Look at these examples to see how the present perfect is used.
He's been to ten different countries.
I haven't seen her today.
My phone's run out of battery. Can I use yours?
Have you ever dyed your hair a different colour?
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use the present perfect simple (have or has + past participle) to talk about past actions or states which are still connected to the present.
Unfinished time and states
We often use the present perfect to say what we've done in an unfinished time period, such as today, this week, this year, etc., and with expressions such as so far, until now, before, etc.
They've been on holiday twice this year.
We haven't had a lot of positive feedback so far.
I'm sure I've seen that film before.
We also use it to talk about life experiences, as our life is also an unfinished time period. We often use never in negative sentences and ever in questions.
I've worked for six different companies.
He's never won a gold medal.
Have you ever been to Australia?
We also use the present perfect to talk about unfinished states, especially with for, since and how long.
She's wanted to be a police officer since she was a child.
I haven't known him for very long.
How long have you had that phone?
Finished time and states
If we say when something happened, or we feel that that part of our life is finished, we use the past simple.
We visited Russia for the first time in 1992.
I went to three different primary schools.
Before she retired, she worked in several different countries.
We also use the past simple for finished states.
We knew all our neighbours when we were children.
I didn't like bananas for a really long time. Now I love them!
Past actions with a result in the present
We can use the present perfect to talk about a past action that has a result in the present.
He's broken his leg so he can't go on holiday.
There's been an accident on the main road, so let's take a different route.
They haven't called me, so I don't think they need me today.
Again, if we say when it happened, we use the past simple.
He broke his leg last week so he can't go on holiday.
However, we often use the present perfect with words like just, recently, already, yet and still.
We've recently started going to the gym.
She's already finished season one and now she's watching season two.
Have you checked your emails yet?
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Dear teachers,
I don't understand what the use of the present perfect is in this sentence:
"Without absolute secrecy, the mission wouldn't have succeeded."
Can you explain it? Thank you.
Hello Stor,
This is not present perfect but rather a perfect modal (modal verb + have + past participle - would (not) have succeeded).
We use this form to describe a past situation which did not happen: an alternative unreal or imagined past. Here, the mission did succeed and the speaker is imagining something else (failure) and the reason for it.
This form is often used in past hypothetical conditionals. Usually these have an if-clause:
If we had not had absolute secrecy, the mission wouldn't have succeeded.
'Without...' replaces the if-clause here, but the rest is the same.
You can read more about these and other conditional structures on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/verbs-time-clauses-if-clauses
And you can read more about would have here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/will-have-would-have
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi , dear teachers. Could someone help me and explain this question? The answer is "did you go " However, I personally think have you been yet is more appropriate. What is the answer? What is the each thing mean? I am so confused. Please help.
You said you’ve been to South America. How interesting! Where _____________?
did you go
have you gone
have you been yet
Hello termobarik,
Among these three answers, the only correct one is 'did you go'.
When the speaker says 'you've been to South America', it's referring to a time period that began in the past but which hasn't finished yet. More specifically, this time period is the listener's lifetime. One of the experiences in the listener's lifetime (which is still continuing now and will include more experiences) is the experience of going to South America some time in the past.
But the question that comes next is not about the listener's lifetime. It's about the specific experience of going to South America. This specific experience happened some time in the past, and is no longer true -- in other words, the listener is not in South America now. Since this experience only happened in the past and is not directly related to the present, we use a past simple form ('did you go').
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Can I use the present perfect tense in the sentence below?
Her rude attitude at the party yesterday has made me feel very angry until now.
Hello Khangvo2812,
Grammatically the sentence is correct. Her behaviour is in a past time period ('yesterday') but your feeling is in a present time period ('until now'), so the present perfect is possible. Using the phrase 'until now' suggests that this is about to change or has just changed: ...angry until now but I'm calming down now.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Can I use the present perfect in the sentence below?
I'm not sure the toilet I'm about to talk about is the same toilet that you have shown us. A few years ago , I saw a men's toilet in an art gallery which had been taken to an auction and one of the critics at the auction offered several hundred million dollars for it?
Hello Khangvo2812,
Yes, it's possible to use the present perfect here. The past simple would also work in many contexts. Which form is best depends on the speaker or writer's perspective, which is explained in general on our Talking about the past page.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Can I say that I used the present perfect there as the action of showing happened at an unidentified time in the past?
Hello again Khangvo2812,
Yes, that's possible. It was shown at some unidentified point in the past and that act is relevant now.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team