Present Perfect Expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present.

. It puts emphasis on the result. She has written five letters. The present perfect is a compound tense Subject + auxiliary verb (has/have) + main verb (past participle) For regular verbs, just add ed but: o after a final e only add d (love loved) o final y after a consonant becomes i (hurry hurried) o final consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of a word (admit admitted) In British English we double one -l at the end of the word: travel - travelled For irregular verbs, use the participle form. Negative sentences: "not" is added between the auxiliary verb and the main verb Questions: the auxiliary verb comes before the subject Signal words: already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now, once, many times, several times, before. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. Use: action that is still going on. School has not started yet. action that stopped recently. She has cooked dinner. finished action that has an influence on the present. I have lost my key. experience from the past. We only want to know if you did it: (I have seen ET) not when. The event was in the past and connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event. change that has happened over time or new information: I have bought a car. Last week I didn't have a car now I have a car. Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present. Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past. continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure. I have worked here since June. Connection with past: the situation started in the past. Connection with present: the situation continues in the present. accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time. Man has walked on the Moon. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. an uncompleted action you are expecting. It suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen. James has not finished his homework yet. Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate. Multiple actions at different times: several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible. The army has attacked that city five times. I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.

We use for to talk about a period of time - 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. We use since to talk about a point in past time - 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.

used when the time period has not finished: I have seen three movies this week. (This week has not finished yet.) used when the time is not mentioned: Gerry has failed his exam again. used when the time is recent: Ikuko has just arrived in Victoria.