Present perfect theory. Present perfect examples of construction and application of grammatical constructions
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 of this grammatical structure and therefore it may seem that it is not easy to understand the rules of application. But it's not.
From this article you will learn:
Rule and examples
The Perfect tenses are the third major tense group of verbs in British English.
If we talk about the 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 not on the action itself, but on its result.
And if the result of the action can be observed in the present, then this will be The Present Perfect Tense.
They also say that "the result is on the face."
Let's look at examples and you will see that in practice it is easy to separate the perfect from the ordinary past:
- I have already cooked breakfast. — I have already prepared breakfast.
- I washed up yesterday. — I washed the dishes yesterday.
Tangible difference between these two examples, isn't it? 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. Whereas in the second sentence we use the imperfect .
We state the facts
First of all, I propose to consider the rules for composing affirmative sentences in Perfect. As usual, we keep the direct word order and bring it to the form:
Person + predicate + object + circumstance of time.
Compare the sentences in perfect English and try to conclude:
| I | |||
| He |
Of course, you 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 days of the Perfect group, we always use the semantic word in the third form, in British it is called Participle II. For regular verbs, this is the initial + ed.
For incorrect ones, a suitable value 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 controls you can find exercises where you need to open the brackets and put the word in the correct tense form.
Among the proposed tasks, the 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.
- We already (discuss) this article.
- I (watch) this film, and I don't like it.
- My friend (explain) me the way and I came in time.
If you complete the task correctly, then each line will have/has and the ending ed at the words in brackets.
Asking about results
Using the present perfect tense for interrogative sentences makes sense when you want to know its result, and not just "WAS OR NOT".
Have you ever been in Moscow?
At the same time, 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
Negative in Perfect usually suggests that the speaker is sorry or proud that something did not happen. And again, it is not the action itself that is meant, 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 perfect tense? Namely, never or not can be used for negation - as in other temporary groups. In the first case, the negative word is translated as a double negative “never”, but in British both these negatives cannot be present in one 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 a 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, the indicators of our grammatical form are: already, ever, never, yet. Having met such words in the test, you can be sure that you have a perfect conjugation.
New ones will help you determine which time group your sentence 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 of charge, an excellent basic phrasebook in three languages, English, German and French. Its main advantage is that there is a Russian transcription, therefore, even without knowing the language, you can easily master colloquial phrases.
I was with you, Natalya Glukhova, I wish you a good day!
Present Perfect Simple
1. Time name
Present Perfect Simple
2. Method of education
3. Changefinal letters
Tat (short vowel syllable) + ed = tatted
Silent e + ed = ed
Ty + ed = tied
4. Education approval
Subject + have\has + V3 + minor clauses
5. Question formation
Have\has + subject + V3 + secondary clauses?
6. Formation of negation
Subject + have\has + not + V3 + minor members of the sentence
7. Words are indicators of time
Ever, never, yet (the word yet in interrogative sentences is in last place), already, just, since, for (non-continuous verbs) not only lately, recently, the first (second) time, superlative degree of comparison.
8. Time value
An action that just happened.
The action happened in the past, but we see the result now.
An action that began at a certain moment in the past and has continued until now or has just ended (non-continuous verbs) or state verbs.
An action that began at a certain moment in the past and continues to this day.
That which never was.
With a superlative degree of comparison.
An action that happened 1, 2, 3… times.
9. Modal verbs and constructions
Modal verbs:
- Can-have\has\had to
structures are not used.
Present Perfect - Real Complete
You and I have already gone through 2 present tense, which we called "simple" and"long". Now we will consider present complete - Present Perfect. It sounds paradoxical, but in English, some types of completed actions can refer to the present, not the past tense. Such actions are mentioned in the context of a period of time that has not yet ended. For Russian-speaking students, this phenomenon may present some difficulties, because we convey it using the past tense. However, the situation will become clearer once you understand the difference. Look at the following pair of sentences in Russian that use the past tense:
In English, these two sentences will be used in 2 different tenses.- I traveled to the US last spring.-- refers to the Simple Past, which we have already gone through with you. the key phrase is " last spring ", i.e. a period of time that has already ended. -I went to the USA last spring
- I have traveled to the US three times in my life.-- refers to the Present Complete, because time interval " in all my life " has not yet been completed, despite the fact that the action has already taken place. - I have gone to the USA three times in my life
- For Education Present Perfect You need to put the verb "Have" in the appropriate subject form (Have / Has) after the subject, and after that the verb, to which the ending "ed" is added. It should be noted that the verb have in the Present Perfect is auxiliary and does not carry the meaning "to have". It just helps form the Present Perfect Tense.
| present | Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | were, were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | started | begun |
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| burst | burst | burst |
| buy | bought | bought |
| burst | burst | burst |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| cut | cut | cut |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| freeze | frozen | frozen |
| get | got | got |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hide | hidden | hidden |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| leave | left | left |
| let | let | let |
| lie | lay | lain |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| quit | quit | quit |
| read | read | read |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| seek | sought | sought |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| shine | shone | shone |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spend | spent | spent |
| spring | sprang | sprung |
| stand | stood | stood |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| swim | swam | swum |
| swing | swung | swung |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tear | tore | torn |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wake | woke (waked) | woken (waked) |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
| Subject | have / has (not) | Past Participle | Abbreviations |
| I | have (not) | written | I "ve (not) (I haven't) |
| you | have (not) | worked | you "ve (not) (you haven't) |
| he | has (not) | understood | he "s (not) (he hasn" t) |
| she | has (not) | played | she "s (not) (she hasn" t) |
| it | has (not) | broken | it "s (not) (it hasn" t) |
| we | have (not) | cooked | we "ve (not) (we haven't) |
| they | have (not) | met | they "ve (not) (they haven't) |
Questions:
| Where | have
|
I/you/we/they
|
been? |
| have | you | been | to Ukraine? | Yes, I have |
| Has | she | written | a letter? | No, she hasn't |
| have | they | visited | their parents? | Yes, they have. |
After studying Past, Present and Future Simple, this topic will seem very complicated and incomprehensible. One has only to translate this time into Russian, the panic is already beginning. How can one time unite past and present? That is the essence of this time. Consider the simplest example:
I have broken my leg. - I broke my leg.
As you can see, the speaker does not give the exact date and time, but simply tells that he broke his leg in the past and is currently in a cast.
Present Perfect (present perfect tense) is formed due to the verb have, which appears as an auxiliary verb and a perfect participle. These are the forms that are located in the 3rd column of irregular verbs.
Have (has) + V3.
If you carefully consider the formula, it becomes clear that the past participle is an invariable part in the sentence, but have (has) will change depending on the person and number of the narrator. At any time, including in the Present Perfect, the rules must be taught in such a way that they can be remembered at any time. If you memorize the above scheme, then there will be no problems in solving the exercises. But you should not stop at one scheme, so we move on.
Present Perfect: rules and examples
This time marks the completed action by the time of the narration. The difficulty of perceiving Present Perfect time lies in the fact that when translating a sentence into our language, verbs denote the past tense. You should not miss the moment that the translated verbs refer to the present tense, since they have a connection with the result of the action. Based on this, it is concluded that the action in the Present Perfect was performed in a certain period of time, which is not indicated in the sentence and is not so important.
All the rules regarding the Present Perfect say that in this tense it is strictly forbidden to use words indicating a specific past time:
At that moment;
Such circumstances of time are used only in Past Simple. But in the Present Perfect, the rules allow the use of helper words that indicate this time:
many or several times;
For example:
I have run into him several times in the summer camp. “I ran into him a few times at summer camp. (That is, the speaker saw the person, but does not name the specific date and time).
It is worth noting that the rules characteristic of the Present Perfect are most difficult for beginners to learn English. Let's try to understand them in more depth.
When is this tense used?
This time expresses the following concepts:
I have been to Italy.
Here the speaker means that he has already been to Italy. So, he has experience of traveling to this country.
2. Changes that have occurred in a segment (during) time.
He has grown a beard since the last time I saw him.
This example shows an action that happened in a certain period of time. The speaker did not see the other person for some period of time, and by the time of the meeting, he had already grown a beard. In such sentences, the second verb is used in the Past Simple (saw) form.
3. Achievements.
Our son has learned to play piano.
This sentence indicates the achievements of the guy, but at what time he achieved this is not indicated.
4. Unfulfilled but expected action.
Nick has not arrived yet.
That is, the process is still ongoing and is expected to complete. The sentence is about a guy who has not yet arrived at the time of the dialogue, but he will come soon, and the process will be completed. Pay attention to the last word yet. At the beginning of the study of the topic, it was said that the Present Perfect time has its own helper words. This word is one of them. It already serves as a signal that this sentence belongs to the time of Present Perfect Tense.
5. Several actions in the past.
The team has led the game 5 times so far.
In this example, it is clear that the team's games have been played 5 times so far, but at the moment of the story, it is still playing.
In Present Perfect time, the rules allow the use of the following tense circumstances:
This week (month).
Present Perfect or Past Simple
Present Perfect, Past Simple - the rules for using these tenses are completely different. If in the first case the action that has taken place has a connection with the present time, then in the second case there is no connection. In the Past Simple, the auxiliary verb is did, and in the Present Perfect, it is have or has. In the first case, time does not play any role. What matters here is the result or the fact that the action is done. In the second, only the time when this action occurred is important.
The following are examples of how these tenses are used:
Present Perfect Continuous Simple. Rules of use
Present Perfect Continuous Simple implies a certain process that began in the past tense and is still ongoing at the time of the story. And to put it simply, this is an action that began in the past tense and by the time of the conversation either had just ended or was still in progress.
How is Present Perfect Continuous Simple formed?
affirmative sentences:
I have been reading.
Interrogative sentences:
Have I been reading?
Negative suggestions:
I have not/haven't been reading.
To indicate this time, it is necessary to put the verb to be in the Present Perfect (have been or has been). Then the sacrament is added to it. To get it, you need to add the ending -ing to the initial form of the word.
Cases when this tense is used:
1. The process began in the past and by the time of the conversation is not completed, but continues.
2. An action that began in the past, lasted a certain amount of time, and by the time the conversation had already ended.
Even though this is a rather complicated topic, do not give up. English grammar is not "Chinese literacy". You just need to be careful when studying this topic, analyze examples, perform exercises of varying complexity, memorize the rules. Only then will you be able to master the entire grammar of the English language.
There are 26 tenses in the grammatical system of the English language. This is often the reason for the appearance of difficulties in the process of studying it. After all, it is quite difficult for a Russian person, in whose native language there are only 3 tenses, to catch the difference in the use of these categories.
The greatest difficulty for students studying English is Present Perfect - the present perfect tense.
This difficult English. Present Perfect
The present perfect tense denotes an action that took place in the past, but its result is related to the present:
I have done my homework. I can go for a walk. - I did my homework. I can go for a walk (homework is done, and as a result of this - the opportunity to go for a walk).
I have lost my key. I can't enter my flat. - I lost my keys. I cannot enter the house.
Method of formation Present Perfect
My mum has just made a cake. My mother has just made a pie.
Ann has already washed up. - When I arrived, Anya had already washed all the dishes.
We had dinner today. - We've had lunch today.
In colloquial speech, instead of the full form, you can use the abbreviations ‘ve, ‘s:
I've arrived in Moscow today. - Today I arrived in Moscow.
He's lost his key. - He lost his keys.
To form negative forms, the particle not is attached to the auxiliary verb:
He hasnt prepared for English exam. He didn't prepare for the English exam.
They haven't come home yet. - They haven't come home yet.
Interrogative present perfect tense
To build a general type of questions in the Present Perfect tense category, has / have auxiliary verbs are placed at the beginning of the sentence:
Have you ever been in Greece? - Have you ever been to Greece?
Has she graduated from the University this year? - She graduated from university this year?
To create a special type of question, the following word order is used:
1) question word;
3) subject;
4) adverb of time (if any), predicate, etc.
What has she just cooked? What did she just cook?
Where did you walk this evening? - Where did you walk tonight?
Correct or not?
As mentioned earlier, this tense category is created using a special form of the semantic verb. In English, regular verbs are distinguished, which form the simple past and present perfect by adding the ending -ed, and irregular verbs. Present Perfect is the time in which their use is necessary.
But, unfortunately, this part of speech causes many difficulties for students. form temporary forms according to a special algorithm that defies any rules. In fact, they cannot be called exceptions, since there are more than a hundred of them in the English language.
An example of an irregular verb: go-went-gone (to go). The first word is an infinitive verb, the second is used to indicate the past tense (it is also called participle 2), and the third is used to express an action in the present perfect tense. This one does not have a specific way of forming the first or second participle form. The only way out of this situation is cramming. There is nothing to worry about, because basically all these verbs are "by ear", they are quickly remembered and firmly embedded in speech.
Faithful companions
As accompanying adverbs of this time are used:
- Already - already:
I have already passed my exam. - I have already passed the exam.
- Just - just now:
You have just won the prize! - You just won the grand prize!
- Ever - ever:
Have you ever been to Milan? - Have you ever been to Milan? (this is how the verb "be" present perfect is expressed)
- Before - before, earlier:
I have never met him before. - I've never met him before.
- Yet - yet, still, still:
I haven't been tired yet. - I'm not tired yet.
As can be seen from the examples, accompanying adverbs are placed after the auxiliary verb. The exception is the word "yet".
Of course, the accompanying adverbs will not be used in every case of the present perfect tense. But the presence of these words serves as a certain clue to the recognition of a new temporal category.
Use cases
As mentioned earlier, this time is used to indicate the effectiveness of an action committed in the past. In addition, the Present Perfect time is necessary in the following cases:
1. When talking about an action without specifying the time of its completion:
He has done all his work. - He did all his work.
2. When the action has ended, but the time period in which it was carried out has not yet ended.
Compare:
I had breakfast this morning. - I had breakfast this morning. (The morning is not yet over).
I had breakfast this morning. - I had breakfast this morning (it is evening now, the action is in the past).
3. The present perfect tense can be used to refer to previous actions, for example:
I have taken on my coat before I went out. - I put on my coat before leaving the house.
Present Perfect vs Present Perfect Continuous
To refer to actions that began in the past and continue in the present, the Present Perfect is used. Offers:
I have lived there since 2000. - I have lived here since 2000.
She has worked here as a secretary for 5 years. She has been working here as a secretary for 5 years.
In this case, the present perfect tense is very closely related to another temporary category - Present Perfect Continuous. It is also necessary to indicate actions lasting from some point in the past to the present. A person, using a given tense in speech, wants to show the process of the action, its duration.
I have been flying in the plane for 3 hours. - I have been flying on an airplane for 3 hours (the process itself is indicated).
What is the difference between the simple and the real complete?
The main difficulty in mastering this tense is that a Russian-speaking student often cannot catch the difference between the past tense and the present perfect. So that the choice between these tenses does not become a real dilemma and an endless obstacle to obtaining language skills, it is necessary to highlight specific cases of their use.
1. Present Perfect denotes a result, while Past simple indicates the completion of an action in the past that has nothing to do with the present.
Compare:
I visited a museum a week ago. - I went to the museum a week ago.
I have just visited this museum! The exhibition is really worth seeing. - I just visited the museum. The exhibition is really worth seeing.
If in the first case the action ended in the past and the sentence only states the fact of visiting the museum, then in the second case a direct connection with the present is shown - there is a result, that is, the person got pleasure from contemplating the pictures. In addition, in the first example, a specific indication of time is given - a week ago, which is the main sign of the simple past tense.
2. If the question begins with the word when, then in this case, instead of the present perfect tense, the simple past will be used.
Compare:
Have you ever seen this girl? - Have you ever seen this girl (at all)?
When did you see this girl? - When did you see this girl (a specific period of time in the past is recognized)?
Do you need time band Perfect in colloquial speech
Often, memorizing huge tables with tenses, irregular verbs and other intricacies of the English language, many do not understand the meaning of such linguistic bells and whistles, hearing the everyday uncomplicated speech of a foreigner. Indeed, the inhabitants of some countries have simplified English beyond recognition, forgotten many temporary forms and other grammatical phenomena. Therefore, the question arises: is it worth suffering and delving into all this if it is not useful?
Worth it, because it will definitely come in handy. After all, English is not only communication with a foreigner via Skype in a "broken" language. It:
- foreign periodicals;
- literary masterpieces of world famous authors - Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy;
- the opportunity to work in serious foreign companies, enter prestigious universities, engage in tutoring, etc.
Thus, the study of the grammatical features of the English language is simply necessary. After all, lexical units, like beads, are strung on the connecting threads of grammar.
Present Perfect is a complex phenomenon, but understandable for a diligent student. In order for it to be firmly assimilated in the mind, it is necessary to perform appropriate exercises to develop grammatical skills, read as much classical literature in a foreign language as possible - after all, where else can you find an abundance of language forms? Actively use new grammatical material in speech, if possible.