Present Perfect Tense Rules, Examples and Sentence Structure

Present Perfect Tense Rules, Examples and Sentence Structure. Definition and Use of Present Perfect Tense with Examples. The present perfect tense has so many meanings and it is used to describe the actions that have been completed recently.

Let’s study the tense and find out how to form and use this tense correctly in the English language. Before you learn to make this tense, read the definition, meaning, and examples of the present perfect tense.

What is the Present Perfect Tense?

Present Perfect Tense expresses that an action has taken place in the past and it is connected with the present in some way. It is used for finished actions with their results, repeated actions, and actions that are continuing up to now. Let’s observe the examples below:

Examples:

1. She has studied the effects of greenhouse gases. (Finished action)
2. I have taken the right decision. (Finished action)
3. Our team has won the world cup trophy. (Finished action)
4. They have lived with their son in this house for five years. (Continuing Action)
5. We have already discussed this matter four times. (Repeated action)

Note: In the above sentences, you have read the ‘third form of verb or past participle’ with the auxiliary/helping verbs ‘has’ and ‘have’.

Present Perfect Tense Rules and Examples

Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action in the past has a result now with time phrases, with a length of time or without time. The rules of Present Perfect Tense are very easy to make sentences. To form the present perfect sentences, follow the rules given below:

Rule – 1 If the subject of the sentence is a singular noun or he/she/it, use ‘has‘ with it.

• He has + verb III
• She has + verb III
• It has + verb III
• The man has + verb III
• The child has + verb III

Rule – 2 If the subject is a plural noun or I/We/You/They, use ‘have‘ with it.

• I have + verb III
• You have + verb III
• They have + verb III
• The students have + verb III
• The countries have + verb III

Rule – 3 Use helping verb ‘has’ for singular subjects (not any of the above) and use ‘have’ for plural subjects (not any of the above) for example;

Singular Subjects:

• My brother has + verb III
• Your brother has + verb III
• His elder sister has + verb III
• Our old teacher has + verb III
• This policeman has + verb III

Plural Subjects:

• These workers have + verb III
• Your old parents have + verb III
• My childhood friends have + verb III
• Those police officers have + verb III

Rule – 4 We put the third form of the main verb (past participle) after the helping verb has or have.

• She has run.
• He has slept.
• We have played.
• They have come.
• Tommy has returned.

In the above sentences, the underlined verbs are the past participle (third form of the verbs).

Rule – 4 Objects are put after the main verbs.

• I have eaten an apple.
• She has completed her lesson.
• We have won the match.
• The man has bought candy.
• You have done it.

Note: According to the rule, the underlined words are objects.

Read also:

• What is Tense?
• Simple Present Tense Examples and Rules
• Use of Do and Does
• Use of Had

Structure of Present Perfect Tense

Every sentence has its own structure or formula. Basically, a sentence is formed with a subject and a verb.  Observe the sentence structure of the present perfect tense given below.

Structure: Subject + has/have + verb III (past participle) + object + other words.

Examples of Present Perfect Tense

1. He has cut his finger.
2. She has lost the key to her new car.
3. It has become dark now.
4. William has forgotten the password of his phone.
5. They are on holiday. They have gone to Egypt.
6. I can’t come to the office. My parents have gone to court.
7. She has accepted our idea for her new project.
8. Our team has already scored two goals.
9. Tom isn’t here. He has gone to the store.
10.  I’m not hungry. I have just had my dinner.

Note: The above examples of present perfect tense express that an action has been completed that was started in the past.

Read also:

• Present Continuous Tense
• Use of Is, Am and Are
• Use of Was and Were
• Use of Has and Have

Statements/Affirmative Sentences

Now you will learn how to make statements or affirmative sentences of Present Perfect Tense. This tense has a simple structure given below. Follow the rules given above to make statements.

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I have run.	We have run.
Second	You have run.	You have run.
Third	He/She/It/Jack has run.	They have run.

Structure: Subject + has/have + past participle (verb^III) + object

Examples:

1. I have decided to marry her.
2. My dad has read this novel three times because he loves it.
3. Maria has met me before evening.
4. We have already asked him about the matter.
5. I have just drunk a cup of coffee.
6. We have decided to bat first.
7. The boys of high school have won the trophy.
8. My dad has worked hard to get this job.
9. He has already told me everything about the incident.
10. The man is searching his purse. He has lost it somewhere.
11.  I’m not hungry. I have just had dinner.
12. She hasn’t resigned from her job yet.
13. He has ordered food for his family.
14. She is not here. She has gone somewhere.
15. I have submitted an application four times.
16. We have lived in Dubai for four months.
17. The manager of this company has hired us for a new site.
18. She has already invited me to the party.
19. He and I have helped the old man cross the road.
20. The train going to New York has arrived.
21. I can’t find my keys I have put them somewhere.

Note: The contraction form of has and have with subjects is also used in affirmative sentences.

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I’ve	We’ve
Second	You’ve	You’ve
Third	She’s/He’s/It’s	They’ve

Examples:

1. I’ve also attended the webinar.
2. She’s just opened the box of her mobile.
3. We’ve written a letter to our dad.
4. You’ve read this novel four times.
5. They’ve been here four times.

• Present Perfect Continuous Tense Examples and Rules
• Definition of noun with examples

Negative Sentences/Statements

The negative sentences always give negative meaning or statements. We make Negative Sentences by putting a negative word or adverb (no, not) after the helping verbs has and have. Check the negative sentence structure below:

Structure: Subject + has not/have not + verb III + object + other words

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I have not run.	We have not run.
Second	You have not run.	You have not run.
Third	He/she/it has not run.	They have not run.
Name	John has not run.	John and Tom have not run.

Examples:

1. We have not talked to the CEO of the company yet.
2. Many people have not praised him for his bravery.
3. I have not submitted my new project yet.
4. We have not received an email from Mr. Cuss.
5. She has not talked to her mother.
6. Rob has not gone anywhere. He is sleeping in the room.
7. My friend hasn’t got a new job in New York yet.
8. She has bought a new flat in Canada.
9. The doctor has not advised me to take a rest for two days.
10. The girl hasn’t participated in the dance competition.
11. He hasn’t explained the matter to me yet.
12.  The man is on his desk. He has not finished his work.
13. She has not worked here for three years.
14. The teachers have not taught in High School for two years.
15. The woman has not washed the dishes yet.
16. He hasn’t made a lot of friends since she left this city.
17. I haven’t got full marks in this test.
18. Jack hasn’t come through the forest.
19. The man hasn’t written a letter to his father.
20. I haven’t gone climbing for a year.

Note: We use the short form of has not (hasn’t) and have not (haven’t) to make Negative Sentences. Please have a look at the examples below:

Examples:

1. You haven’t told me anything.
2. She hasn’t tweeted on Twitter for three days.
3. They haven’t bought a lot of things from the store.
4. I haven’t killed the lion with a gun.

• What are the examples of nouns?

Extra Examples of Negative Sentences

We know that ‘not’ is used to express negative meaning. We use some other negative words to make negative statements. The following words can be used;

• Nothing
• Nobody
• No one
• Never
• None
• No

We can use the above words as Subject. There is no need to write hasn’t or haven’t in the sentences. Use only has or have with the above words.

Examples:

1. Don’t worry. Nothing has happened here.
2. He has done nothing. He is innocent.
3. None but she has sung a song at the party.
4. Nobody has contacted me yet.
5. Dad has given them no donation.
6. Robert has never read this article before.

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative Sentences of Present Perfect Tense can be made in two ways. There are two types of interrogative sentences, yes-no type, and wh-word type questions.

Yes-No Type Questions

• Have you ever read it?

Wh-word Type

• What have you seen there?

The rules of making interrogative sentences of Present Perfect Tense are given below.

Yes-No Type Interrogative Sentences

Yes-No Type Questions begin with an auxiliary verb. Here is a sentence structure of Yes-No Type Questions.

Person	Singular	Plural
First	Have I run?	Have we run?
Second	Have you run?	Have you run?
Third	Has she/he/it run?	Have they run?

Structure: Has/Have + Subject + Verb III (Perfect Participle) + Object + Other words

Examples:

1. Have I met you?
2. Have we done it?
3. Have you prepared coffee?
4. Have they cleaned the bathroom?
5. Has she made a cake for you?
6. Has he gone through the forest?
7. Has it hailed here?
8. Has Tom called you?
9. Have you ever drawn a picture?
10. Have you seen him anywhere?
11. Has Jack cut an apple?
12. Have we heard from him since Christmas?
13. I can’t find my purse. Have you seen it somewhere?
14. Have they received the payment that the company released?
15. Have I done something wrong to you?

Wh-word Type Interrogative Questions

Wh-word Type Questions begin with the question words. A question word is put at the beginning of the sentence. We put the helping verb has or have before the question words. Observe the structure with examples below:

Structure: Question word + has/have + subject + verb III + object + other words +?

Examples:

1. What have you seen in the room?
2. Why has she made a mistake in this email?
3. When has the boy hunted the lion?
4. How have you solved this problem?
5. Which city have you visited recently?
6. What has the policeman asked you at the police station?
7. How much oil has she bought from the store?
8. Who has opened the store?
9. Who has visited your office?
10. How many books has she written?
11. What has he already done?
12. Where have you taught for the last two years?
13. How many lessons have you read since Monday?
14. When has he gone to Egypt with you?
15. What have you distributed among the kids?

Meaning of Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense has the following meanings;

1. Action started in the past and continued until now. The action shows a duration of time. Study the examples below;

Examples:

1. Jackie has studied for three years.

(It means that Jackie began studying three years ago and has continued until now.)

2. Maggie has learned English for the last two months.

(Maggie started learning English two months ago and continued until now.)

2. A repeated action shows us that something has happened for how many times.

Examples:

1. I have prepared for the IELTS test four times since I applied for this job.

2. Kiet has looked into this case for the last two years.

3. Kate has written five emails since morning.

Read also:

• Simple Past Tense with Rules and Examples
• Past Continuous Tense Rules and Examples
• Future Indefinite Tense (Simple Future Tense)
• Future Continuous Tense Rules and Examples

Use of Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense can be used a lot of times. But sometimes it is not necessary to use. We can use another tense instead of it. Read below where you can use it a few times;

In your life sentences of Present Perfect Tense

In these types of sentences, we ask someone if he/she has ever/never done something in his/her life. It can be used to express how many times someone has done something.

Examples:

1. Have you ever read Harry Potter?
2. Have they ever visited California?
3. Has she ever drawn a picture on a wall?
4. Has anyone ever listened to my songs?
5. Have Johnny Depp given you his autograph?
6. Have you ever eaten pizza like this?
7. Has he ever abused me?
8. My family has never been to the USA.
9. I have never seen the Taj Mahal of Agra.
10. The driver has never driven the car fast.
11. He has visited New York two times.
12. Johnson has read this article four times.
13. My younger sister has passed this test five times.

Action happened recently

The present perfect tense is used to express that an action has happened/been completed recently. Some adverbs of time are used in this tense.

Examples:

• The school bus has just arrived.
• She has bought a new toy.
• The boy has won the lottery.
• She is going somewhere. She has started her car.
• We have just received an invoice for our orders.
• It has rained here.
• The engineer has provided completed the design of our house.

With Superlatives

Present Perfect Tense is used with superlatives that express that someone has ever/never seen/taken anything in his life.

Examples:

1. This was the best movie I have ever seen in my life.
2. We are going to visit the best place that we have ever seen in our life.
3. That’s the most beautiful girl that I have seen in my life.
4. It was the costliest phone I have bought in my life.
5. She was the loveliest woman that he has met.

Time expressing Adverbs

Some expressing Adverbs and adverbial phrases are used in Present Perfect Tense. These adverbs show the length of action.

Examples:

• Malik has been ill since Sunday.
• They have played the game for 30 minutes.
• She hasn’t accepted my invitation yet.
• My friend has already told me the whole truth.
• I have visited that restaurant several times.
• Dad hasn’t come so far.
• The boys haven’t talked to their parents yet.

A repeated action

We use Present Perfect Tense to describe a repeated action in an unspecified time. Time expressing Adverbs are used in these types of sentences.

Examples:

1. I have seen this movie four times.
2. My friends have visited my house four times since January.
3. They have phoned me many times.
4. The girl has ordered the pizza two times.
5. Kathleen has taken this test several times.

• Tense with Examples
• Past Perfect Tense Rules and Examples
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense Examples and Rules

Important Points to Remember

Present Perfect Tense and Present Perfect Continuous Tense have the same meaning. Both the tense so that and action started in the past and continued until now.

Examples:

Present Perfect Tense	Present Perfect Continuous Tense
She has slept for two hours.	She has been sleeping for two hours.
I have worked at Samsung since January.	I have been working at Samsung since January.

 

Examples of Present Perfect Tense

Watch this video on the Present Perfect Tense

Conclusion

In this post, you have learnt about the present perfect tense with examples, rules and sentence structure. This tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb has and have with perfect participle (verb III). If you are learning tense, you should learn all the tense in order. You may start with the simple present tense. After studying the rules of the present perfect tense, you should try to solve exercises of this tense. Use it in your daily life.