My ENN English Blog

Let's start with a new tense!!!

Present Perfect

We use this tense for unfinished and finished actions.

Unfinished Actions

1. We use this tense when we want to talk about unfinished actions or states or habits that started in the past and continue to the present. Usually we use it to say 'how long' and we need 'since' or 'for'. We often use stative verbs.

I've known Luisa since 2001.
I've worked in that company for nine months.
She's lived in Australia for three years.

'Since' and 'For'

We use 'since' with a fixed time in the past (1994, last year, March 3rd). The fixed time can be another action, which is in the past simple (since I was at school, since I arrived).

I've known Sam since 2005.
I've liked milk since I was a child.
She's been here since 4pm.

We use 'for' with a period of time (3 hours, four years, ten months).

I've known Julie for ten years.
I've been hungry for hours.
She's had a cold for a week.

Finished Actions

2. Life experience. These are actions or events that happened sometime during a person's life. We don't say when the experience happened, and the person needs to be alive now. We often use the words 'ever' and 'never' here.

I have been to Tokyo.
They have visited Paris three times.
We have never seen that film.

3. With an unfinished time word (this month, this week, today). The period of time is still continuing.

I haven't seen her this month.
She's drunk three cups of coffee today.
I've already moved house twice this year!

We CAN'T use the present perfect with a finished time word.

NOT:~~I've seen him yesterday.~~

4. A finished action with a result in the present (focus on result). We often use the present perfect to talk about something that happened in the recent past, but that is still true or important now. Sometimes we can use the past simple here, especially in US English.

I've lost my keys (so I can't get into my house).
She's hurt her leg (so she can't play tennis today).
They've missed the bus (so they will be late).

5. We can also use the present perfect to talk about something that happened recently, even if there isn't a clear result in the present. This is common when we want to introduce news and we often use the words 'just / yet / already / recently'. However, the past simple is also correct in these cases, especially in US English.