When do we use the present perfect? Why
is the present perfect so confusing? Why can't I use the simple past? I'm Arnel
from Arnel's Everyday English. And today I'm going to help you answer these
questions. This tense can be very confusing. So, you need a pen and a
notebook, get ready to take notes. Today it's: The grammatical structure, with
pronunciation. A connection to the present. Finished and unfinished time (with the past simple). And typical
mistakes, we're going to look at all of these step by step. Let's begin! The
grammatical structure. We form the present perfect, have has, plus past
participle. When do we use have? When do we use has? I have, you have, he/she/it has, we have, they have. Remember the 's' in has is pronounced Z like like zebra. Z like zebra. What's the past
participle? The past participle is verb number three. Infinitive, eat. Past simple,
ate. Past participle, eaten. The same goes for regular verbs: Dance, danced, danced. Affirmative,
I have eaten. Pete has eaten. Negative, I have not eaten. Pete has not eaten.
Question: Have you eaten? Has Pete eaten? In spoken English,
we normally contract. This is very natural. I have becomes: I've. You have: You've.
He's. She's. It's. We've. They've. For negatives, the contractions are a little bit
different. I have not becomes: I haven't. You haven't.
He/she/it hasn't. We haven't. They haven't. For this lesson I'm going to contract a
lot of things because I'm speaking. Grammatical structure, done! Let's keep
going. A connection to the present, this is really important with the present
perfect. Let's do a few examples together, but
need... Perfect! We have the past and the present. I've lived in New York
for five years. I moved to New York in the past. What's the connection to the
present? Now, I still live in New York. Will I continue to live in New York?
That's not important that information doesn't matter. Pete and I have been together
for eight years. We got married in 2011. What's the connection to the present? Now
we are still married. We are still together. Will this action continue in
the future? It's not important! I've had my dog bubbles since I was 15. I bought bubbles
when she was a little puppy. What's the connection to the present? Now I still
have bubbles. When we're using the present perfect, we're really trying to
link the past to the present. There's a present impact. Riley's lost his job. In the past, he lost
his job. Now what's the present impact? Now he doesn't have a job. Now he's
stressed. I can't find my keys, I've looked everywhere. I lost my keys, I've
looked everywhere. What's the present impact? Now I can't
get in my house. Now I don't know what to do. We see this grammar a lot in the news.
Why? Because past actions have present impacts. The government has decided to
increase taxes. The decision was made in the past. Now what's the present impact?
Now taxes are rising. Heavy rain has caused flooding in many areas.
What's flooding? Flooding is when water gets too high! It started reading in the past. Now,
what's the present impact? Now, people need help,
cars have been damaged, the roads are all ruined, let's continue! Finished an
unfinished time. Remember this, we'll return to this. We use the present
perfect for past experiences. I've been to France, twice. My best friend and I
have watched Titanic so many times. I've met the Pope. These are all life
experiences. When did these things happen? When we use the present perfect, we do
not give a specific finish time. I have been to France twice in 2015 and 2016. 2015 and 2016 are finished times, now
it's 2019. My best friend and I have watched Titanic so many times in high
school. Now, I'm not in high school it's a finished time. I've met the Pope in July.
Now, it's September, July is a finished time. So, Arnel, what is unfinished time?
I have a calendar. Today it's the eighth. Is the month finished? It's not finished.
I haven't been to the gym this month. This month, is correct. The month isn't
over. My flatmate and I have cooked Indian food twice this week. This week
isn't over, it's only Wednesday. I've written over 50 emails today. Is today
over? It's only it's only 2 o'clock, the day isn't finished. In my life, I have
traveled to so many places. In my life isn't a finished time, I'm still living. No! Past simple, present perfect. I've been to
France twice. I went to France in 2015 and 2016. My best friend and I have watched
Titanic so many times. We watched Titanic so many times in high school. I've met
the Pope. I met the Pope in July. Typical mistakes: Number one: Using the past simple instead
of the past participle. I have ate, I have eaten.
She has saw, she has seen. Remember to use the past participle. This is very
important with irregular verbs. Number two: We spoke about this a lot,
using the present perfect with a specific finished time. Last night I've
gone to the pub with a few friends. Last night, I went. Number three: It's important
to remember the time doesn't need to be in the same sentence. It needs to be in the
context of a conversation. Here's a conversation:
Have you tried that Greek restaurant Heracles?
You mean the one by the by the train station? Yeah. Oh. Actually, my boyfriend
and I went there last week. As you can see we begin the conversation with the
present perfect. Have you been? I'm interested in the experience. I don't
care when. As the conversation continues, we use a past simple. Why?
Because last week is a specific finish time. How was it? Was it okay? Yeah the
food was great. I had the lamb platter. Now, we continue in the past simple.
Because last week is my finish time and we continue because I have the time in
mind. Wow! You've done a great job! If you liked this lesson don't forget to
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