Present Perfect

[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

 You have seen that movie many times.

 Have you seen that movie many times?
 You have not seen that movie many times.

O fato de não ter um “equivalente direto” em português é superado naturalmente

com o a pratica e exercícios.

A principal maneira de se verificar a diferença entre Present Perfect e Simple

Past no inglês é verificar onde está o foco da frase. Este pode ser tanto na ação em si (o
que foi feito) quanto no tempo (quando foi feito). Para o primeiro caso, regra geral, usamos
o Present Perfect, enquanto que para o segundo caso usamos o Simple Past.
Veja uma frase escrita de duas maneiras pouco diferentes entre si:

 I have bought a new car.;

 I bought a new car last month.;
No primeiro caso, você está comunicando apenas que comprou um carro novo. O fator
tempo não é muito importante aqui. Você poderia ter comprado ontem, semana passada,
em 2012 que não faria tanta diferença.

Já na segunda frase, foi mencionado quando a compra foi efetuada. Ou seja, o “quando” a
ação foi realizada tem relevância neste caso. Isso pode ocorrer tanto por vontade da
pessoa em dizer quando o fato aconteceu quanto para responder à pergunta de outra
pessoa, se ela perguntar quando.
Veja mais exemplos:
 Sandra has already worked as a lawyer. (Present Perfect – foco no
fato);
 Sandra worked as a lawyer for two years. (Simple Past – foco no
tempo);
 I have just phoned Helen. (Present Perfect);
 I phoned Helen five minutes ago. (Simple Past);
Em alguns casos, não é possível determinar quando algo aconteceu pelo simples fato de
que ainda não aconteceu. Se eu quero dizer que minha mãe nunca foi a Paris, por
exemplo, eu diria My mother has never been to Paris. Neste caso somente o
Present Perfect é aplicável.
PALAVRAS DE “APOIO”
Talvez o subtítulo acima não esteja muito bem explicativo. O que quis falar aqui é que
existem algumas palavras que “acompanham” e “identificam” tanto o Simple
Past quanto o Present Perfect.
Para o Simple Past, geralmente usamos expressões de tempo, como yesterday
(ontem), xminutes ago (há x minutos), last year (ano passado), this morning (hoje de
manhã), entre outros.
Já no caso do Present Perfect é comum aparecerem os seguintes advérbios:
 just: indica algo que acabou de acontecer. Ex: Erica has just crashed
her car.;
 never: nunca (usado em frases negativas com o verbo afirmativo). Ex: I
have never played GTA V.;
 since: desde. Ex: Sandra’s uncle hasn’t visited her since 1997.;
 already: já (frases afirmativas). Ex: My brother has already been to
Argentina;
 ever: já, no sentido de “alguma vez na vida”. Ex: I wanna know: have
you ever seen the rain?;
 yet: já (quando se espera que a resposta seja afirmativa)/ainda (em frases
negativas). Ex: I.Have you made the dinner yet? (Era esperado que você
fizesse o jantar) II. No, I haven’t finished it yet.;
 for: por, há (no sentido de tempo). Ex: We haven’t seen our
grandmother for a long time.;
Para finalizar, uma observação: as regras mencionadas neste post são levadas
mais “a sério” pelos britânicos. Os norte-americanos não dão tanta bola para
isso e usam tanto um quanto o outro de maneira bastante semelhante.

USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified
time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the
Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year
ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that
day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions
such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already,
yet, etc.

Examples:

 I have seen that movie twenty times.

 I think I have met him once before.
 There have been many earthquakes in California.
 People have traveled to the Moon.
 People have not traveled to Mars.
 Have you read the book yet?
 Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
 A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?

The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It

is best to associate Present Perfect with the following topics:

TOPIC 1 Experience

You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I
have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have
never had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a
specific event.

Examples:
  I have been to France.
This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in
France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
 I have been to France three times.
You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
 I have never been to France.
This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to
France.
 I think I have seen that movie before.
 He has never traveled by train.
 Joan has studied two foreign languages.
 A: Have you ever met him?
B: No, I have not met him.

TOPIC 2 Change Over Time

We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over
a period of time.

Examples:

 You have grown since the last time I saw you.

 The government has become more interested in arts education.
 Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university
since the Asian studies program was established.
 My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.

TOPIC 3 Accomplishments

We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and
humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.

Examples:

 Man has walked on the Moon.

 Our son has learned how to read.
 Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
 Scientists have split the atom.
TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting

We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has
not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for
the action to happen.

Examples:

 James has not finished his homework yet.

 Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
 Bill has still not arrived.
 The rain hasn't stopped.

TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which
have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the
process is not complete and more actions are possible.

Examples:

 The army has attacked that city five times.

 I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
 We have had many major problems while working on this project.
 She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody
knows why she is sick.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at
some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action
happened is not important.

Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We

can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this
week, this month, so far, up to now, etc.
Examples:

 Have you been to Mexico in the last year?

 I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
 They have had three tests in the last week.
 She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has
worked for three different companies so far.
 My car has broken down three times this week.

NOTICE

"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year"
means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which
requires Simple Past. "In the last year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is
not considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.

Examples:

 I went to Mexico last year.

I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
 I have been to Mexico in the last year.
I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days
ago and now.

USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)

With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use

the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has
continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday"
are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.

Examples:
  I have had a cold for two weeks.
 She has been in England for six months.
 Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.

Although the above use of Present Perfect is normally limited to Non-

Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live,"
"work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they
are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as:
always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

 You have only seen that movie one time.

 Have you only seen that movie one time?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

 Many tourists have visited that castle. Active

 That castle has been visited by many tourists. Passive

EXERCISES AND RELATED TOPICS

 Verb Tense Exercise 5 Simple Past and Present Perfect

 Verb Tense Exercise 6 Simple Past and Present Perfect