The Present Perfect is formed with the auxiliary verb have or has plus the past participle of the main verb. The choice between have and has depends on the subject.
For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the Past Simple form — add -ed to the base verb.
Many common verbs have irregular past participles that are different from both the base form and the Past Simple. These must be learned individually.
| Base form | Past Simple | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been |
| go | went | gone / been |
| have | had | had |
| see | saw | seen |
| do | did | done |
| make | made | made |
| take | took | taken |
| get | got | got / gotten |
| give | gave | given |
| know | knew | known |
| come | came | come |
| write | wrote | written |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| find | found | found |
| think | thought | thought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| tell | told | told |
| leave | left | left |
| win | won | won |
The most important thing to understand about the Present Perfect is this: it always has a connection to now. Unlike the Past Simple, which simply reports a finished past event, the Present Perfect uses a past action to say something about the current moment — an experience you have, a result that exists now, a situation that is still continuing.
The Present Perfect is one of the richest tenses in English — it is used in many different situations, each with its own logic. Select an exercise below to practise each use. Each page includes five exercise sets and a full grammar explanation.
Use the Present Perfect to talk about past experiences and events when the time is not specified — the focus is on whether something happened, not when. Example: I have been to Japan. She has read that book.
Use the Present Perfect when a recent past action has a visible result or consequence right now. The action is in the past but its effect exists in the present. Example: She has broken her leg. He has lost his keys.
Use the Present Perfect when the time period you are talking about has not finished yet — today, this week, this year. The period is still open. Example: I have drunk three coffees today. She has called twice this morning.
Use the Present Perfect with for (a duration) and since (a starting point) to describe situations that started in the past and are still true now. Example: I have lived here for ten years. She has worked here since 2018.
Use the Present Perfect with just to describe an action that was completed a very short time ago — moments or minutes before the moment of speaking. Example: She has just arrived. I have just finished.
Use already to say something happened sooner than expected, and yet to refer to something expected but not happened until now. Example: She has already eaten. Have you finished yet?
Use the structure It's been + time + since to express how much time has passed since something last happened. Example: It's been three years since I last saw her. It's been ages since we spoke.
Use the Present Perfect with quantities to say how much or how many of something has happened up to now, within a period that is still ongoing. Example: She has written three reports this week. He has visited twelve countries.
Use the Present Perfect after superlative adjectives to express the most extreme example of an experience. Example: It's the best film I have ever seen. This is the hardest exam she has ever taken.
Understand why when cannot be used with the Present Perfect in questions — and what to use instead. Example: When did you arrive? (not When have you arrived?) versus Have you ever been to Rome?