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Master the present perfect
This lesson is one of our lessons on the course.
The lesson in text form.
Lesson overview: express things that have been completed. Understand exactly what time is meant for four different uses of present perfect. Practice using it. Use it in your daily speech!
Discovery Story: Part 1
I got home from school one May afternoon. I saw a letter on my desk. I had been in my room at lunch, but there was no letter. I hadn’t been expecting anyone in the house in the afternoon, so it was strange to see a letter there. I had been expecting a letter from my best friend in Chicago, but I wasn’t expecting it until June. So, I picked up the letter and read the envelope. It said ‘To David. From, your secret admirer.’ There was the faint smell of perfume on it. It smelled as if it had come from a woman. It smelled wonderful!
Stories are interesting, and you can see how the grammar works IN a story rather than a single sentence. This will give you the right FEELING of the grammar.
Present Perfect: I have spoken to him today, and he seemed fine. So, I left him. (In this case, you use pres perfect to mean ‘it was done or has been done by now’. eg: I have finished my homework. You know that sentence, but you need to decide whether you need past perfect or present perfect.
•What is the difference between present perfect and present perfect continuous?
•You know that present perfect means ‘up to now’ and ppc means ‘up to now and still doing it’ right?
•We need to know what else is happening in the story to answer the question.
•I have finished my homework. (plain and simple)
•I have been doing my homework for 2 hours. (and you aren’t done)
•I have walked 100 miles. (are you still doing it? That depends on the context….)
•Joe had to walk 100 miles to get to school. I have walked 100 miles. We assume that he is at school.
•Joe had to walk 100 miles to get to school, but he still isn’t there. What went wrong?
•So how do you decide? Let the story dictate the tense. What’s happening now may or may not be done, but you want to say that up to now THIS MUCH HAS BEEN DONE, then use PP.
•If you want to say ‘NOW I’M DONE’ then let it stand on its own.
•For Present PC, it’s the same.
•Stand alone: ‘I have been working for ten hours’ is just what it says.
•With context: I was supposed to work for 8 hours, and I have been working for 10 hours.
•With context but finished: I am supposed to complete this work. I have been working for ten hours, but I still have three cases to examine.
Discovery Story Part 2
I got home from school one May afternoon. I saw a letter on my desk. I had been in my room at lunch, but there was no letter. I hadn’t been expecting anyone in the house in the afternoon, so it was strange to see a letter there. I had been expecting a letter from my best friend in Chicago, but I wasn’t expecting it until June. So, I picked up the letter and read the envelope. It said ‘To David. From, your secret admirer.’ There was the faint smell of perfume on it. It smelled like a lady’s perfume, and it smelled wonderful!
Label the sentences with their tense (PS, PC, PP, PPC)
I got home from school one May afternoon. PS I saw a letter on my desk. PS I had been in my room at lunch, but there was no letter. Past Perfect-PS I hadn’t been expecting anyone in the house in the afternoon, so it was strange to see a letter there. Past Perfect Continuous-PS I had been expecting a letter from my best friend in Chicago, but I wasn’t expecting it until June. Past Perfect Continuous-PS So, I picked up the letter and read the envelope. PS-PS It said ‘To David. From, your secret admirer.’ PS There was the faint smell of perfume on it. PS It smelled like a lady’s perfume, and it smelled wonderful! PS-PS
Activity
Think of some things that are happening now.
Choose one of the following types of present perfect to express them
- finished now: I have turned on my computer.
- finished not long ago: I have eaten dinner. (30 min ago)
- did in the past but used now: I have decided to go to university.
Explanation
•So how do you decide? Let the story dictate the tense. What’s happening now may or may not be done, but you want to say that up to now THIS MUCH HAS BEEN DONE, then use PP.
•If you want to say ‘NOW I’M DONE’ then let it stand on its own.
•For Present PC, it’s the same.
•Stand alone: ‘I have been working for ten hours’ is just what it says.
•With context: I was supposed to work for 8 hours, and I have been working for 10 hours.
•With context but finished: I am supposed to complete this work. I have been working for ten hours, but I still have three cases to examine.
Dialogue
•A: How are you?
•B: I’m good. What are you up to?
•A: I’ve just come back from the dentist.
•B: Oh yes, how was that?
•A: I had my molar teeth taken out. (we could say ‘I have had my molars removed’ which is really the same thing)
•B: That must have hurt.
•A: It didn’t at the time, but it is killing me now.
•B: Have you taken pain killers?
•A: They gave me local anaesthetic.
Daily Practice
*we encourage you to write a little every day. Choose a time and do it every day.
•Write a true story. Include what people said. The story will be in past tense, but the conversation will be in present tense.
•Write a conversation in present tense (use past where needed)
Extra Exercise: make sentences from this scene in the present perfect.
Instructions
Write about things you have completed. (now, recently or sometimes in the past)
•Now:
•I have gone hiking with my dog. (you might be doing it now because you are not home, you ‘have gone’ out of the house, or you may have finished. The context of the story that you give your listener/reader will tell them which one you mean.)
•My cat has stayed home.
•I have brought my gloves and a warm hat today. (because I am going hiking, and it will be cold.)
•I have drank all of the hot chocolate. (and there is none left for anyone else, but we can make more)
•Recently:
•In the past: (but the point is that it is done and it matters now)
What’s next?
Ask any questions you have in the forum, or email us.
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