The present perfect tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last hour). This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle.
The construction of this verb tense is straightforward. The first element is have or has, depending on the subject the verb is conjugated with. The second element is the past participle of the verb, which is usually formed by adding -ed or -d to the verb’s root (e.g., walked, cleaned, typed, perambulated, jumped, laughed, sautéed) although English does have quite a few verbs that have irregular past participles (e.g., done, said, gone, known, won, thought, felt, eaten).
These examples show how the present perfect can describe something that occurred or was the state of things at an unspecified time in the past.
I have walked on this path before.
We have eaten the lasagna here.
The important thing to remember about the present perfect is that you can’t use it when you are being specific about when it happened.
I have put away all the laundry.
I have put away all the laundry this morning.
You can use the present perfect to talk about the duration of something that started in the past is still happening.
She has had the chickenpox since Tuesday.
PRESENT PERFECT
FORMACIÓN DEL "PRESENT PERFECT"
El "present perfect" de cualquier verbo está compuesto por dos elementos: la forma apropiada del verbo auxiliar to have (en presente) y el "past participle" del verbo principal. La forma del "past participle" de un verbo regular es raíz+ed, e.g. played, arrived, looked. En cuanto a los verbos irregulares, consulta la Tabla de verbos irregulares de la sección 'Verbos'.
| Afirmativa | ||
| Sujeto | to have | past participle |
| She | has | visited. |
| Negativa | ||
| Sujeto | to have + not | past participle |
| She | has not (hasn't) | visited. |
| Interrogativa | ||
| to have | sujeto | past participle |
| Has | she | visited? |
| Interrogativa negativa | ||
| to have + not | sujeto | past participle |
| Hasn't | she | visited? |
TO WALK, "PRESENT PERFECT"
| Afirmativa | Negativa | Interrogativa |
|---|---|---|
| I have walked | I haven't walked | Have I walked? |
| You have walked | You haven't walked. | Have you walked? |
| He, she, it has walked | He, she, hasn't walked | Has he, she, it walked? |
| We have walked | We haven't walked | Have we walked? |
| You have walked | You haven't walked | Have you walked? |
| They have walked | They haven't walked | Have they walked? |
FUNCIONES DEL "PRESENT PERFECT"
El "present perfect" se emplea para señalar un vínculo entre el presente y el pasado. El tiempo en que transcurre la acción es anterior al presente pero inespecífico y, a menudo, recae un mayor interés sobre el resultado que sobre la propia acción.
¡CUIDADO! Puede que, en tu idioma, exista un tiempo verbal con una estructura similar pero es probable que su significado NO sea el mismo.
EL "PRESENT PERFECT" SE UTILIZA PARA DESCRIBIR
- Una acción o situación iniciada en el pasado y que continúa en el presente. I have lived in Bristol since 1984 (= todavía vivo allí.)
- Una acción realizada durante un periodo de tiempo aún no concluido. Shehas beento the cinema twice this week (= la semana todavía no ha terminado.)
- Una acción repetida en un periodo temporal inespecífico situado entre el pasado y el presente. We have visited Portugal several times.
- Una acción que ha concluido en un pasado muy reciente, lo que se indica mediante 'just'. I have just finished my work.
- Una acción para la cual no es importante el momento preciso en que aconteció. He has read 'War and Peace'. (= lo relevante es el resultado de la acción)
Nota: Cuando queremos dar o pedir información sobre cuándo, dónde o quién, empleamos el "simple past". Consulta cómo elegir entre el "simple past" y el "present perfect".
ACCIONES INICIADAS EN EL PASADO Y QUE CONTINÚAN EN EL PRESENTE
- They haven't lived here for years.
- She has worked in the bank for five years.
- We have had the same car for ten years.
- Have you played the piano since you were a child?
CUANDO SE HACE REFERENCIA A UN PERIODO TEMPORAL INACABADO
- I have worked hard this week.
- It has rained a lot this year.
- We haven't seen her today.
ACCIONES REITERADAS EN UN PERIODO INESPECÍFICO, ENTRE EL PASADO Y EL PRESENTE.
- They have seen that film six times
- It has happened several times already.
- She has visited them frequently.
- We have eaten at that restaurant many times.
ACCIONES CONCLUIDAS EN UN PASADO MUY RECIENTE (+JUST)
- Have you just finished work?
- I have just eaten.
- We have just seen her.
- Has he just left?
CUANDO LA DIMENSIÓN TEMPORAL NO ES RELEVANTE O CONOCIDA
- Someone has eaten my soup!
- Have you seen 'Gone with the Wind'?
- She's studied Japanese, Russian, and English.
Make sentences in the present perfect tense using the verb form given in the brackets.
1. The boys ……………….. in their answer sheets. (hand)
2. The people ……………….. the city. (desert)
3. I …………………. confirmation of the news. (receive)
4. We …………………. in this city for twenty years. (live)
5. She ………………… the first prize for her stupendous performance. (win)
6. The boys ………………… their meals. (eat)
7. The lions ……………….. the bison. (kill)
8. The police ……………… the smugglers. (arrest)
9. The child …………………. his homework. (do)
10. I ……………… the table. (lay)
11. They ………………… the books. (print)
12. The spider ………………. its web. (weave)
13. The birds ………………… home to roost. (come)
14. The trees ………………… blooming. (start)
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