Unit 1.1

Present Perfect Affirmative


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Introduction

The present perfect is a tense used to express completed actions which have occurred in the past, but are connected to the present and still have effects on it.

When expressed in its affirmative form, the verb confirms something about the subject.

Form

The present perfect, in its affirmative form, has this structure:
Subject + have/has + past participle + …

  • Have/has: the third person singular changes from have to has;
  • Regular past participles are formed by adding -d or -ed to the base form of verbs;
  • Irregular past participles have to be learned by heart.
Subject have/has Past Participle
I/You have worked
He/She/It has worked
We/You/They have worked

Short forms of the affirmative form are: I’ve – you’ve – he’s…

With the present perfect tense we often use time expressions like: ever, never, before, yet, just, already, still, so far, up until now

Example

  1. have been lucky!
    He has broken his arm.
    We have repaired the car.
    They have been born.
  2. I have talked to her four times.
    You have already watched this movie. 
    We have been to New york ten times.
    They have never eaten sushi.

Use

We use present perfect, in its affirmative form, to confirm:

  1. past situations with results in the present;
  2. finished actions referring to life experience up to now.

Summary

We use the present perfect, in the affirmative form, to confirm completed actions which have occurred in the past, are connected to the present and still have effects on it.

When we use the present perfect in its affirmative form, we start with the subject followed by have and a past participle. In the third person singular, we use has.

NOTE: The past participle is usually used to form the perfect tenses, and it indicates past or completed actions. It is formed by adding -d or -ed to the base form of regular verbs, whereas irregular verbs have different fixed forms which need to be studied by heart.

For example:
— “She has worked on an important project these morning.” = We use the present perfect because the past action still has effects on the present (for example, she is well known in her field now).
♦ “She worked on an important project yesterday.” = We use the past simple because the past action is finished and there’s no need to emphasise its effects on the present.

Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.

Exercises

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