The Present Perfect (1)
Use 1
We use the present perfect when we want to talk about experiences - things which happened before now, but it isn't important exactly when.
I've never eaten spiders.
We often use it with expressions like ever, never, yet, already, before, How often?, three times, in my life.
Now look at these two examples:
I've only eaten sushi once.
I ate sushi with my sister.
The first is present perfect because we are thinking about experiences in your life until now. The second is past simple because you aren't thinking about your whole life - you are thinking about one finished time. You should never use present perfect when you say a finished past time (e.g. 'on Tuesday', 'in 2002').
Confused? Try the practice exercises to help you understand better.
(The teacher has eaten chocolate ants too. They tasted very strange. )
We make the present perfect simple using have + past participle (the third form of the verb, e.g. done, gone, written ...).
| Positive | Negative | Question | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I, you, we and they | You've studied this before. | You haven't studied this before. | Have you studied this before? |
| He, she and it | She's studied this before. | She hasn't studied this before. | Has she studied this before? |
We use "already" with positive sentences. We use "yet" with negative sentences and questions. Note the position in the examples below:
- I've already had dinner.
- I haven't had dinner yet.
- Have you had dinner yet?
Some good news: We never use the present perfect continuous with this meaning! So if you see "ever", "never", "already" etc. you know that you should only use the present perfect.
Present perfect practice