I. PRESENT PERFECT
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AFFIRMATIVE: S+ have/has + Past Participle
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NEGATIVE: S + haven't/hasn't + Past Participle
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I have seen / I’ve seen
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I have not seen / I haven’t seen
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You have seen / You‘ve seen
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You have not seen / You haven’t seen
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He /She /It has seen – He’s / She’s / It’s
seen
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He /She /It has not seen – He / She / it
hasn’t seen
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We have seen / We‘ve seen
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We have not seen / We haven’t seen
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You have seen / You’ve seen
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You have not seen / You haven’t seen
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They have seen / They‘ve seen
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They have not seen / They haven’t seen
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INTERROGATIVE: Have/Has + S + Past Participle?
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Have I seen?
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Have you seen?
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Has he /she
/it seen?
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Have we seen?
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Have you seen?
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Have they seen?
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SHORT ANSWERS
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Yes, subject
pronoun + have / has.
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No, subject
pronoun + haven’t / hasn’t.
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1.
THE PRESENT PERFECT DESCRIBES THE INDEFINITE PAST:
I’ve seen
this film before. You have worked hard lately. They've
met my parents recently.
The past is
indefinite because the time it happened is not important or unknown.
PAST SIMPLE → DEFINITE
TIME. TIME EXPRESSIONS: last ..., yesterday, ago, in + year/decade/century:
I saw Mike last
month. You met Jennifer two weeks ago. He watched TV yesterday.
PRESENT
PERFECT → INDEFINITE
TIME. TIME EXPRESSIONS: so far, over the years, lately, recently, in the last ...
I’ve seen
Mike in the last months. You’ve met Jennifer recently. He’s
watched TV lately.
2.
THE PRESENT PERFECT DESCRIBES PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:
I've been to Manchester.
She's written three books so far.
They have always travelled a lot over the years.
3.
ACTIONS BEGINNING IN THE PAST AND CONTINUING UP TO NOW:
I've
lived here for several years. He’s always played tennis. You’ve
visited me since 1990.
4.
ACTIONS IN THE PAST WHICH HAVE CONSEQUENCES IN THE PRESENT TIME:
I’ve lost
my keys and I can’t open the door! She has had the flu and she feels
weak now.
PRESENT
PERFECT PARTICLES
- EVER (“ALGUNA VEZ”) - QUESTIONS.
After the subject: Have you (ever) travelled
by plane?
It is also used in AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES for emphasis:
(I) Superlative adjective..... have/has + ever + Past Participle:
It is the best song he has ever composed.
(II) "It's/This is the first time... have/has + ever + Past Participle:
This is the first time I have ever been to the United States.
(III) Nobody /Nothing has + ever + Past Participle:
Nobody has ever spoken to me so rudely. Nothing like that has ever happened in my city.
- NEVER ("NUNCA") - AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES (negative meaning). Between the auxiliary verb and the past participle
I have never eaten snails.
- JUST ("ACABAR DE") - AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES. Between the auxiliary verb and the past participle: She
has just written the email.
- ALREADY (“YA”) - AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES. Between the auxiliary verb
and the past participle: We have already read that novel.
- YET (“YA”, “TODAVÍA”): NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES. At the end of the sentence: Have you bought the book yet? No, I
haven’t bought it yet. NEGATIVES: YET = STILL (after the subject).
I still haven’t bought it.
DURATION - FOR (“DURANTE”), SINCE (“DESDE”): At the
end of the sentence.
- FOR + period of time: I’ve worked here for two years / He’s
lived in NY for a long time.
- SINCE + starting point: I’ve worked here since 2010 / He’s
lived here since he left college.
II. PAST PERFECT
AFFIRMATIVE: S + had+ Past Participle | NEGATIVE: S + had not (hadn't) + Past Participle |
I had seen / I’d seen | I had not seen / I hadn’t seen |
You had seen / You‘d seen | You had not seen / You hadn’t seen |
He /She /It had seen – He’d / She’d / It’d seen | He /She /It had not seen – He / She / it hadn’t seen |
We had seen / We‘d seen | We had not seen / We hadn’t seen |
You had seen / You’d seen | You had not seen / You hadn’t seen |
They had seen / They‘d seen | They had not seen / They hadn’t seen |
INTERROGATIVE: Had + S + Past Participle? |
Had I seen? |
Had you seen? |
Had he /she /it seen? |
Had we seen? |
Had you seen? |
Had they seen? |
SHORT ANSWERS |
Yes, subject pronoun + had. |
No, subject pronoun + hadn't. |
1. IT DESCRIBES AN ACTION THAT HAPPENED BEFORE ANOTHER ACTION IN THE PAST.
Before the police arrived, the robber had left the bank.// After I had turned off the computer, I went to bed.
EARLIER ACTION (PAST PERFECT) + LATER ACTION (PAST SIMPLE)
2. TIME EXPRESSIONS:
BEFORE / BY (THE TIME) / WHEN / UNTIL + Past Simple
AFTER / AS SOON AS + Past perfect
ATTENTION: BECAUSE + Past Perfect - I apologized to Jane on Tuesday because I had been rude to her on Monday.
