Structure of Present Perfect Tense
|
Affirmative |
subject + has/ have+V3+object |
James has eaten rice. |
|
Negative |
subject + has not/have not
+V3+object |
James has not eaten rice. |
|
Interrogative |
Has/Have+subject+V3+object?
Wh+has/have+subject+V3+object? |
Has James eaten rice?
What has James eaten? |
|
Passive |
object + has/have+been+V3+ by +
subject |
Rice
has been eaten by James. |
The Present Perfect tense is used for:
(a)Changes that have happened over a period of time:
ü He
has grown a lot since I met last time.
ü My
English has really improved since I moved to the US.
(b) To denote recent past actions which have results in the present:
ü She
has lost her purse.
ü She
does not have a bus fare.
ü Ravi
looks upset.
ü He
has failed the examination.
(c) With 'since + point of time' or 'for + period of time' to denote an action beginning at some time in the past and continuing up to the present moment:
ü They
have played music for three hours.
ü James
has been in work since last year.
ü We
haven't appeared exam for a month.
(d) To express experiences:
ü I
have been to America.
ü She
has met a lion.
ü He
has never travelled by plane.
(e) To express accomplishments without mentioning the time:
ü Man
has walked on the moon.
ü My
daughter has learnt how to swim.
(f) With adverbs (already, recently, ever, lately, never, yet, today, just, so far, many times, before, once)
ü We
have already published the news.
ü Have
you ever read that book?
ü I
have known her for a year by now.
ü I
haven't sent her an e-mail yet.
ü I
have never seen a lion.
ü He
has failed his driving test once.