perfect tenses. This is due to the fact that they are formed a little more complex than their “simple” counterparts: with the help of an auxiliary verb and the past participle (III form of the verb).

Run (run)- run - run
Play (play)- played - played

Auxiliary verbs are usually forms of the verbs be, can, do, may, must, ought, shall, will, have, has, had. It is these verbs and their forms that should be given attention.

Present Perfect Tense (present perfect tense)

Tom will repair his car on Monday. (Future Simple) - Tom will be repairing his car on Monday.

She hopes that Tom will have repaired his car by Monday evening. (Future Perfect) - She hopes Tom will have his car repaired by Monday evening.

It is necessary to learn to recognize and use another tense of the group Perfect - The Present Perfect Tense - present perfect tense. The very name “perfect” speaks for itself - the action has taken place, has ended.

For example: He has passed his exam. He passed the exam. That is WhatWith did you do? - passed, completed ( but not what did you do? - handed over).

Present Perfect Tense is used:

to express an action that has taken place to date and the result of which is known. e.g. I have just talked to my wife. I just talked to my wife.

in order to show that an action began in the past and lasted until the present moment e.g. 1)I have had a cold for a week. I've had a cold for a week now. 2) She has been at home for 10 minutes. She's home for 10 minutes. 3) Ann has loved apples since she was a little girl. Anya has loved apples since childhood.

to describe experience e.g. He has been to Spain. He visited Spain.

in order to show changes that have occurred over a period of time e.g. The government has become more interested in higher education. The government has become more interested in higher education.

to describe achievements (without specifying a specific time in the past) e.g. Our daughter has learned how to write. Our daughter learned to write. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. Doctors have found cures for many deadly diseases.

Marker words For Present Perfect Tense:

ever- ever, in any situation, in any case e.g. Have you ever heard about it?-Have you ever heard of this?

never - never e.g. She's never been to Mexico.— She has never been to Mexico.

recently- recently; the other day, recently. e.g. He’s been ill quite often recently.— He has been getting sick often lately.

lately- recently, recently e.g. I haven’t received any letters from him lately.

just- just now. more recently e.g. The taxi has just arrived.— The taxi has just arrived. IMPORTANT!!! With an adverb just now just now used e.g. I saw them just now. I just saw them.

alread y - already e.g. We've already told you what happened.- We already told you what happened.

yet- not yet, still (in interrogative and negative sentences) e.g. He hasn’t seen the film yet.— He hasn’t watched this film yet.

for— during, in continuation e.g. We've known each other for half a year.- We've known each other for six months.

since- since then e.g. I have held two jobs since I graduated.- I have changed two jobs since I graduated.

this week- this week, this month- this month, this year- this year, provided that they indicate more unexpired periods of time. e.g. I haven’t seen her today. I haven't seen her today.

To make sentences in Present Perfect Tense, you need to know, namely, their third form (Past Participle)

THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Present perfect tense

Affirmative form Present Perfect Tense
+

Question form Present Perfect Tense

Structure
	you(you you) we(We) they(They)	V3/Ved?
	he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
– Has your mother come?		- Has your mother come? (the speaker is interested in the result)
– Have you ever been to China?		– Have you ever been to China?
– Has he done his homework?		– Did he do his homework?

Wh-?
Special questions in Present Perfect Tense

(start with special words)

Structure
		you(you you) we(We) they(They)
		he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
What have you learned?		What have you learned?
		Where has she been?
How has he found us?		How did he find us?
Important!!! Questions that begin with the adverb When? - when, require the use of the Past Simple rather than the Present Perfect, since such questions imply a past moment or period of time. e.g. When did you leave your country? When did you leave your country?

in Present Perfect Tense

— Who has finished this task? Who completed this task? - We have. We.

— Who has sent you this e-mail? - Who sent you this letter?

Negative form
Present Perfect Tense
—

Interrogative-negative form
Present Perfect Tense
(Speaking)
?-

Schematically the structure of the sentence in Present Perfect Tense looks like that:

+
S + have/has + V3/Ved.

?
Have/has + S + V3/Ved?

Wh - ?
Wh + have/has + S + V3/Ved?

–
S + haven’t/hasn’t + V3/Ved.

? –
Haven’t/hasn’t + S + V3/Ved?

Exercise. Watch the video and write down all the example sentences in Present Perfect Tense. Make up your own sentences in Present Perfect Tense using the written perfect forms.