PRESENT PERFECT

We use the Present Perfect:

 to talk about past experiences without a specific time; that is experiences which happened
at an unspecified moment in the past. So we can use the Present perfect for actions in the
past when we don’t say when the actions happened
Ex: I have tried netball.
He has flown in a helicopter.
I’ve been to hospital.

 to talk about an unfinished time period.

Ex: We’ve seen John this morning (If it’s 11 in the morning and the morning hasn’t finished
yet!).

 to talk about a past action which has a result in the present; that is to link past and present
events.
Ex: She has created a website with information (so now many people is consulting it).
He’s broken his arm. (It’s broken now.)
She has found her keys. (so now she can open the house door.)

 to talk about a situation that started in the past and continues to the present.
Ex: I’ve had a bad cold for a week/since last Friday.
He’s been a doctor for ten years.

PRESENT PERFECT WITH EVER/NEVER

We often use ever/never with the Present Perfect to ask and give general information about past
experiences.
Ever means “at any time in your life up to now”. We use ever in questions.
Ex: Have you ever caught a cold?
Have you ever studied German?
Never has a negative meaning as it means “not ever”, “at no time in your life” and we use it with a
positive verb.
Ex: I’ve never been seriously ill.
We’ve never studied German.

Have you ever visited Canada?

No, I have never visited Canada.

EVER and NEVER usually go before the past participle.

WATCH OUT!
With the verb to go in the Present Perfect we use been or gone.
Been shows the action has finished.
Ex: A) It’s late. Where have you been?
B) I’ve been to the gym. (I’m back now).
They’ve been to France three times. (But they aren’t in France now.)

Gone shows the action has not finished.

Ex: A) Where’s Mum?
B) She’s gone shopping. (She’s still there.)
They’ve gone to France. (They are in France now.)
Chris has been to Las Vegas.
Chris è andato a Las Vegas. (E’ andato e tornato.)
Chris has gone to Las Vegas.
Chris è andato a Las Vegas. (Non è ancora tornato; è ancora là.)

PRESENT PERFECT WITH FOR/SINCE

We use the Present Perfect with for and since to express the duration of an action or state that
started in the past and continues in the present. It is used to show how long a situation has
continued until now.
 We use for to express the length of time.
Ex: I’ve lived in Milan for five years.
She has been ill for the last three days.

 We use since to refer to the very moment the action started.

Ex:
He’s had a bad cold since last Friday.

For and since go before the time expression.

 We use How long…..? to ask questions about duration.

Ex:
How long has she been ill?

PRESENT PERFECT WITH JUST/ALREADY/YET/STILL

 We use the Present Perfect with just (appena) to talk about very recent events.
Ex: I’ve just had an accident.
He‘s just eaten his lunch.

JUST goes before the past participle.

 We use already (già) to talk about something that has happened, possibly before we
expected; to show that an action happened earlier than expected.
Ex: He’s already had a lot of serious accidents.
She’s only 17 and she’s already started university.

ALREADY is generally used in affirmative sentences.

It can also be used in questions to express surprise (di già).
Ex: Have you already finished the book?
Hai già finito il libro?(= Così presto?)
Have you already tidied up your room?
Hai già pulito la tua stanza?

ALREADY goes before the past participle.

 We use yet to talk about something that has not happened, but we think it’s going to
happen soon.
In fact we use yet (non ancora) in negative sentences to show that an action hasn’t
happened up to the present time.
Ex: Dan hasn’t done his homework yet.
 I haven’t hurt myself badly yet.

We use yet (già) in questions to ask if an action have been done.

Ex: Have you seen the new Spielberg film yet?
Have you done your homework yet?

We use yet (non ancora) in negative questions to express surprise and/or impatience.
Ex: Haven’t you finished the work yet?

YET usually goes at the end of the sentence or question.

 We often, but not always, use still(ancora)to express surprise, impatience and
disapproval (criticism).
Ex: He still hasn’t handed in his work.
Non ha ancora consegnato il lavoro. (disapproval)
It’s 2.45 and I still haven’t had lunch.
Sono le 2.45 e non ho ancora pranzato. (impatience).

STILL with the present perfect is used in negative sentences.

STILL usually goes before hasn’t/haven’t.
Ex: He still hasn’t paid me.(Non mi ha ancora pagato)
They still haven’t phoned. (Non hanno ancora telefonato.)

PRESENT PERFECT vs PAST SIMPLE

We use the past simple:
 to describe finished events that happened at a specific moment in the past.
Ex: I saw Zucchero in concert last year.

 to ask for information about past actions or events.

Ex: They’ve eaten a very good pizza.
Where/When did they eat it?

We use the present perfect:

 to refer to an event that happened at an unspecified moment in the past.
Ex: I’ve seen Zucchero in concert three times.

 to refer to events that started in the past and continue in the present.
Ex: I’ve lived in Milan since I was born.
I haven’t seen Andrea this week.

Have you ever heard two accidents at the same time? (the question asks about a general
experience)
Yes, I have.
What happened? (the question asks about a specific moment in the past)
It was when I was a boy. I fell off a horse and a car hit me. (the answer is about a specific
moment in the past).

Charles Dickens wrote some good books. (He is dead, so he no longer writes books.)
J.K. Rowling has written some good books. (She’s still alive, so she could write more books
in the future.)
 The past simple is used to talk about actions in the past that have finished, even though it’s
a recent past. It talks about then and excludes now.
The present perfect is used to look back actions in the past with a link to the present. It
always includes now. The present perfect is often used to talk about someone’s
experiences or about something in the past which is relevant to the immediate present.

Time expressions naturally help us use the correct tense.

With present perfect:
 time expressions as recently (recentemente), lately (ultimamente), so far/up to now
(finora), in the last few days (negli ultimi giorni);
 expressions of unfinished time as today, this morning/week/month/year.

When there are expressions of past time such as ago, yesterday, last week/month/year….. we
can’t use the present perfect but we must use the past simple.