Present completed tense how to explain to children. Present Perfect - present perfect tense

The present completed tense in English is called the Present Perfect. This form of the verb denotes an action that happened in the past, but is related to the present. This is one of the most complex forms of the verb, since on the one hand the action has already completed and is translated into Russian in the past tense. But, on the other hand, it is connected with the present and in English it refers to the present tense. A certain duality arises. Let's first look at how this verb form is formed.

FormationPresentPerfect

The formation of the Present Perfect involves the auxiliary verb to have in the present tense and the third form of the main verb (infinitive + ending - ed - for regular verbs). Let's look at examples of education from this time.

Affirmative sentences.

In an interrogative sentence, the auxiliary verb have comes before the subject.

Interrogative sentences.

In negative sentences, the particle not is placed after the verb have.

Negative sentences.

The verbs have and has are usually shortened:

The negative form is also abbreviated:

have not = haven’t
has not = hasn’t

ApplicationPresentPerfect

1. To express an action that has already ended at the time of speech. At the same time, adverbs of indefinite time are often used in the sentence: just - just, ever - ever, already - already, yet - yet, never – never, lately – recently, etc.

He hasn’t listened to the latest news yet.
He hasn't listened to the latest news yet.

He's already finished his work.
He has already finished his work.

2. If the action has already ended, but the period of time to which it relates is still ongoing, for example: today - today, this month - this month, this summer - this summer (if it is still summer).

She's written two letters today.
She wrote two letters today.

I've seen him this week.
I saw him this week.

3. If the action took place in the past, but its result is felt at the time of speech in the form of acquired experience or knowledge:

He's read this book.
He read this book. (He knows its contents).

My sister has translated four English books into Russian.
My sister translated four English books into Russian. (Now they can be read in Russian).

4. If an action that started in the past is still ongoing. At the same time, the preposition for – during, denoting an unfinished period of time – is often found in the sentence. Or the preposition since - since.

I’ve known this man for years.
I have known this man for many years. (I knew it before the conversation and I know it now).

I haven’t met him since 2000.
I haven't met him since 2000. (I haven’t met since 2000, and I haven’t met now either).

5. The present perfect is often used to start a conversation. Or at the beginning of a news review. If the conversation continues on the already mentioned topic, then it goes on using the Past Simple.

“You look brown, have you been away?”-You're tanned. Have you traveled anywhere?
"Yes, I've been to the South."- Yes, I was in the south.
“Did you have a good time?” – Did you have a good time there?
"Yes, I had a very good time."- Yes, I had a wonderful time.

It should be emphasized that the Present Perfect is not used if there is an exact indication of a time in the past, or this is clear from the context, and this period of time has already ended. Because the connection with the present moment is broken. In this case, the Past Simple tense is used.

At first glance, everything seems very confusing and complex. But experience and conversational practice will help you understand these tenses and verb forms. Over time, you will automatically use the correct tense without thinking about grammar rules. Therefore, it’s time to start speaking practice on the Zello channel “English - speak freely!” We are waiting for you on the air.

Present perfect in translation is the present completed tense. Used in English to describe actions that began in the past, without a precise start time, and whose completion is closely related to the present. They have ended by the current moment or in a period that can be called the present. Problems often arise with understanding this tense, at least due to the fact that sentences in the Present perfect are translated into Russian in the past tense, and in English it is Present - present tense. And you also don’t immediately understand how a completed action can be in the present tense.

2. Education Present perfect

2.1. Affirmative form

Verb conjugation table in an affirmative sentence

More examples can be found in the article.

Rules for forming statements

The affirmative form of the present completed tense is formed as follows: after the subject there is an auxiliary verb have (has), plus the main verb in the 3rd form (past participle).

Both pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) and nouns (boy, cars, snow) can be used as subjects.

The auxiliary verb have is almost always used, but in the 3rd person singular, that is, for pronouns he, she, it and singular nouns (boy, snow), has is used (see the conjugation table above).

Shortened forms of the auxiliary verbs have and has: ‘ve and ‘s respectively. For example, I have worked = I’ve worked, He has worked = He’s worked. Please note that 's is also used to shorten the verb is. Which word is abbreviated in such a record will have to be understood from the context.

The third form of the verb is a verb ending in -ed if the verb is regular. If the verb is irregular, then its third form must be remembered.

You can see the list of irregular verbs. You are now only interested in column 3, but we recommend learning all three forms at once. The second part of that article provides a life hack for more convenient memorization of irregular verbs.

The ending -ed is also not as simple as it seems at first glance; the rules for writing it are described in the article.

General scheme

S + have (has) + V3

Where S (subject) is the subject (pronoun or noun)

V3 (verb) – verb in 3rd form

2.2. Interrogative sentences

2.2.1. General issues

Example of verb conjugation in interrogative form

Rules for constructing a question

To form an interrogative sentence, it is enough to move the auxiliary verb have (has) to the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.

The main verb remains in the 3rd form.

Has is used in the same cases as in an affirmative sentence, that is, it depends on the subject.

Question formula in the present completed tense

Have (Has) + S + V3?

Where Have (Has) is an auxiliary verb

S – subject

V3 – verb in 3rd form

2.2.2. Answer to a common question

2.2.3. Special questions

Construction rules

A special question is formed from a general question by adding a question word (who, what, when, where) before the auxiliary verb have (has).

Formula for creating a special question

Wh + have (has) + S + V3?

Where Wh is a question word

have (has) – auxiliary verb

S – subject

V3 – verb in 3rd form

Table with examples of special questions

Rules for writing negatives

To form a negation from an affirmative sentence, you must write the negation particle not after the auxiliary verb. The auxiliary verb remains the same, the main verb remains in 3rd form.

The abbreviations for have not and has not are haven’t and hasn’t, respectively.

Reinforce the mastered rules for forming questions and negatives by completing.

General scheme of negation in the Present perfect

S + have (has) + not + V3

Where S is the subject

have (has) – auxiliary verb

not – particle of negation

V3 – verb in 3rd form

3. Use of the Present perfect and examples with translation

The present completed tense is used in the following cases:

3.1. When the fact that the action completed with a certain result is important, but the exact time when it happened is not important

I have bought a new skirt - I bought a new skirt. Now I have it, no matter when I bought it.

If you want to focus on the fact that you bought it at a sale on the weekend, that is, indicate the time, then you should use: I bought a new skirt last weekend.

3.2. If the action has recently completed and now its result affects the present

I'm not hungry. I have just eaten. I'm not hungry, I just ate.

Note that just is used in these cases.

3.3. When we talk about personal experience

I have been to London, but I haven’t been to Moscow - I was in London, but I wasn’t in Moscow. Some time in the past, it doesn’t matter exactly when, I was in London, this is a complete fact, but I was not in Moscow, although I can visit there.

Again, as soon as you want to indicate the exact time of your visit, you will need to use Past simple: I was in London 2 years ago.

When you talk about your experience, you can also focus on the fact that this happened more than once.

Perfect time meaning and translation.

Perfect denotes an action that precedes a specific moment or another action in the past, present or future tense. The main goal is to express precedence (pre-past, pre-present and pre-future).
There is no form similar to Perfect in the Russian language, so in order to correctly translate a sentence you need to think about its meaning.

Example:
Present Perfect: I have bought a lamp. I bought a lamp.
Past Indefinite: Yesterday. I bought a lamp. Yesterday I bought a lamp.

The first sentence with the Present Perfect already shows the result of the action: I bought a lamp. The lamp has already been purchased by now.
The second sentence, where the verb in Past Indefinite simply tells about a fact that happened yesterday.

All Perfect tenses are formed using the auxiliary verb to have in the appropriate tense (present, past and future) and the 3rd main form of the verb.

Present Perfect (Present Perfect)

Present Perfect expresses the connection between the past and the present. This connection can be expressed in two ways:
firstly, the presence of the result of a previously performed action;
secondly, the continuation in the present of an action that began in the past;

Present Perfect can be used in the following cases:

1. To express an action that has completed at the time of speech, therefore it can be called pre-present. The time of action, as a rule, is not important, since the very fact of performing the action to the present moment or its result is important.

Kate has read this book. Anna (already) read this book.
Do not go to the shop, I have bought bread. Don't go to the store, I bought bread.
I have seen the film and I think it’s dull. I (already) watched the movie and think it's boring.

Note:

The Present Perfect is often used with adverbs such as:
- just (just now);
- already (already);
- lately (recently);
- of late (lately);
- yet (in negative sentences);

2. To express an action that has already taken place for the period in which it occurred, is still ongoing and can be denoted by the time circumstance today, this week, this month, this year, this century.

I have seen the film twice this week. I've already watched this movie twice this week.

I have written a letter this morning. I already wrote a letter this morning.

3. To express an action that began in the past, continued up to the present time and continues in the present, that is, an action that covers a whole period of time, including the present moment.

I have always been in love with you. I have always loved you (I loved you before, I love you now).
I have known him all my life. I've known him all my life. (I knew it before, I know it now).

Past Perfect

The past perfect (Past Perfect) expresses a past action that preceded a specific moment in the past or completed before another action in the past, which preceded the past. Translated in the past tense, sometimes with the addition of already.

The Past Perfect can be used in the following cases:

1. To express a past action that has already taken place before a certain point in the past. A given point in time can be indicated by a time circumstance. (by 6 o’clock, by Saturday, by that time, by the end of the week)

He had left by the 5th of January. He left before January 5th.
I had never seen him before yesterday. I never saw him until yesterday.
I had cleaned the office by 7 o’clock. By seven o'clock I had cleaned the office.

2. To express a past action that has already been performed before another, later past action, expressed by a verb in the Past Indefinite, i.e., the past perfect (Past Perfect) is used in complex sentences.

He had already gone when I arrived. He had already left when I showed up.
My mother had visited Moscow before, and so the city was not new for her. My mother had visited Moscow earlier, and therefore the city was not unfamiliar to her.

After she cried, she felt better. After she cried, she felt better.

Future Perfect

The Future Perfect is used to express a future action that will end before a certain point in the future (pre-future).

The point in the future before which an action will end is expressed as:

A) An adverb of time with the preposition by. (by 6 o’clock, by the end of the week)
B) Another future action, expressed by Present Indefinite in a subordinate clause of time and condition with the following conjunctions: before, when.

When they meet next time, he will have read this book. The next time they meet, he will read this book.
I shall have finished this work before you return. I'll have finished this job before you get back.

The Future Perfect is used with already and other adverbial words, these words are placed after shall.

By the end of this week my friend will already have written his report. By the end of the week my friend will write his report.

Note:

The Future Perfect is not used to express future action in adverbial clauses of time and condition, which are introduced by the words after, when, as soon as, if and others. In these cases, the Present Perfect is used instead of the Future Perfect.

She will go to the country as soon as she passed her exams. She will go to the village as soon as she passes her exams.
I shall give you the book after I have read it. I'll give you the book after I read it.
They will start at 7 o’clock if it has stopped raining by that time. They will leave by seven o'clock if the rain stops by then.

Good day to you, dear friends! Today I will tell you about the “Present Perfect Tense in English”. In Russian, you will not find an analogue to this grammatical structure and therefore it may seem that understanding the rules of application is not easy. But that's not true.

From this article you will learn:

Rule and examples

Perfect tenses are the third major group of verb tenses in British.

If we talk about an analogy with Russian, then we translate Perfect.

There is only one important rule to remember:

The present perfect tense in English is used only when you want to focus attention not on the action itself, but on its result.

And if the result of an action can be observed in the present, then this will be The Present Perfect Tense.

They also say that “the result is obvious.”

Let's look at examples and you will see that in practice it is easy to separate the perfect from the ordinary past:

1. I have already cooked breakfast. — I have already prepared breakfast.
2. I washed up yesterday. — I washed the dishes yesterday.

There's a noticeable difference between these two examples, isn't there? The first example is the Present Perfect. You probably noticed that although the translation sounds like an event in the past, it corresponds to the past perfect in Russian. While in the second statement we use imperfect.

Let's state the facts

First of all, I propose to consider the rules for composing affirmative sentences in Perfect. As usual, we preserve the direct word order and reduce it to the form:

Person + predicate + object + adverbial tense.

Compare the sentences in perfect English and try to draw a conclusion:

You, of course, noticed a pattern: the predicate consists of two words: have - auxiliary, in a suitable form, and the main one, conveying the meaning of the statement, with the ending ed. In the times of the Perfect group, we always use the semantic word in the third form; in British it is called Participle II. For regular verbs it is initial + ed.

For irregular verbs, the appropriate meaning can be taken from the third column of the table of irregular verbs, which is in any dictionary.

We complete tasks without errors

Often in tests and quizzes you can find exercises where you need to open the brackets and put the word in the correct tense form.

Among the proposed tasks, circumstances of time or clarifying sentences that are a consequence of the main one will help you choose Progressive. Let's practice:

Example:

She already (close) the window. – She has already closed the window.

1. We already (discuss) this article.
2. I (watch) this film, and I don’t like it.
3. My friend (explain) me the way and I came in time.

If you complete the task correctly, then have/has and the ending ed will appear in each line for the words in brackets.

We ask about the results

Using the present perfect tense to compose interrogative sentences makes sense when you want to know its result, and not just “WAS OR NOT.”

Have you ever been in Moscow?

In this case, the scheme of the proposal corresponds to the scheme of the general question:

Helper + subject + predicate

Please note that the predicate remains unchanged - V3.

Regret or pride

Negation in the Perfect usually suggests that the speaker is sorry or proud that something did not happen. And again, what is meant is not the action itself, but the consequence:

I have never visited New-York.
She has not (hasn’t) read this book.

Have you noticed the peculiarity of constructing negation in the perfect tense? Namely, never or not can be used for negation - as in other tense groups. In the first case, the negative word is translated as a double negative “never”, but in British both of these negatives cannot be present in the same part of the statement, so we choose only one.

The Present Perfect Tense is often found in oral speech and therefore, in order to easily apply it, exercises in englishdom courses will be indispensable. Classes with a Russian-speaking teacher and native speaker. Mobile application, conversation clubs for practice. One-on-one lessons with a teacher. The cost of one lesson is 590 rubles.

In writing, indicators of our grammatical form are: already, ever, never, yet. If you come across such words in the test, you can be sure that you have a perfect conjugation in front of you.

New ones will help you determine which time group your proposal belongs to: present, past or future.

Subscribe to my blog, find even more useful articles and rules, and you will also receive as a gift, completely free, an excellent basic phrasebook in three languages, English, German and French. Its main advantage is that there is Russian transcription, so even without knowing the language, you can easily master colloquial phrases.

I was with you, Natalya Glukhova, I wish you a good day!

Many people call present perfect time a “tautology”. And it is not surprising, because an action committed in the past is called the present. Why and why? Switching to “you” with the Present Perfect is not difficult if every nuance of use, education and special cases is analyzed and understood in detail.

Let's start our acquaintance with the presentation, let's look into the depths of this shade. Like any tense in English, Present Perfect Tense reflects the action. But its specificity is that the action has already been completed, and we see the result from it. In this situation, we do not focus on When an event occurred, we are not interested in it, doesn't matter, but we are now talking about what it entailed and what it led to. For example:

Have you found the place on the map? —Have you found this place on the map yet? (We are not interested in: how much you searched, when you started; the result - whether you found it or not)

I can't walk. I think I have sprained my ankle. - I can't go. I think I sprained my ankle. (We don’t note, we are not interested in: when I sprained it, how I sprained it; the result is that I can’t walk).

Of course, this is the main characteristic or, as it is also called, function. We will consider all cases of use and comparison below.

Education

According to the rules for the Present Perfect, we will need auxiliary verbs has/ have, and we will put the semantic one in V 3 (V ed). We remember that all English verbs are divided into regular and irregular. To form this tense, we will add the ending -ed to the regular ones, and the irregular ones have a special form that will have to be learned (3rd column of the table of irregular verbs).

With 3rd person singular subject(if the subject is expressed by a pronoun or a noun implying: she, he, it) we use has. With everyone else - have. Negation is formed using “not”, which is placed after the auxiliary verb, and in the question have/has is interchanged with the subject. As you can see, there is no need to add or remove anything new, just some rearrangements in the sentence itself.

Short forms:

I have = I’ve, She has = she’s, we have = we’ve, they have = they’ve, you have = you’ve.

have + not = haven’t, has + not = hasn’t

Use

The present completed (perfect) tense has several uses in situations. Let's look at each one separately. All actions can be divided into completed and unfinished.

1. Action completed in the past(signal words are: already, yet, still, recently, lately, just).

• If the situation ended just now (before the moment of conversation), or earlier, and it is connected with the present , then this is the very case when you should use the Present Perfect. In other words, if the result is important to you, interesting and necessary for further conversation, which serves as a starting point, then here we use the present perfect tense. The exact moment is not specified.

He has already published your poem in a local paper. — He has already published your poem in the local newspaper.

I have recently bought this bycicle, but now it is broken. — I recently bought this bicycle, but now it is broken.

• To highlight the repetitive actions their repetition, with the words several times, twice. Also, this grammatical phenomenon occurs in complex qualifying sentences where ordinal numbers, superlative adjectives, and the phrase “the only” are used.

It is one of the happiest days I have ever spent with my mother. — This is one of the happiest days I have ever spent with my mother.

It is the only time my father has been away for holiday. - This is the only time when dad was not at the holiday.

My friends went to England again. They have been there several times. — My friends went to England again. They've been there several times already.

2. Action unfinished in the past(signal words are: this week, this year, today, this morning, since, for, never, ever).

• If we want to emphasize long period of time where the action we are interested in is not completed by the time of the conversation.

He has written two books this year. — He wrote two books this year (the year is not over yet).

Have you seen Mary this morning? —Have you seen Mary this morning?

• It is worth remembering that there are verbs that are not used in the Continuous (which can be read in our other article of the same name about non continuous verbs). With given stative verbs We use Present Perfect instead of Present Perfect Continuous. Very often in this situation the preposition is used for , which indicates the duration of the action.

I haven’t had a holiday for 4 years. — I haven’t had a vacation for 4 years.

My parents have been married for 25 years. — My parents have been married for 25 years.

• with the word "since", which indicates the last time before something (before conversation)

She has been off work since the accident. “She hasn’t worked since she had an accident.”

• with the circumstances “ever, never, always, all my life, so far” - which emphasize an indefinite period of time, incompleteness.

I have never driven a car. — I've never driven a car.

My brother has always dreamed of laptop. — My brother always dreamed of a laptop.

Have you ever gone to Italy? —Have you ever traveled to Italy?

They ate a lot yesterday but they haven’t eaten much so far today. - Yesterday they ate a lot, but today they haven’t eaten yet.

3. Quite rarely, but you can still find the Present Perfect in subordinate clauses with as soon as, before, till, until, after, when, which is used instead of the Future Perfect (in most cases it is replaced by the Present Simple, especially in colloquial speech)

We will give back your car as soon as you’ve found a new job. — We will give away your car as soon as you find a new job.

Comparison of times

We have already learned when the Present Perfect Simple is used and how it is formed (the word Simple is sometimes added, especially in English grammars, so that students do not confuse it with the Present Perfect Continuous). Everything seems to be clear. But when doing exercises and tests to formulate the required form of the verb, difficulties and mistakes often arise, and a mess forms in your head. The Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Simple, Past Perfect time table will help you place emphasis on the most important differences.

Adverbs, adverbs or signal words in the Present Perfect

• So, the rules for the Present Perfect don't end there. It's also worth taking a moment to pay attention "since" and "for" , which are sometimes very close in meaning and often set traps. Since is used as a starting point for when the action was last performed. Either it indicates an action that has ended, or parallel situations that lasted a certain period of time. For - with the present perfect is used to indicate how long the action took place, its entire duration:
  

  since 8 o'clock, since 1987, since Christmas; for hours, for a week, for ages, for a long time

• Just and just now in Russian they convey the meaning just now. The first does not indicate exactly when the action occurred, the second notes: “a minute ago,” “literally a second.” With just now we use Past Simple.
• ever (ever) never (never - only in affirmative sentences), already (already - in affirmative, already - so soon - and questions), still (also in negative sentences), yet (still - in negative sentences, already - in interrogative sentences), lately (Lately), resently (recently, in recent years, months, weeks)

Even after considering all cases of use, their features and comparison, the grammar of the present perfect requires consolidation and solid assimilation. To begin with, you should read and analyze sentences with this tense, which you can read in the article “Examples of sentences in the Present Perfect,” then move on to the tasks that you will also find on our website.

The Present Perfect is very often used both in speech and in exams, tests, in other words - everywhere. That is why it is necessary to firmly grasp the basics of one of the most important tenses of English grammar.