Present Perfect
I.- FORM:
[has/ have + past participle]
Examples:
"Awaken people's curiosity. It is enough to open minds, do not overload them. Put there just a spark." - Anatole France
- You have seen that movie many times.
- Have you seen that movie many times?
- You have not seen that movie many times.
has: 3rd person singular (he, she, it) have: all other forms
past participle:
- regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
- irregular verbs: 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs
II.- USES:
1.- Unspecified Time Before Now
We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
Examples:
- I have seen that movie twenty times.
- I think I have met him once before.
- There have been many earthquakes in California.
- People have traveled to the Moon.
- People have not traveled to Mars.
- Have you read the book yet?
- Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
- A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.
2.- Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.
Examples:
- I have had a cold for two weeks.
- She has been in England for six months.
- Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
III.- ADVERB PLACEMENT:
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
- You have only seen that movie one time.
- Have you only seen that movie one time?
IV.- ACTIVE / PASSIVE:
Examples:
- Many tourists have visited that castle. Active
- That castle has been visited by many tourists. Passive
* MORE ABOUT ACTIVE/PASSIVE FORMS:
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