Notes: Forms and Patterns

1. The Present Perfect Simple

(a)

Form:

have/has

+

verb

+

-ed

(past participle)

I have (‘ve) asked you have (‘ve) asked he/she/it has (‘s) asked we have (‘ve) asked you have (‘ve) asked they have (‘ve) asked

Have I asked? Have you asked? Has he asked? Have we asked? Have you asked? Have they asked?

I have not (haven’t) asked you have not (haven’t) asked she has not (hasn’t) asked we have not (haven’t) asked you have not (haven’t) asked they have not (haven’t) asked

Some verbs are ‘regular’; other verbs are ‘irregular’:

the past participle of regular verbs ends in -ed:

e.g. work - worked; live - lived

irregular verbs have different past participle forms:

e.g. come - come; be - been

(For a list of irregular past participles see Appendix 2)

2. We use the Present Perfect Simple:

3. to express an activity at some non-specific time in the past with a result in the present or future:

e.g.	He’s broken a cup I’ve seen this film.

2. to express experiences:

e.g.	I’ve travelled a lot in Africa. They’ve lived all over the world.

«Ever» and «never» are common with this use.

3. to express an activity within a period of time which is not yet finished:

e.g.

4. to express an action or state which began in the past and continues to the present:

e.g.	I’ve known Alice for six years. How long have you worked as a teacher?

(с) The Present Perfect Simple often occurs with «just, yet, already, never, ever, so far, up to now, lately, of late»:

e.g.	Don’t forget to post the letter. - I have already posted it. He has just arrived. I haven’t told them about the accident yet.

The adverbs «just, already, never» normally go after the auxiliary verb «have»:

e.g.	The taxi has just arrived.

The adverbs «yet, lately, so far, up to now, this year, this month» normally go

at the end of a sentence:

e.g.	They haven’t finished dinner yet.

The adverb «already» can also go at the end of a sentence for emphasis:

e.g.	I’ve done it already.

4. The Present Perfect Simple can be translated into Russian in two ways:

e.g.	People have believed that there is a monster in the lake. - Люди верят, что в озере есть чудовище. This man has just broken his leg. - Этот человек только что сломал ногу.

5. Types of questions:

The dogs have learnt to stop for traffic.

Have the dogs learnt to stop for traffic? Have the dogs learnt to stop for traffic or to trace drugs? What have the dogs learnt to do? The dogs have learnt to stop for traffic, haven’t they? Who has learnt to stop for traffic?