Present perfect tense

The present perfect tense connects the past with the present. It is formed with have or has + the past participle of the main verb, such as I have finished or She has arrived. We use it for experiences and repeated events before now, recent past actions with a present result, actions in unfinished time periods, and states that began in the past and continue now.

How to form the present perfect

Form the present perfect with the present tense of the auxiliary verb have followed by the past participle of the main verb. Use has with he, she, it and singular noun subjects; use have with I, you, we, they and plural noun subjects.

The table below shows how to form the present perfect in affirmative, negative, question, and short answer sentences:

Regular past participles normally end in -ed, while irregular verbs have forms such as been, gone, seen, done and eaten.

When do we use the present perfect?

We use the present perfect when a past action or state is viewed in relation to the present rather than simply as a finished event at a finished time in the past. The main uses are summarised below.

1. Life experiences

The present perfect is commonly used to talk about life experiences. These are events or actions that happened at some point in a person’s life, but when they happened is not relevant. When we talk about our experiences, we don’t mention the time (if you do mention the time the action or event happened, you must use the past simple):

• I have seen the Mona Lisa.
• She’s learned to speak Mandarin.
• They have moved to London.

Been vs gone

We usually use the verb go to talk about visiting places, but while the past participle of go is gone, when talking about travel experiences, we use been to represent the experience. Gone means that a person has left their location and not returned; been means that the person has visited a place and returned (and this trip has therefore become an experience):

• Can I speak to James please? I’m sorry, James is not in the office today; he’s gone to Preston for a business meeting. (James has not returned from Preston)
• Where’s David? He’s gone to the shops to buy some milk. (David has not returned from the shops)
• I’ve been to Paris five times. (this person has visited Paris five times and has returned, so this trip is now an experience)
• They are really adventurous; they have even been to Mongolia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. (this trip is one of their experiences)

2. Repeated actions up to the present

We can also use the present perfect to say that multiple actions or events have happened some time before the present:

• I have seen Star Wars more than fifty times.
• She has won five Olympic gold medals.
• My parents have eaten in this restaurant many times.

3. Recent actions

We can use the present perfect with the adverb just to show that an action finished very recently:

• I’ve just eaten.
• He’s just left.
• They have just landed.

In British English, the present perfect is particularly common with just, already and yet when a recent action is connected to the present. In American English, the past simple is also commonly used in these situations.

• I just ate.
• He just left.
• They just landed.

4. Past actions with a result in the present

If an action or event that happened in the past has a consequence for the present (e.g., it prevents or restricts a present action), we use the present perfect to explain this connection:

• I’ve lost my wallet (so I can’t pay for the taxi).
• Colin has broken his ankle (so he can’t play in the final).
• They’ve missed the plane (so they won’t be arriving on time).

Note: We don’t use the present perfect if the past action has no connection to the present. In that case, we just use the simple past:

• I lost my wallet, but I found it in the kitchen.
• Colin broke his leg, and it took three months to heal.
• They missed the plane, so they arrived late.

5. Changes over time

If you want to describe changes between the past and the present, you can use the present perfect (notice how it’s common to use since as a preposition or subordinating conjunction to say when the change began):

• You’ve grown a lot since the last time I saw you.
• My city has changed a lot since I was a child.
• This government has become more authoritarian since last year.

6. Actions in unfinished time periods

An incomplete time is one that connects to the present, i.e., the time is still in progress. Incomplete times include today, this morning, this afternoon, this week, this month, this year, in the last week, in the last month, in the last year. We use the present perfect with these times:

• I have answered five calls today.
• We’ve sold seven cars this month.
• She’s been to Spain three times in the last year.

With expressions such as today, this morning and this afternoon, the past simple is also possible when the speaker treats the relevant period or event as finished.

7. States that continue to the present

A state is a situation or condition that exists at a particular point in time. Common state or stative verbs include be, have (for possession), want, like, love, prefer, know and believe. These are not actions. We use the present perfect to show that a state began in the past and continues to the present. If we are using the present perfect, we usually say for how long the state has existed using the prepositions for or since.

For vs since

Use for with periods of time (e.g., for two hours, for several weeks, for seven years):

• I’ve known him for two years.
• We have had this car for six weeks.
• I’ve been into techno for ages.

Use since with specified times in the past (e.g., since last week, since 1999, since we last met):

• I haven’t had this much fun since the summer of ‘69.
• She hasn’t lived here since March last year.
• The kids have not believed in the tooth fairy since they caught their dad putting money under their pillows. (here, since is used as a subordinating conjunction to create a time clause)

If you simply want to describe the current state and the starting point or duration is not relevant, use the present simple instead:

• I know John.
• We like the new TV series.

Use the present perfect when you want to connect that state to a period beginning in the past:

• I’ve known John for ten years.
• We’ve liked the series since the first episode.

Common time expressions with the present perfect

The table below shows some common time expressions used with the present perfect:

Present perfect vs past simple

The table below summarises the situations when we use the present perfect or the past simple:

Use the past simple with finished time expressions

We do not normally use the present perfect with finished past-time expressions such as yesterday, last week, in 2022 or two hours ago:

• ❌ I have answered five calls yesterday.
• ✅ I answered five calls yesterday.

• ❌ We’ve sold seven cars last month.
• ✅ We sold seven cars last month.

• ❌ She’s been to Spain three times last year.
• ✅ She went to Spain three times last year.

Use the present perfect tense with in the last time expressions

Don’t confuse last (e.g., last week, last month, last year, etc) with in the last (e.g., in the last week, in the last month, in the last year, etc). Last + time refers to finished times in the past and is therefore used with the simple past. In the last + time, on the other hand, means from the present minus the time (for example, today minus seven days for in the last week) and therefore connects to the present, which means we use it with the present perfect:

• ❌ We sold seven cars in the last month.
• ✅ We have sold seven cars in the last month.

• ❌ She went to Spain three times in the last year.
• ✅ She has been to Spain three times in the last year.

• ❌ I sent over 50 emails in the last hour.
• ✅ I have sent over 50 emails in the last hour.

Can you use when with the present perfect?

When usually asks about a particular time in the past, so it is normally used with the past simple:

• When did they arrive?
• When did you send the report?

However, the present perfect can be used when when asks about one of several possible occasions up to now, or when the speaker questions whether something has ever happened. This is very common in job interviews:

• When have you had to meet a deadline?
• When have you solved a problem?

We can also use the present perfect in when questions to be dismissive of, or cast doubt on, another person’s claims, often using the adverb ever:

• Helen said she spoke to the Queen. – What?! When has Helen ever met the Queen? (It is doubtful that Helen has met the Queen)
• I’ll ask John to help us. – When has John ever agreed to help us? (John is not known to help us)

Common mistakes with the present perfect

The table below highlights some common mistakes that people make when using the present perfect tense in English:

Free present perfect tense worksheets