Present perfect

We first started looking at the present perfect here. Now, let’s listen to this video which puts it a little bit differently!

The present perfect tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last hour). This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle.

These examples show how the present perfect can describe something that occurred or was the state of things at an unspecified time in the past.

have walked on this path before.
We have eaten the lasagna here.

 

The important thing to remember about the present perfect is that you don’t often use it when you are being specific about when it happened.

have cleaned the house.
have cleaned the house this morning. (incorrect)

 

You can use the present perfect to talk about the duration of something that started in the past and is still happening.

She has had the chickenpox since Tuesday.

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