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As we saw last time, the Present Perfect is used to talk about a time from the past until now. In other words, something that started in the past and is still in effect now uses the Present Perfect. In the following examples, note that the question “How long have you…?” is always in present perfect.

Examples:

Are you sick? (simple present)
—Yes.

How long have you been sick? (present perfect)
—I have been sick for a week. (I first got sick several days ago, and the effects are still with me – I’m still sick.)

Are you married? (simple present)
—Yes.

How long have you been married? (present perfect)
—I’ve been married for eight years. (I first got married several years ago, and the effects are still with me – I’m still married.)

Where do you live? (simple present)
—I live in Los Angeles.

How long have you lived there? (present perfect)
—I’ve lived there since 1995. (I first started living there several years ago, and the effects are still with me – I’m still living there.)

Do you have a cat? (simple present)
—Yes.

How long have you had a cat? (present perfect)
—We’ve had a cat for a couple of months. (We first got the cat several weeks ago, and the effects are still with us – we still have the cat.)

We can also have the present perfect continuous form for present continuous situations that started in the past and are still in effect.

Examples:

How long have you been studying Korean?
—I’ve been studying Korean for eight years.

How long has it been snowing?
—It’s been snowing all day.

How long has the baby been crying?
—He’s been crying for the past 30 minutes.

Exercise: Complete the following sentences.

Example:

• He is vice president of the bank. He __________ vice president for 10 years. ==> He has been vice president for 10 years.

1. I know Tom. I__________ him since we were classmates in grade school.
2. Jan is on vacation. She__________ on vacation since last Thursday.
3. Mark lives in Colorado. He__________ there since he graduated from college.
4. I’m afraid of dogs. I__________ of them ever since a dog bit me when I was ten.
5. Sally is divorced. She__________ for five years.
6. The wind is blowing. It__________ hard all afternoon.
7. Hannah is doing math. She__________ math for 20 minutes.
8. Joe is shoveling snow. He__________ snow since 6 a.m.
9. We’re working on a project. We__________ on it since yesterday.
10. They’re baking cookies. They__________ cookies all week.

Exercise: Choose the correct form.

Example:

• Jack and Jill (are married / have been married) since 2001. ==> Jack and Jill have been married since 2001.

1. Our teacher (is sick / has been sick) all week.
2. Tom (plays / has played) the piano every day for the past five years.
3. The secretary (is typing / has been typing) the letter for me now.
4. Jennifer (works / has worked) at the library on Tuesdays.
5. We (live / have lived) in the red house for 12 years.
6. Edward (is / has been) in London several times.
7. The principal (knows / has known) about the cheating for a long time.
8. Jake (is cleaning / has been cleaning) his bedroom very well these days.
9. Mary (is eating / has been eating) broccoli since the doctor told her it’s good for her.
10. They (are waiting / have been waiting) for the bus for 15 minutes.

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S + have/has + V (past participle) is the present perfect (have + past participle).

The past participle for regular verbs is –ed, the same as the simple past. For irregular verbs, the past participle is sometimes the same as the simple past. Sometimes, it is different – check out the section on Irregular Verbs for a list of common irregular verbs.

We have the following table of have + past participle, along with the contracted forms:

Positive:

I have jumped (I’ve jumped)
you have jumped (you’ve jumped)
he / she / it has jumped (he’s / she’s / it’s jumped)
we have jumped (we’ve jumped)
they have jumped (they’ve jumped)

Negative:

I have not jumped (I’ve not jumped // I haven’t jumped)
you have not jumped (you’ve not jumped // you haven’t jumped)
he / she / it has not jumped (he’s / she’s / it’s not jumped // he / she / it hasn’t jumped)
we have not jumped (we’ve not jumped // we haven’t jumped)
they have not jumped (they’ve not jumped // they haven’t jumped)

For questions, switch the subject and “have”: Have / Has S ~ ?

I have jumped ==> Have I jumped?
you have jumped ==> Have you jumped?
he / she / it has jumped ==> Has he / she / it jumped?
we have jumped ==> Have we jumped?
they have jumped ==> Have they jumped?

For negative questions, use the contracted form: Haven’t / Hasn’t S ~?

I have not jumped ==> Haven’t I jumped?
you have not jumped ==> Haven’t you jumped?
he / she / it has not jumped ==> Hasn’t he / she / it jumped?
we have not jumped ==> Haven’t we jumped?
they have not jumped ==> Haven’t they jumped?

When do we use Present Perfect?

The present perfect is used to talk about a time from the past until now:

Examples:

Have you seen the new movie?
—No, I haven’t.

Have you gone to college?
—Yes, I went to college when I was 23.

How often has Mary been to Europe?
—She has traveled to Europe a number of times.

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, where have you been?
—I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.

I have had several jobs since I graduated from school.
Tom has had bad luck ever since he bought that new car.

We can also use “ever” in questions to ask if something has happened at any time in a person’s life. We can answer with “never” if it has not happened at all:

Have you ever been to Korea?
—Yes, I’ve been there once.
—No, I’ve never been there. I hope to go someday.

Have you ever eaten squid?
—Yes, I’ve eaten it at a seafood restaurant.
—No, I’ve never tried it.

Exercises: Put the verbs in the present perfect.

Examples:

• (I / finish) my homework, so I can relax now. ==> I’ve finished my homework, so I can relax now.
• (She / never / take) piano lessons. ==> She’s never taken piano lessons.
• (you / ever / go) skiing? ==> Have you ever gone skiing?

1. (John / write) a letter to the newspaper.
2. (Mother / tell) Tom five times to pick up his clothes.
3. (Sue / never / come) home this late before.
4. (We / go) to Michigan for vacation every year since I was a child.
5. (you / ever / get) dressed up for a fancy party?
6. (I / never / cook) a turkey for Thanksgiving.
7. (Mary / not / drive) a car before?
8. (Mr. Smith / never / wash) his car.
9. (I / never / be) to the library.
10. (She / never / ride) on an airplane before.
11. (you / not / ever / see) an elephant before?
12. (Rob / never / see) her wear glasses.
13. (Dad / come) home yet?
14. That’s the first time (I / ever / be) late for school.
15. (The baby / never / stay) up this late.
16. (you / ever / make) a pie?
17. (Kathy / never / take) a typing class before.
18. (you / ever / see) such a sight?
19. (James / never / skip) school in his life.
20. (you / ever / play) baseball?

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