The PRESENT PERFECT TENSE is formed
with a present tense form of "to have" plus the past participle of
the verb (which can be either regular or irregular in form). This tense
indicates either that an action was completed (finished or
"perfected") at some point in the past or that the action extends to
the present:
I have
walked two miles already [but I'm still walking].
- I have
run the Boston Marathon [but that was some time ago].
- The
critics have praised the film Saving Private Ryan since it
came out [and they continue to do so].
The choice between Present Perfect and Simple Past is often determined by the
adverbial accompanying the verb. With adverbs referring to a period gone by,
we would use the simple past:
- I
studied all night/yesterday/on Wednesday.
With adverbs beginning in the past and going up to present, we would use the
present perfect:
- I have
studied up to now/lately/already.
An adverbial time-marker such as "today, this month," or "for
an hour" can take either the simple past or present perfect:
- I worked/have
worked hard today.
We tend to use the Present Perfect when reporting or announcing an event of
the recent past:
- The
company's current CEO has lied repeatedly to her employees.
But we tend to use the Simple Past when reporting or announcing events of the
finished, more distant past:
- Washington
encouraged his troops.
Because the time limits for Present Perfect are relatively elastic
(stretching up to the present), it is somewhat less definite than
the Simple Past:
- Brett
has worked with some of the best chefs of Europe [in the course
of his long and continuing career].
- Brett
worked with Chef Pierre LeGout [when he lived in Paris].
(Notice how the topic of Brett's work is narrowed down as we move from
Present Perfect to Simple Past.)
| Singular
| Plural
|
| I have walked
| we have walked
|
| you have walked
| you have walked
|
| he/she/it has walked
| they have walked
|
| Singular
| Plural
|
| I have slept
| we have slept
|
| you have slept
| you have slept
|
| he/she/it has slept
| they have slept
|
| Singular
| Plural
|
| I have been
| we have been
|
| you have been
| you have been
|
| he/she/it has been
| they have been
|