Present Perfect

Hello! This video is about the present perfect. We’re going to start by looking at the form, which is how to make the present perfect, and then we will look at the function, which is how to use it. After that, there’s a short quiz, so make sure you stay to the end of the video. Let’s get started. All right, the form – how to make the present perfect. So for a positive sentence, or affirmative sentence, we have the subject, we have the auxiliary verb – have or has – so it’s have for every person except for he, she, and it, or where have has, and then the past participle: Built. For negative, it’s just the same, except we obviously have to add negation. Now one of the things we like to do in English, is make contractions, to make shorter forms. So, I can do this: I haven’t built. She hasn’t walked, okay? For yes/no questions, again I start at the beginning, and then all I do is, I move the auxiliary verb to the front, and the subject to after. Now, because this is the beginning of the sentence, really, I should have capital letters here, but I don’t. I hope you forgive me. One more type of question to look at and that’s WH questions. Once again, I start with a basic positive sentence. I move the auxiliary verb to the front, and then, at the very front, I now add the question word, okay? So that’s how to make the present perfect – not very complicated. There’s not very much to understand – just remember it and then do it. Okay, let’s look now at the function – how to use the present perfect. The present perfect is a present tense that feels like a past tense, and the reason it feels like a past tense is because it connects the past to the present. There are three main uses and we’re going to look at these one, two, three, but it’s important to understand that sometimes you know, is this use number one or is this use number two or number three? Sometimes it would be hard to say saying if it’s number one or number two or number three. [It] doesn’t matter very much. What matters is are you using the right tense at the right time? Okay, let’s take a look. First of all, the present perfect is used for an action that happened in the past, and the result of that action can be seen now. So the … The visitors have arrived. They’re here now. The shops have opened. Now we can go shopping. I’ve made breakfast. It’s on the table, let’s eat! So, these actions happened in the past, but they are connected to the present. So again, they happen in the past but the result of that action can be seen now. Next, we use the present perfect for an action or state that started in the past and that is still true or still important now. He’s been sick for two days. Now, by choosing to use this verb tense, I’m saying yeah two days ago he got sick, but I am also saying he is still sick now. Now, I don’t say that but, but I am. Every native speaker would understand that he is still sick now. She’s started a new business. So, her business is open now. So she started, you know, we don’t know when, maybe it was five years ago ,maybe it was last week, we don’t know, that doesn’t matter, but the point is the business is open now. Remember, it connects the past to the present. One more example: We’ve become vegetarian. And the key, what we’re saying here, is we don’t eat meat now. So these days, in the present, we don’t eat meat. Another way to use the present perfect is for an action that happened at some time in the past, but either we don’t know when, or it doesn’t matter, it’s just not important. Let’s look at some examples: I’ve visited in France three times. When? It doesn’t matter – that’s not what I’m saying, that’s not what I’m talking about. All I’m saying is I’ve visited France three times in my life. So yes, I’ve been there, I know what the country is like. They’ve climbed that mountain. When? That’s the wrong question to ask, That’s not the point. The point is that they have been to the top of that mountain at some time. He’s got, or gotten, heavier. Well that means he weighs more now than he did in the past. Just by the way the reason, I wrote this like this in North America, we use the the older form. Very often, we say gotten. In the UK, that sounds very old-fashioned, and very often they will laugh at you or… I don’t know, sometimes they make sure that you see that they are laughing at to you, and sometimes they try to hide it, but whatever. In the UK, they don’t use that. In the UK, they would just say he’s got heavier, so it depends where you are as to what the correct form is, okay? Let’s look at some common uses of the present perfect. We often use the present perfect with since or for. This is actually kind of a lesson within a lesson because people often confuse these words. We say since when we’re talking about a specific time and we use for for an amount of time. So let’s look at an example: Richard moved to London and 2015. Speaking in 2018, he can say either I’ve lived here since 2015. Okay, so since a specific time, or he can say for for an amount of time. He can say I’ve lived here for three years. Something else that we often use with the present perfect is the word yet. Yet is often used with the present perfect, especially in questions and negatives, and what’s important is what it means, but doesn’t always directly say; it shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen. Have you heard the news? Have you heard the news yet? Now, I don’t have to have that yet there, but I will often put it there. I haven’t called him yet. Okay? And by saying yet, I’m saying I will, but it just hasn’t happened at this time. Just is also commonly used with the present perfect. Just is used to focus on something that has happened very recently. Are you hungry? I’ve just baked a cake. Well that’s handy! Mary isn’t here. She’s just left. She was here five minutes ago, but now she’s gone. Here’s some bad advice. Some, now, this is what some students have told me that their teachers have said. Some teachers say that the present perfect is used for actions in the recent past. Well, that can be true, but that’s not a good way to think of it. The present perfect can be used to describe recent actions, but that is not why that verb tense is used. How far back in time an action is does not decide what tense we use. We choose which tense to use based on how the situation we’re talking about fits with other actions or other events, okay? So it depends how we’re thinking about the situation, not how long ago it happened. Okay? So let’s look at some examples of this: The visitors have arrived. They probably arrived just a few minutes ago, so this is the reason past, that’s fine, but the important thing is that they’re here now, not when they got here. Now, look at this one. I’ve graduated from university twice. One of these graduations was obviously further in the past and the other, but the focus is on what I’ve done, not when I did it, okay? So it’s not about the recent past, it’s about its connection to the present. As soon as an action is placed in time, so I see yesterday, last week, 20 years ago, we use the past simple, not the present perfect. The visitors arrived five minutes ago. They climbed that mountain in 1992. I made breakfast last week. Okay? So all of these – five minutes ago, nineteen ninety-two, last week ,they put these actions at a specific point in time, and because of that, I don’t use the present perfect anymore… unless that time is unfinished! I’ve had two cookies today, but today isn’t over… I might have some more. We’ve watched two movies this week. Again, I would understand – if somebody used this verb tense to talk about this situation – I would understand that this week isn’t over yet and that we may watch some more movies. They’ve made a million dollars this year. Again, I understand that there’s the possibility of making more money this year. This year is not over. Okay, I have some questions here, or some, some sentences. I’d like you to take a look at them and then decide if they are correct or not, and then more importantly, why. So here are the sentences. Take a few moments, look at them, and then I’ll come back and we’ll talk about the answers. Pause the video now. Okay, so how do you think you did? Let’s take a look. Okay, so some of them are correct, some of them aren’t. Let’s go through one by one. Number one is easy – no problem. I have read that book. When? Doesn’t matter! I’m just saying that I know what happens in it. Okay, number two: We’ve just walk to the store. No, we’ve just walked to the store. Number three, again, is okay: He has eating hot dogs. Number f… oops! Number four: They visited France in 2016. Well there’s two different ways to fix this. I could take out the “in 2016” part because there I put it in time, or I could take out the “have” which is what makes it the present perfect instead of the past simple. So there’s actually two different ways to fix this. Here, I just wrote “not in 2016,” so this is one way of fixing it, but it’s not the only way. If I changed this, though, I now don’t have a sentence in the present perfect, which is what this video is about, so that’s why I chose to say that, that this was, this was the right answer. Number five: I am walked to the store. No; I have walked to the store. Another problem with our auxiliary verb. Number six: My brothers has started a business. No, not has; have. Number seven and number eight are both correct. Number nine: We have read that book last year. This is very similar to number one. The difference here, and the problem is that we have put it in time, so as soon as we put something in time, we can’t use the present perfect. okay? So again, we could say: I read last year… so take this away and make it the past simple, or I take away this part and just say I have read that book. Two different ways of fixing it. Number ten is correct. So, how did you do? If you’d like some more practice, look below. I’ve created some activities and some questions for you. That’s all for today. Thank you very much!