present perfect presentation esl

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THE BASIC USE OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

Created on May 2, 2020

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THE USE OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

Watch the video and understand the sentences

WHAT'S THE FORM OF THE PRESENT PERFECT ?

PAST PARTICIPLE

GONE BEEN STUDIED PLAYED TRAVELLED

HAVE HAVE HAS HAVE HAVE HAVE

THE POSITIVE FORM OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

I YOU HE/SHE/IT WE YOU THEY

GONE BEEN STUDIED PLAYED TRAVELLED EATEN

HAVE/HAS NOT

HAVEN'T HAVEN'T HASN'T HAVEN'T HAVEN'T HAVEN'T

THE NEGATIVE FORM OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

GONE BEEN STUDIED ????? PLAYED TRAVELLED

THE INTERROGATIVE FORM OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

Yes, he has No, he hasn't

Yes, she has No, she hasn't

Yes, you have No, you haven't

Yes, they have No, they haven't

Yes, we have No, we haven't

Yes, I have No, I haven't

ANSWERING WITH SHORT ANSWERS

• TO DESCRIBE AN EXPERIENCE
• TO DESCRIBE A CHANGE DURING A PERIOD OF TIME
• TO DESCRIBE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• TO DESCRIBE A CONTNUING ACTION THAT STARTED IN THE PAST

WHAT'S THE USE OF THE PRESENT PERFECT ?

• Your English has improved a lot
• She has had an accident
• Man has walked on the moon
• I have run a marathon. I’m really tired!
• I have lost my keys. I can’t get into my house

SOME EXAMPLES

Click here on the link and complete the sentences. At the end check your answers!

AND NOW SOME EXERCISES

Simona Scapini

Present Perfect Tense: Definition, Rules and Useful Examples

Present Perfect Tense! This reference explains what the present perfect tense is and how you can use it to speak more clearly about actions and their timing. It covers the structure of the tense and provides examples to help you understand it better. You will also learn about the usage of the present perfect tense, including time adverbs, with useful grammar rules, example sentences.

What is the Present Perfect Tense?

The  Present Perfect Tense  is used to describe actions that have happened at an unspecified time before now.

It connects the past with the present.

Common uses include:

• Experiences : “She has visited Paris.”
• Changes over time : “He has grown taller.”
• Incomplete actions : “They have not finished their homework.”

Certain words often signal the present perfect tense:

For example:

• “Have you ever been to London?”
• “They have already left.”

Formulation of Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is used to talk about actions that happened at an unspecified time before now. It is also used to describe actions that have an impact on the present moment.

Affirmative Sentences

In affirmative sentences, the present perfect tense is formed using the auxiliary verb  “have”  (or  “has”  for he, she, it) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

• I/You/We/They  have  + past participle
• He/She/It  has  + past participle
• They  have eaten  breakfast already.
• She  has finished  her homework.

Negative Sentences

Negative sentences in the present perfect tense use the auxiliary verb  “have”  or  “has”  followed by  “not”  and the past participle of the main verb.

• I/You/We/They  have not  (haven’t) + past participle
• He/She/It  has not  (hasn’t) + past participle
• I  have not seen  that movie yet.
• He  has not called  us back.

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative sentences in the present perfect tense start with the auxiliary verb  “have”  or  “has”  followed by the subject and the past participle of the main verb.

• Have  I/you/we/they + past participle?
• Has  he/she/it + past participle?
• Have  you  read  that book?
• Has  she  moved  to a new house?

These structures help in correctly forming sentences in the present perfect tense and convey actions related to the present time.

Usage of Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense connects past actions or events with the present. It is often used to describe actions that were completed in the past but still impact the present.

Actions Completed in the Past

This tense shows actions finished at some point before now. For example, “She has finished her homework.” The exact time isn’t given, but we know it’s completed. This is helpful when talking about achievements or changes that are important in the present.

Actions with Present Relevance

The present perfect tense highlights actions that have results or consequences in the present. “He has lost his keys” means he can’t find them now. This usage bridges the past and the present, emphasizing how a past event affects the current situation.

Life Experience

When talking about experiences someone has had in their life up to now, the present perfect tense applies. “They have traveled to Japan” means at some point in their lives, they visited Japan. It doesn’t specify when, just that it has happened. This aspect focuses on the fact, not the timing.

Unspecified Time Before Now

The present perfect tense refers to actions that occurred at an unknown time before now. It uses terms like “ever” or “never.” “I have never eaten sushi” means at all times up to now, sushi hasn’t been eaten by the speaker. This helps in discussing experiences without needing specific time details.

Time Expressions in Present Perfect Tense

Time expressions help understand when an action happened. In the present perfect tense, words like “already,” “yet,” “for,” “since,” “just,” “ever,” and “never” are used to give clear time context.

Already and Yet

Already  is used in positive sentences to show that something has happened sooner than expected. For example, “She has already finished her homework.” It indicates that the action is completed.

Yet  is used in negative sentences and questions to talk about something that hasn’t happened but is expected to. For instance, “Has he finished his homework yet?” and “He has not finished his homework yet.”

For and Since

For  is used to talk about a period of time. For example, “They have lived here for ten years.” It shows the duration of time.

Since  points to the starting time of an action. For example, “They have lived here since 2010.” It tells when the action began.

Just  is used to indicate a recently completed action. For example, “She has just finished her lunch.” It highlights that the action happened in the very recent past.

Ever and Never

Ever  is used in questions and negative sentences to refer to any time up to now. For example, “Have you ever visited France?” It asks about any past experience.

Never  is used to mean not at any time. For instance, “He has never visited France.” It means not once in the past timeframe.

These expressions help provide clear context and time relationships in present perfect statements.

Contrast with Past Simple Tense

The Present Perfect Tense and Past Simple Tense have distinct differences, especially when it comes to  finished  and  unfinished actions  as well as  specific  and  general time references .

Finished vs. Unfinished Actions

The Present Perfect Tense often deals with actions that started in the past and continue into the present or have relevance now. For example, “She  has lived  in Madrid for three years” means she still lives there.

In contrast, the Past Simple Tense describes actions that are completely finished. For example, “She  lived  in Madrid for three years” means she no longer lives there. This difference is key when choosing which tense to use.

Specific vs. General Time

Another difference is in time references. The Present Perfect Tense is used for actions that happened at an  unspecified  time before now, like “They  have traveled  to Japan.” The exact time isn’t important.

The Past Simple Tense, on the other hand, is used for actions that happened at a  specific  time in the past. For example, “They  traveled  to Japan  last year .” This gives the listener a clear time frame for when the event occurred.

These distinctions help in clearly communicating when and how actions occurred.

Past Simple Tense Exercises

To practice the present perfect tense, it’s helpful to work through exercises. Here are some activities:

Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb.

• She  (visit)  many countries.
• They  (finish)  their homework.
• He  (live)  here for three years.

Rewrite Sentences

Transform these sentences into the present perfect tense.

• I wash the car.
• They eat dinner.
• She reads the book.

Answer the questions using the present perfect tense.

• What places have you visited?
• Have you met any celebrities?
• How long have you studied English?

True or False

Decide whether the sentences are correct.

• He has gone to the store.
• We have see that movie.
• They have played soccer yesterday.

Match the Phrases

Connect the phrases to form correct sentences.

• been to Paris.
• watched the movie.
• completed the project.

Short Answers

Respond to questions using the present perfect tense.

• Have you finished your homework?
• Yes, I have.
• Has she visited London?
• No, she hasn’t.

All Tenses in English

Learn all (12) tenses in English with useful grammar rules, examples and ESL worksheets.

Verb Tenses Chart

• Present Simple Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• Past Simple Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• Simple Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous
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Present Perfect Tense: Definition, Useful Examples and Exercise

The present perfect tense in English with present perfect examples! Learn the definition and how to form the present perfect tense with useful examples and ESL printable infographics.

Present Perfect Tense

Present perfect definition.

In the Present Perfect tense, the action is complete or has ended and hence termed Perfect. The exact time when the action happened is not important and hence, it is not mentioned in this tense.

Forming Present Perfect Tense

Positive statements | present perfect.

Notice that we use:

• ‘ have ’ with the subjects ‘I’, ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
• ‘ has ’ with the subjects ‘He’ and ‘She’

The verb form remains the same for all subjects.

Negative Statements | Present Perfect

• ‘ have not ’ with the subjects ‘I’, ‘You’, ‘We’ and ‘They’
• ‘ has not ’ with the subjects ‘He’ and ‘She’

Interrogative Statements / Questions | Present Perfect

Present Perfect Tense Chart

Present Perfect Tense Exercise

He  lp full

exercises of perfect tense

This is so helpful

I don’t speak English so this was very helpful

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

he has seen the movie

Its very helpful and understanding very much

ESL Grammar Present Perfect

ESL Grammar Present Perfect –

The present perfect tense is a verb form used to express actions or events that started in the past but have a connection to the present. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “have” or “has” followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Here are some examples of sentences using the present perfect tense:

• This sentence shows that the action of studying English started in the past and is still ongoing in the present.
• The verb “travel” is in the past participle form, “traveled.” This sentence indicates that she has visited many countries in her life up until now.
• The verb “eat” is in the past participle form, “eaten.” This sentence suggests that the action of eating dinner occurred at an unspecified time before now.
• The negative form of the present perfect tense is created by adding “not” after “have” or “has.” In this sentence, “haven’t seen” indicates that the action of seeing each other has not happened at any point since last year.
• The question form of the present perfect tense is formed by inverting the subject and auxiliary verb. This sentence asks whether the person has had the experience of going to Paris at any time in their life.

The present perfect tense is commonly used to talk about experiences, actions that have occurred at an unspecified time before now, and situations that started in the past but still have relevance to the present.

Present Perfect vs Present Perfect Continuous

Learn the difference between present perfect and present perfect continuous

Time: 20 – 30 minutes

Level: Pre-intermediate/Intermediate

ESL Grammar Present Perfect – Discussion Questions

This handout can be used to review the present perfect verb tense.

Present Perfect Grammar Worksheet

This handout is provided by allthingsgrammar.com .

Simple present perfect gap-fill exercise for pre-intermediate and intermediate students.

Simple present perfect exercise for pre-intermediate and intermediate students.

Simple present perfect discussion questions for pre-intermediate and intermediate students.

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Present Perfect activities

• Standalone Tasks (Warmers and Fillers)

Present Perfect practice

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson with Present Perfect activities are to:

• practise Present Perfect in affirmative and negative statements and questions;
• apply the tense to tell the news, talk about experiences and tell stories;
• differentiate the use of Present Perfect and Past Simple.

This lesson contains standalone activities where students can create sentences using Present Perfect with already , just and yet . They associate descriptions with pieces of news using the tense, ask and answer questions to talk about experiences as well as talking about life stories using Present Perfect and Past Simple appropriately. Students also create funny questions using pictures and detect truth or lies in classmates’ statements.

PRESENT PERFECT (JUST, ALREADY, YET)

In this part of the lesson, there are two tasks where students practise already, just and yet with Present Perfect. In ex. 1 , they complete sentences using Present Perfect and already, just or yet (e.g. ‘I wrote an email to my boss yesterday, but I haven’t sent it yet ’). In ex. 2 , students look at the photos and say things that have happened and things that haven’t happened yet (e.g. a picture of friends having lunch together: They’ve already ordered their food. They haven’t posted the picture on social media yet. )

PRESENT PERFECT (NEWS AND EXPERIENCES)

In this section, three tasks help students discuss personal experiences and events using Present Perfect. In ex. 3 , students read details and say which piece of news they are about (e.g. We’ve worked really hard, and it has finally happened. Now, we can get a pet, have parties and grow our own food in the garden – My partner and I have bought a house! ). Then, they read the details of another situation and guess the news using Present Perfect.

After that, students give some details about the news they receive for their partner to guess the news. In ex. 4 , students receive cards with situations (e.g. I have never baked a cake ) and, in pairs , they take turns reading statements on the cards and doing tasks ( create two sentences connected with the situation, ask their partner a question about the topic). In ex. 5 , students match pairs of sentences about life events in the Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses. They also choose two pairs to create more sentences about each situation.

PRESENT PERFECT VS PAST SIMPLE

In this part of the lesson, students do four Present Perfect activities which help them practise Present Perfect and differentiate it from Past Simple. In ex. 6 , students receive information about themselves and their partner. They ask their partner questions to complete their information (e.g. has studied English for _____ years; has lived in Brazil since _____; etc.). In ex. 7 , they receive a set of cards , choose one and create a funny question using the picture it shows (e.g. a cactus, a clown, an alien , etc.) and the structure Have you ever…? (e.g. Have you ever sat on a cactus? ). Their partner imagines that the situation has really happened and continues the story in Past Simple with their ideas.

In ex. 8 , students look at different topics (e.g. work, traveling, sport , etc.) and share something they haven’t done but think their partner has. If their partner has done it, they share three details about their experience. In ex. 9 , students choose one activity (e.g. meet a celebrity, miss a flight, see the ocean , etc.) and say they have done it. Other students ask questions about the experience to figure out if it is true . 

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Thank you for this very useful and well designed lesson. My students always need more practice with the Present Perfect.

However, I am confused by the instructions on Slide 18: “You are going to receive cards from your teacher”. Where are these cards for the teacher to use with slide 18? I cannot find them.

All the best Peter

Thanks for your comment! As for the cards, you can find the links to share with students in the Speaker’s notes 🙂

Thanks a lot! It’s a very useful lesson! I was looking for something like that to brush up on the whole topic. Please, come up with more on other tenses! It would be great 🙂

We’re glad you found it useful! And sure, there are more lessons coming 🙂

Excellent lesson! great practice.

Thank you for these activities! I just wanted to mention that when using the cards in Exercise 3, the prompts open in a separate slide – it would be more efficient if they were all on the same slide (put the card slides at the end, after the “Thanks” slide) ☺︎

Thanks for the feedback! We designed the slides to let teachers easily share links with students. However, I appreciate your suggestion and will pass it along to our team for future improvements.

There is a small mistake on slide 27: You partner has had a ______ for two years. It should read: YouR partner has had a ______ for two years.

Hello! Please check out the e-lesson again, everything should be OK 🙂

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The Present Perfect Simple Tense

Perfect english grammar.

How to form the present perfect

• Click here to download this explanation as a pdf
• Learn about USING the present perfect here
• For a list of all the present perfect exercises, click here
• 'have' / 'has' + the past participle
• Make the past participle by adding 'ed' to regular verbs (for example, 'play' becomes 'played')
• We also have some completely irregular verbs

(Also, here's some help if you are not sure how to pronounce '-ed' at the end of a verb).

Try an exercise about the positive form here

The negative is really simple too. Just put 'not' after 'have' or 'has':

Try an exercise about the negative form here

To make a question, put 'have' or 'has' in front of the subject:

As you can imagine, for 'wh' questions, we just put the question word before 'have' or 'has':

• Click here for a list of all the present perfect exercises

Hello! I'm Seonaid! I'm here to help you understand grammar and speak correct, fluent English.

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6 Super Fun Present Perfect Games

Check out these fun present perfect games for teaching the present perfect tense. One of the most difficult tenses for English language students to learn is the present perfect tense. To help your students practice the present perfect tense in a fun and engaging way we have put together this list of our favorite games to teach the present perfect tense.

Related: How To Teach The Present Perfect Tense | Step By Step

Present Perfect Games And Activities

1. find somebody who...

Top of our list of present perfect games and activities is the classic ESL activity ‘Find Somebody Who..’. Find somebody who is a great speaking activity to practice the present perfect tense as it encourages learners to speak using present perfect questions, affirmative answers, and negative answers.

For example, at the top of the activity worksheet is ‘Find somebody who has been to another country’. So, students should talk with their classmates and ask the present perfect question, “ Have you been to another country? ” and students would answer something like “ Yes, I have been to Spain. ” / “ No, I haven’t been to another country. “

2. Spot The Difference

This next game is a fun way to elicit present perfect sentences from students. Ask students to close their eyes or look away. Then, move or change something in the classroom. Next, tell students to open their eyes and ask them “What have I changed / moved?”.

3. Liar Game

This next present perfect activity requires no prep and is super fun. Ask students to think of one truth and one lie about something they have done. Then invite students up to the front of the class to tell their two things using the present perfect tense.

The other students in class must try to guess which sentence is true and which one is false. For example, a student might say “I have been to America.” and “I have met the president.” Then the other students must guess which one of these sentences is really true. This present perfect game can be played as a whole class, in small groups, or even in pairs.

4. Have you ever…?

Once students are familiar with how to make present perfect sentences and questions, this game is a great way to practice expanding these sentences.

Continue like this making the question longer and longer to make the longest present perfect question possible. This can lead to some very funny questions and makes practicing present perfect sentences incredibly fun. To make it even more fun, encourage students to answer ‘Yes, I have.” after each question and as the question becomes more and more absurd, students will find it funnier and funnier.

5. I have Not…

This next game is really fun and a great way to get your students moving around while practicing negative present perfect sentences. To begin, arrange the classroom chairs in a circle. Ensure there are enough chairs for all but one of your students. Now the game can begin.

Then, any student who has bought something that day must stand up quickly and find a different seat. The student in the middle must try to sit down in one of the seats before the other students do. The student left standing in the middle must then make a new sentence and the game starts again.

6. Present Perfect Quiz

More Present Perfect Tense Activities

Thanks for reading. I hope you found some fun games and activity ideas to teach the present perfect tense.

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Present Perfect - STILL, ALREADY, JUST, YET

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Mumbai Marathon 2025 to be held on January 19

The 20th edition of the iconic race will be flagged off from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.

The Mumbai Marathon 2025 is scheduled to be held on January 19, the organisers announced in Mumbai on Wednesday.

This will be the 20th edition of the prestigious Mumbai Marathon , which was a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race event in 2024. The race is traditionally held annually on the third Sunday of the year.

The Mumbai Marathon has been held annually since 2004 but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022.

Regarded as one of Asia's premier marathon events, the Mumbai Marathon also has other events like the half marathon and Open 10K runs amongst others.

The iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus will be the starting point for the Mumbai Marathon 2025.

For the 2025 edition of the marathon , limited spots have been reserved in the half marathon for persons with disability. To encourage women's participation in the marathon and half marathon, a limited number of running spots are reserved for them in both categories.

Registration for the marathon opened on August 14 and will continue until November 30 or until all spots are filled. For the half marathon, registration begins on August 23 and closes on September 13, with slots allocated on a fastest-runner-first basis.

The 2024 Mumbai Marathon saw nearly 56,000 runners compete while about 3,000 runners took part virtually through the Mumbai Marathon app.

Ethiopians Hayle Lemi and Abersh Minsewo won the men’s and women’s elite races, respectively, at the Mumbai Marathon 2024. Among Indian elite runners, Srinu Bugatha and Nirmaben Thakor Bharatjee won the men’s and women’s races, respectively.

The 20th edition is also expected to feature some of the top runners from around the world in the international elite field.

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