Page 58 - New Grammar with a Smile 7

Present Perfect Tense

Uses

We use the present perfect tense to talk about

1. recently completed actions, the results of which are visible in the present time.
For example,

y He has shaved off his beard.
y Suparna has written the letter.
2. personal experiences or changes. For example,

y Supriya has done her post graduation in Oceanography.
y Farida has done a course in embroidery and knitting.
3. past actions that are not over at the time of speaking, for which the time of action
is not mentioned. In these sentences, we use time expressions like ‘today’, ‘this
morning/evening/afternoon/week/month’, etc. For example,

y Suhita has watched six films this week. (She might watch another one as the
week is not yet over.)

y Arun has finished revising his syllabus this month. (He might study some
more as the month is not yet over.)

4. actions that began in the past and have continued into the present, with state
verbs like ‘be’, ‘have’, ‘like’, ‘know’, ‘love’, etc. We often use ‘for’ or ‘since’ in this
case. For example,

y Nagaraja has been a good friend since 2012.
y Sunaina has adored these shell combs since the time she first saw them.

Structure

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I have slept. I have not slept. Have I slept?

You have slept. You have not slept. Have you slept?

He has slept. He has not slept. Has he slept?

She has slept. She has not slept. Has she slept?

It has slept. It has not slept. Has it slept?

We have slept. We have not slept. Have we slept?

They have slept. They have not slept. Have they slept?

58