Present Perfect (I have eaten)

We make the Present Perfect (Simple) tense with have or has and a past participle (e.g. worked, been):

Positive Sentences
I/you/we/they have/’ve worked.
He/she/it has/’s
Negative Sentences
I/you/we/they have not/haven’t worked.
He/she/it has not/hasn’t
Questions
Have I/you/we/they worked?
Has he/she/it
Short Answers (Positive)
Yes, I/you/we/they have.
he/she/it has.
Short Answers (Negative)
No, I/you/we/they have not/haven’t.
he/she/it has not/hasn’t.

With regular verbs, we add –ed to form the past participle (e.g. worked, talked), but there are many verbs with irregular past participles (e.g. seen, sung, taken, bought):

Regular verbs: Past Simple and past participle
  INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
With most verbs we add -ed: happen happened happened
We verbs ending with -e, we add -d: live lived lived
We verbs that end with a consonant + -y, we change the -y to -ied: try
study
tried
studied
tried
studied
With verbs that end with one vowel + one consonant, we double the consonant: stop
grab
stopped
grabbed
stopped
grabbed

We do not double the consonant,

  1. when it is a y or w (e.g. enjoy),
  2. when the last syllable is not stressed (e.g. disCOVer, LISten, HAppen):
enjoy
allow
discover
listen
enjoyed
allowed
discovered
listened
enjoyed
allowed
discovered
listened
But note also that we double the l at the end of verbs when the syllable is not stressed (e.g. TRAvel): cancel
travel
cancelled
travelled
cancelled
travelled
Irregular verbs: Past Simple and past participle
INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
be was/were been
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
break broke broken
bring brought brought
build built built
burn burnt burnt
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feel felt felt
find found found
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
forbid forbade forbidden
get got got
give gave given
go went gone/been
grow grew grown
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
know knew known
learn learnt/learned learnt/learned
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lose lost lost
make made made
meet met met
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
ring rang rung
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
show showed shown/showed
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
sweep swept swept
swim swam swum
take took taken
teach taught taught
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written

We use the Present Perfect to talk about events in past time, but not about when they happened:

  • Somebody has taken my coat. (NOT Somebody has taken my coat yesterday.)
  • I have listened to her latest album.

We use the Present Perfect in this way when the past event is relevant now:

  • Somebody has taken my coat. I can’t find it. (= I don’t know where it is now)
  • I’ve been to the dentist. My tooth doesn’t hurt now.

We use the Present Perfect to talk about situations or actions during a period that started in the past, and has continued up to the present (e.g. today, this month, this year, for three weeks, since last year):

  • I’ve worked here for five years. (= from five years ago until now)
  • I’ve lived in Nottingham since 1992. (= from 1992 until now)
  • I’ve watched the news three times this week.
  • We haven’t had a holiday this year.
  • Have you seen Peter (today)?

We very often use the Present Perfect with ever, never, already, just, and yet, like this:

  • Have you ever been to Thailand? No, I’ve never been to Thailand.
  • Chris has already done his homework.
  • Chris has just done his homework.
  • Chris hasn’t done his homework yet.

Note that we put ever, never, already, and just before the past participle, and yet at the end of the sentence.


PRACTICE

Now it is time to practise what you have learned.

  • For each Practice Test, read the instructions carefully.
  • Complete the exercise and press 'Check' to get your results.
Practice Test A

Practice Test B

Practice Test C

Practice Test D

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Nigel Bailey

Nigel is a qualified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and has been teaching in Poland since 2003. He has been teaching over the Internet since 2008 and has taught more than 1,000 students in this way.

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