6 Ways To Use The Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations

31.07.2022, 22:40 6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations - Impactfulenglish.
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6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in

Business Situations
/ Steven Hobson / Business English, Grammar
When talking about the past in English, do you sometimes feel uncertain about
which tense you should use?
Maybe after telling a story or explaining a past experience, you find yourself
unsure if the verb tense you used was correct or not.
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31.07.2022, 22:40 6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations - Impactfulenglish.com
Well, you’re not alone!
For most English learners, it’s a challenge to speak correctly and confidently
when talking about the past. This is because different points in the past
determine the type of past tense which should be used, resulting in a long list of
rules.
As well as this, past tenses in English can be very different to past tenses in other
languages.
The two most commonly used tenses for speaking about the past are the past
simple and present perfect tense.
In this article, I focus on the present perfect tense. I show you 6 different
business situations when you can use the present perfect tense, together with
examples.
I also teach you a 3 step process to start using the present perfect correctly and
naturally.
A Quick Recap: The Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect is formed with the present tense of “have” and the “past
participle” of the verb you want to use. For example:
“Have you been to Italy?”
“I have recently started jogging in the morning.”
6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in

Business Situations
Situation 1: Talking about Profits, Sales Results,
and Work Experience.
We use the present perfect to talk about unfinished actions that started in the
past and continue to the present.
In this case, you will find yourself using the present perfect when answering
“how long” questions, and describing sales/costs/profits/revenues for a
particular period until the present moment.
Examples:
I’ve worked here for five years.

Profits have increased by 10% since Mark has been the Brand Manager.
Sales have bounced back this month.

How long have you worked in the banking sector for?
Situation 2: Talking about Business Trips and

Company Phases.
We use the present perfect to talk about past experiences without saying when
something happened in the past.
Examples:
Our company has been through some tough periods. Fortunately today, though,
we’re thriving.
I’ve already been to Tokyo on business and I love the city and its’ people.
*Note: If you say when something happened in the past, use the past simple.
For example, “I went to Tokyo on business in 2015.”
Situation 3: Talking about Recent Changes to

Plans.
We use the present perfect to talk about a finished action (when something has
recently happened) with a result in the present.
In this case, the second clause in the sentence often begins with “so” and then
describes the result of the past action.
Examples:
Unfortunately, David has missed his connecting flight, so he can’t be here with us
today.
I’ve lost the file with my presentation slides, so I’ll have to do them all again.
Situation 4: Talking about Clients and Sales.

We use the present perfect with unfinished time words or expressions. Typical
unfinished time words and expressions include, “this week”, “this month”,
“today.”
Examples:
I’ve visited three of our major clients this week.

How many units have we sold this month?
*Note: When you use past time words, such as, “yesterday”, “last week”, “last
year”, you must use the past simple tense. For example, “Last month we sold
10,000 units.”
Situation 5: Talking about Durations of Job

Positions and Lengths of Time with a Relation to
the Present.
We use the present perfect to describe an unfinished action with ‘Since’ and ‘For’.
We use ‘since’ with a fixed time in the past (2015, 5th May, last year), and we use
‘for’ with a period of time (5 hours, six months, ten years,).
Examples:
We’ve been located here since 1990.

She’s been the HR Director since January.
I’ve known the client for 3 years.
He’s been the CEO for 6 months.
Situation 6: Talking about Recent News and

Business Updates.
We use the present perfect to talk about something that happened recently.
Often used with “just “,”yet”, “already”, “recently.”
Examples:
The CEO has just quit.

I’ve already had my assessment with HR.
Have you got the sell-out results back yet?
Our stock price has surged recently.
How to Speak with the Present Perfect (and

Grammar in General) in a Natural Way
For native speakers, using the present perfect (and any other grammar
structure) comes naturally. In other words, we don’t think about grammar rules
when we speak English.
In fact, most native speakers have never heard of the present perfect. So how do
they use it correctly if they have never even heard of it, you may ask?
Well, the answer to that is: because it feels right.
This is what I mean by speaking with the present perfect in a natural way. You
use it because it feels right.
And this is the goal English learners should be trying to achieve.
You don’t want to be thinking about rules when you’re having a conversation in
English.
Having said that, though, rules are important in the first stages of the learning
process for non-natives.
Once you understand the rules, you need as much input as you can get, which
means lots of listening, reading and having conversations.
Then you need lots of practice and repetition, and eventually, the grammar will
start to feel more natural.
Take Action: A 3 Step Process to Using the

Present Perfect Correctly and Naturally.
Step 1: Learn the rules.
Understand the differences between simple past and present perfect usage. I
suggest keeping a good grammar book as a reference for grammar rules.
Step 2: Customize.
Write down sentences with the present perfect for situations when you typically
use English. For example, maybe you have to present sales figures in English. For
this, you will use unfinished time expressions, like, “this month,” “this quarter,”
“this year.”
So write sentences such as, “This month we have sold five thousand units.”
Step 3: Produce.
Now that you have a list of personalized sentences using the present perfect, say
them aloud and repeat until you feel comfortable saying them. To get to the “it
feels right” stage, you need lots of repetition.
And ideally, you should have a coach to correct you and give you feedback so
that you don’t fall into any bad habits.
If you follow these three steps, you will feel much more confident using the
present perfect in real-life situations.
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Author: Steven Hobson
Steven is a business English coach, a certified life coach, writer,

and entrepreneur. He helps international professionals build
confidence and improve fluency speaking English in a business
environment.
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31.07.2022, 22:40 6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations - Impactfulenglish.

6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in

Well, you’re not alone!

A Quick Recap: The Present Perfect Tense

6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in

I’ve worked here for five years.

Sales have bounced back this month.

Situation 2: Talking about Business Trips and

Situation 3: Talking about Recent Changes to

Situation 4: Talking about Clients and Sales.

I’ve visited three of our major clients this week.

Situation 5: Talking about Durations of Job

We’ve been located here since 1990.

Situation 6: Talking about Recent News and

Often used with “just “,”yet”, “already”, “recently.”

The CEO has just quit.

How to Speak with the Present Perfect (and

Well, the answer to that is: because it feels right.

And this is the goal English learners should be trying to achieve.

Take Action: A 3 Step Process to Using the

Author: Steven Hobson

Steven is a business English coach, a certified life coach, writer,

Micro Habits to Improve and Quicken Your Emails in English + 45 Expressions

Mindset Shifts that will Positively Impact Your English Fluency

© 2015-2022 Impactful English | All rights reserved | Designed by Leopedraz

Privacy policy | Terms | Disclaimer | Contact

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