Just like the simple present, the present perfect describes the present tense. The only difference is that the present perfect shows the completed present tense, while the simple present shows the simple present tense.
The present tense expresses actions that have already been completed. The simple present is used to describe regular actions or general statements.
Rules for forming the present perfect
With the present perfect you can positive statements meet and this deny. But you can not only make statements, but also Questions place.
Present perfect positive statements
You form positive statements in the present perfect by you have + that past participle use. at regular You only have to use one verb -ed attach to the base form of the verb and you have the past participle. at irregular Verbs you have to look up what the past participle is.
Here’s an example to give you a better idea.
You have called the police.
She has written a poem.
In the first example you can see that caloriesl only one -ed appended because it is a regular verb. Write is an irregular verb and becomes to written.
By the way, in your textbook you will always find a list of irregular verbs. The third column shows you the past participle.
Here you will find a table with the irregular verbs that you probably need the most.
lake
seen
take
taken
In summary, you can remember that you form positive statements in the present perfect according to this pattern:
I/you/we/they + have + past participles
He/she/it + has + past participles
Present perfect negation
You negate statements in the present perfect by you have + not + that past participle use. at regular You only have to use one verb -ed attach to the base form of the verb and you have the past participle. at irregular Verbs you have to look up what the past participle is.
Here are a few examples of negative statements in the present perfect.
I haven’t watched TV.
She hasn’t seen the film.
You have not called the police.
She has not written a poem.
In the first example had to watch only one -ed be appended since it is a regular verb. lake is an irregular verb and becomes to seen. You already know the other two example sentences from the positive statements. Now here they were with one not denied.
By the way, you don’t always have to have not or has not write out. You can also abbreviate the whole thing. That will then short form (short shape) named and looks like this:
have not = haven’t
has not = hasn’t
You can remember that you form negatives in the present perfect according to this pattern.
I/you/we/they + have + not + past participles
He/she/it + has + not + past participles
Present perfect questions
In addition to positive and negative statements, you can also formulate questions in the present perfect. You form questions in the present perfect by you have + subject + that past participle use. With regular verbs, you only need one -ed attach to the base form of the verb and you already have the past participle. With irregular verbs you have to look up what the past participle is.
You can find some examples of questions here.
Has she played the piano yet?
Have you ever been to the USA?
Have you called the police?
Has she written a poem?
You see, have is always at the beginning of the question. Play is a regular verb and it only had to be one -ed to be appended. There be is an irregular verb, it became finished. You can also see the two example sentences from the beginning, which have now been formulated as questions (Have you called the police? and Has she written a poem?).
You form questions in the present perfect according to this pattern:
Have + I/you/we/they + past participles
Has + he/she/it + past participles
Questions answered in the negative
You already know that you can make positive and negative statements. Of course you can also say no to questions. Here you form negative questions by you have + subject + not + use the past participle.
Here are two examples of negative questions:
Has she not visited Berlin before?
Have you not eaten your dinner?
Have you not called the police?
Has she not written a poem?
It says here too have back to the beginning of the question. You see that after the subject, here she and youthe not follows. Only then does the past participle follow.
As with negative statements, you can also use the short form for negative questions. That would sound even better colloquially! Negative questions with the short form would then look like this:
Hasn’t she visited Berlin before?
Haven’t you eaten your dinner?
In this table you will find an overview of the formation of positive and negative statements and questions in the present perfect.
Personal pronounsPositive statementStatement in the negativeQuestionQuestion in the negativeI, you, we, theyThey have talked a lot.I havn’t been to London before.Have we lost our keys?Haven’t you won the race?He, she, itHe has eaten cookies.She hasn’ t visited her mother since April.How many mice has the cat caught?Hasn’t she lost her wallet?
Present Perfect Peculiarities
As with other tenses, there are some special features in the present perfect that you should pay attention to.
special feature
example
Does the verb end with eyou only need one i.e append and no -ed.
live – lived
Should there be a short, stressed vowel before the final consonant, then the final consonants double if a -ed is appended.
travel – travelled
Should the final consonant be a y be, that becomes one in the present perfect i, when a -ed is appended.
worry – worried
Vowels are a, e, i, o, and u. Consonants describe all letters of the alphabet except vowels.
Present perfect usage
When exactly do you need to use the present perfect? This table shows you the different situations in which you need to use this tense.
situationexampleAn action has already begun in the past but continues into the present.I have studied for the test since March.A storyline has recently been completed.She has already called the police.An action that has already been completed still has an impact on the present.I have lost my keys.An action has never, once or more than once taken place.My sister has never been to London.
The example I have lost my keys still has an impact on the present and must therefore be in the present perfect. Possible effects could be:
- You cannot enter your house/apartment.
- You have to change the locks of your house/apartment (this is expensive!).
- You have to look for your keys at the lost and found office.
In addition, the example must My sister has never been to London be in the present perfect since this event has never happened. That means the sister you mentioned has never been to London. However, if she has already been to London once or several times, the sentence must also be in the present perfect, since the action has then already taken place one or more times.
Present perfect signal words
Signal words tell you that you have to use a certain amount of time. If you read one of these signal words, you must use the present perfect.
In this table you can see all the signal words and how they are built into an example sentence. The German translation is in brackets.
More about since and you can read the correct use in the «Since and for» explanation.
Present perfect examples
Here you will find a clear table with positive and negative example sentences and questions for the present perfect. A distinction is also made between regular and irregular verbs.
Regular/irregular verb Positive statementNegationQuestionplay (regular)I have played tennis.She has not played the piano.Has he played the guitar?do (irregular)She has done her homework.We have not done our learning.Have you done your work?work (regularly)They have worked on the project since 2020.She has not worked yet.Have you worked today?go (irregularly)I have gone to the party.He has not gone to the pool.Have they gone to the office before?
Present perfect – comparison with the simple past
The present perfect and the simple present both take place in the past tense. So that you don’t mix up the two times and can use them correctly, you will be shown the difference again exactly.
TenseUsageExample sentencePresent Perfect
- an action started in the past and continues to the present or has implications for the present
- an action has recently been completed
- an action has never taken place, has taken place several times, or has taken place regularly
She has lost her wallet.Losing the wallet still affects the present tense (report lost, apply for new ID, etc.)Simple Past
- the action is already completed (the time does not matter)
- several actions follow one another that lie in the past
She lost her wallet in 2007.Losing the wallet doesn’t affect the present anymore because the storyline has long ended.
Present Perfect – The most important thing
- The present perfect describes the completed present.
- The present perfect is used for actions that
- continue to the present
- completed, but still have an impact on the present
- have never, once or repeatedly taken place.
- You form the present perfect by using you have + use the past participle.
- With regular verbs, you only need one for the past participle -ed attach.
- With irregular verbs you have to check what the past participle looks like.
- You form negations by you have + not + use the past participle.
- If you have any questions have at the beginning. It is followed by the subject + the past participle.
- Signal words are: already, before, ever, not yet, just, up to now, till now, since, never, so far, lately, this morning/week… .