When do we use the present perfect? Why is the present perfect so confusing? Why
can't I use the simple past? I'm Arnel from Arnel's Everyday English. And
today I'm going to help you answer these questions. This tense can be very
confusing. So, you need a pen and a notebook, get ready to take notes. Today
it's: The grammatical structure, with pronunciation. A connection to the present.
Finished and unfinished time (with the past simple). And typical mistakes, we're going to look at all of
these step by step. Let's begin! The grammatical structure. We form the
present perfect, have has, plus past participle. When do we use have? When do
we use has? I have, you have, he/she/it has, we have, they have. Remember the 's' in has
is pronounced Z like like zebra.
Z like zebra. What's the past participle? The past participle is verb
number three. Infinitive, eat. Past simple, ate. Past participle, eaten. The same goes
for regular verbs: Dance, danced, danced.
Affirmative, I have eaten. Pete has eaten. Negative, I
have not eaten. Pete has not eaten. Question: Have you eaten? Has Pete eaten? In
spoken English, we normally contract. This is very
natural. I have becomes: I've. You have: You've. He's. She's. It's. We've. They've. For negatives,
the contractions are a little bit different.
I have not becomes: I haven't. You haven't. He/she/it hasn't. We haven't. They haven't.
For this lesson I'm going to contract a lot of things because I'm speaking.
Grammatical structure, done! Let's keep going. A connection to the present, this
is really important with the present perfect. Let's do a few examples together,
but need... Perfect! We have the past
and the present. I've lived in New York for five years. I moved to New York in
the past. What's the connection to the present? Now, I still live in New York.
Will I continue to live in New York? That's not important that information
doesn't matter. Pete and I have been together for eight years. We got married in 2011.
What's the connection to the present? Now we are still married. We are still
together. Will this action continue in the future? It's not important! I've had my dog
bubbles since I was 15. I bought bubbles when she was a little puppy. What's the
connection to the present? Now I still have bubbles. When we're using the
present perfect, we're really trying to link the past to the present. There's a
Riley's lost his job. In the past, he lost his job. Now what's the present impact?
Now he doesn't have a job. Now he's stressed. I can't find my keys, I've
looked everywhere. I lost my keys, I've looked everywhere. What's the present
impact? Now I can't get in my house. Now I don't know what to
do. We see this grammar a lot in the news. Why? Because past actions have present
impacts. The government has decided to increase taxes. The decision was made in
the past. Now what's the present impact? Now taxes are rising. Heavy rain has
caused flooding in many areas. What's flooding? Flooding is when water
It started reading in the past. Now, what's the present impact? Now, people
need help, cars have been damaged, the roads are all
ruined, let's continue! Finished an unfinished time. Remember this, we'll
return to this. We use the present perfect for past experiences. I've been
to France, twice. My best friend and I have watched Titanic so many times. I've
met the Pope. These are all life experiences. When did these things happen?
When we use the present perfect, we do not give a specific finish time. I have
been to France twice in 2015 and 2016.
2015 and 2016 are finished times, now it's 2019. My best friend and I have
watched Titanic so many times in high school. Now, I'm not in high school it's a
finished time. I've met the Pope in July. Now, it's September, July is a finished
time. So, Arnel, what is unfinished time? I have a calendar. Today it's the eighth.
Is the month finished? It's not finished. I haven't been to the gym this month.
This month, is correct. The month isn't over. My flatmate and I have cooked
Indian food twice this week. This week isn't over, it's only Wednesday. I've
written over 50 emails today. Is today over? It's only it's only 2 o'clock, the
day isn't finished. In my life, I have traveled to so many places. In my life
isn't a finished time, I'm still living.
No!
Past simple, present perfect. I've been to France twice. I went to France in 2015
and 2016. My best friend and I have watched Titanic so many times. We watched Titanic
so many times in high school. I've met the Pope.
I met the Pope in July. Typical mistakes:
Number one: Using the past simple instead of the past participle. I have ate, I
have eaten. She has saw, she has seen. Remember to use
the past participle. This is very important with irregular verbs.
Number two: We spoke about this a lot, using the present perfect with a
specific finished time. Last night I've gone to the pub with a few friends. Last
night, I went. Number three: It's important to remember the time doesn't need to be in
the same sentence. It needs to be in the context of a conversation. Here's a
conversation: Have you tried that Greek restaurant
Heracles? You mean the one by the by the train
station? Yeah. Oh. Actually, my boyfriend and I went there last week. As you can
see we begin the conversation with the present perfect. Have you been? I'm
interested in the experience. I don't care when. As the conversation continues,
we use a past simple. Why? Because last week is a specific finish
time. How was it? Was it okay? Yeah the food was great. I had the lamb platter.
Now, we continue in the past simple. Because last week is my finish time and
we continue because I have the time in mind. Wow! You've done a great job!
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