You will learn how to:

 Talk about past events.

GUIDE NUMBER 1 MY LIFE

PRESENT PERFECT

How to form the Present Perfect

PRESENT PERFECT AFFIRMATIVE

SUBJECT HAVE / HAS (aux-HABER) PAST PARTICIPLE

I / you / we / they have written
he / she / it has written

Note: In spoken English, it’s common to use the contraction:

 I’ve written three books.

 We’ve already seen that movie
 Barbara’s forgotten her cell phone.
 He’s just woken up.

In this case, he’s, she’s, Barbara’s, etc. mean he has, she has, and Barbara has,
not he is, she is, or Barbara is.

PRESENT PERFECT NEGATIVE

SUBJECT HAVEN’T / HASN’T PAST PARTICIPLE

I / you / we / they haven’t seen
he / she / it hasn’t seen

Examples:

 I haven’t seen John this week.

 Mary hasn’t come to class for the past two days.

PRESENT PERFECT QUESTIONS

HAVE / HAS SUBJECT PAST PARTICIPLE

Have I / you / we / they finished?
Has he / she / it finished?
Examples:

 Have you finished the project yet?

 Has George ever been to New York?

How to answer present perfect questions:

 Have you been to London?
Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.
 Has Alex met Miriam yet?
Yes, he has. / No, he hasn’t.
 Have the results of the election been
announced? Yes, they have. / No, they
haven’t.

WHAT IS PAST PARTICIPLE?

The past participle is a form of the verb that describes a completed action or

state. For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the simple past:

 I worked (simple past) all day yesterday.

 I’ve worked (past participle) here since August.

This is also the case for many irregular verbs:

 He sold (simple past) his car last week.

 He’s sold (past participle) 200 books so far.

However, some irregular verbs’ past participles are different from their simple past form:

 We wrote (simple past) an article for the newspaper.

 We’ve written (past participle) for many famous publications.

Many of these irregular past participles end in –n:

Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle

be was / were been
break broke broken
choose chose chosen
do did done
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
give gave given
go went gone
know knew known
see saw seen
show showed shown
speak spoke spoken
steal stole stolen
take took taken
wear wore worn
write wrote written

Other irregular past participles have a change in the vowel:

Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle

become became become
begin began begun
come came come
drink drank drunk
ring rang rung
run ran run
sing sang sung
swim swam swum

1. Fill in the blanks to form the present perfect. (HAVE /HAS + PAST PARTICIPLE)

 You have bought a new computer.

 I HAVE learned a lot about computers.
 We HAVE read the story about Google.
 Larry HAS known Sergey since they were at Stanford University.
 They HAVEN’T (not) known each other since they were children.
 It HAS been easy for me to learn about computers.
 You HAVE used the Internet many times.
 Larry and Sergey HAVEN’T (not) finished their degrees.

2. Fill in the blanks with the correct past participle.

 I have done (do) many things in my life.

 I’ve traveled (travel) to many countries and I’ve seen (see) many beautiful places.
 I’ve met (meet) lots of interesting people all over the world.
 I have visited (visit) cities in all 5 continents.
  I’ve sailed (sail) round the world and I’ve (climb) climbed some of the highest
mountains.
 I have even participated (participate) in a north pole expedition.
 I have eaten (eat) fried ants in Africa.
 I have had (have) some difficult moments but I have forgotten (forget) all of
them.

3. Complete the sentences with the verbs in the box. Present perfect (HAVE/HAS + PAST
PARTICIPLE)

not buyn’t not do not eat forget go invite

me not phone Not take
et see

 No, I haven’t phoned my sister. I’ll text her later.

 She has invited a lot of people to her wedding.
 We have taken a lot of photographs during our holidays.
 A: Where’s Mike? B: I don’t know, I haven´t seen him today.
 Mum, Alex has done his bed!!
 It’s Megan’s birthday tomorrow but I haven´t bought her present.
 A: Where’s Ann? B: She has gone to bed.
 I think we have met before but I have forgotten your name.
 I’m starving! I haven´t eaten anything since yesterday.

4. Complete the question and answer “yes” and “no”

 you / phone / the doctor? Have you phoned the doctor? Yes, I have.she

 she / finish / her meal?

Has she finished her meal? yes, she has

 they / buy / a new car?

Have they bought a new car? yes, they have

 Harry / tell / you / the news?

Has Harry told you the news? No, he hasn’t

 John / go / on holiday?
Has John gone on holiday? Yes, he has
 Megan / open / her presents?
Has Megan opened her presents? yes, she has
Open