present perfect

Lecture No.6
Present Perfect (1) (I have done)
Study this example situation :
Tom is looking for his key. He can t find it. He has Lost his key .
He has Lost his key= He lost it recently, and he still doesn t have it.
Have/has Lost is the present perfect simple :
we/they/you have (=I ve etc .)lost/ done
he/she/it has (= he s etc .) finished/ been
The present perfect simple is have/has+ past participle. The past participle often ends in -ed
((finished/decided etc.), but many important verbs are irregular (lost/done/written etc .
When we say that something has happened , this is usually new information :
Ow! I ve cut my finger .
The road is closed. There s been (there has been) an accident .
(from the news) Police have arrested two men in connection with the robbery .
When we use the present perfect, there is a connection with now. The action in the past has a result now:
Where s your key? I don t know. I ve Lost it. (=I don t have it now )
He told me his name, but I ve forgotten it. (= I can t remember it now )
Is Sally here? No, she s gone out. (=she is out now )
I can t find my bag. Have you seen it? (= Do you know where it is now ?)
Note the difference between gone (to) and been (to ):
james is on holiday. He has gone to Italy. (= he is there now or on his way there )
Jane is back home now. She has been to Italy. (=she has now come back )
You can use the present perfect with just, already and yet .
just = a short time ago :
Are you hungry? No, I ve just had lunch .
Hello. Have you just arrived ?
We use already to say that something happened sooner than expected :
Don t forget to pay your electricity bill. I ve already paid it
What time is Mark leaving? He s already Left.
Yet = until now. Yet shows that the speaker is expecting something to happen. Use yet only in questions and negative sentences :
Has it stopped raining yet ?
I ve written the email, but I haven t sent it yet .
You can also use the past simple (did, went, had etc.) in the examples on this page. So you can say :
Is Sally here? No, she went out. or No, she s gone out .
Are you hungry? No, I just had lunch. or No, I ve just had lunch .
Exercises
Read the situations and write sentences. Use the following verbs in the present perfect:
Arrive/ break/ fall/ go up/ grow/ improve /lose
1.Tom is looking for his key. He can t find it. Tom .................. ..
Lisa can t walk and her leg is in plaster. Lisa ............ . 2.
Last week the bus fare was £1 .80. Now it is £2. The bus fare .............. . 3.
............... . M aria s English wasn t very good. Now it is better. Her English 4.
............ . 5.Dan didn t have a beard before. Now he has a beard
............... . 6.This morning I was expecting a letter. Now I have it .
.................. . 7.The temperature was 20 degrees. Now it is only 12 .
Put in been or gone.
1.James is on holiday. He s .. ............ . to Italy.
2.Hello! I ve just ........... ... to the shops. I ve bought lots of things .
3.A lice isn t here at the moment. She s ..... .......... . to the shop to get a newspaper .
4.Tom has ..................................... out. He ll be back in about an hour .
5. Are you going to the bank? No, I ve already ..... . ....................... ..... to the bank .
Read the situations and write sentences with just, already or yet.
After lunch you go to see a friend at her house. She says, Would you like something to eat?
1.You say: No thank you. I ..................... (have lunch ).
2.joe goes out. Five minutes later, the phone rings and the caller says, Can I speak to joe?
You say: I m afraid .... ........... .... .... ......... . (go out ).
3.You are eating in a restaurant. The waiter thinks you have finished and starts to take your plate away. You say: Wait a minute I ................ ..... . .. ................. . (not / finish).
4.You plan to eat at a restaurant tonight. You phoned to reserve a table. Later your friend says Shall I phone to reserve a table? You say: No, ....... ................. ...... . (do it )
5.You know that a friend of yours is looking for a place to live. Perhaps she has been successful .Ask her. You say: .. ....... ............ ? (find )
6.You are still thinking about where to go for your holiday. A friend asks, Where are you going for your holiday? You say: ...................... ... . (not I decide ).
7. Linda went shopping, but a few minutes ago she returned. Somebody asks, Is Linda still out shopping? You say: No, .... ....................... ..... .. ....... ... . . ..... ................ . (come back )