Present Perfect Aspect
Present Perfect Aspect
What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Tense’? Time, right? Yes, tenses are a class that expresses the moment of time within speaking. There are three tenses in English.
- Present
- Past
- Future
The future is not a tense but an aspect, but teachers always include the future in the tenses for convenience.
All of the tenses are further divided into aspects. Aspects are a subcategory of tenses that refers to the flow of time within a particular tense.
There are three aspects of every tense.
- Simple/ indefinite aspect
- Continuous/ progressive aspect
- Perfect aspect
The perfect progressive aspect is derived from the perfect and progressive aspect of a tense.
Students often get confused and terrified by the number of tenses they have to learn in English grammar, but that is not a big deal. You only have to understand the formation or structure of the tense and remember the form of a verb used differently in each tense.
In this lesson, you will learn the present perfect aspect, its formation, and different uses.
What is a Present Perfect Aspect?
Present perfect is one of the aspects of the present tense. It is the combination of present tense and perfect aspect that is used to express the action that happened in the past and has its consequences in the present time.
OR
It shows the connection or link between something that happened in the past and has effects in the present time. This aspect is often used in daily conversation, on the radio, or in the news.
Formation/ Structure
The formation of the present perfect aspect is relatively easy. The sentence in the present perfect aspect is formed by auxiliary have or has and past participle form of the main verb. Most of the time, the verb's past participle form is formed by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.
We use Have with I, we, you, they, and plural names. We use Has with he, she, it, and singular names.
Positive/ Affirmative sentences
Subject | Auxiliary verb | Main verb | Object (optional) | Punctuation |
Subject | Have / Has | 3rd form of the verb | Object | Period (.) |
Example:
- I have lived in London all my life.
- I have watched that movie so many times.
- She has eaten dinner too early.
- He has lost the keys to his room.
- Jim and I have stayed in five-star hotels so many times.
Negative sentences
Subject | Auxiliary verb + not | Main verb | Object (optional) | Punctuation |
Subject | Have / Has +not | 3rd form of the verb | Object | Period (.) |
Example:
- I haven’t lived in London all my life.
- I haven’t watched this movie so many times.
- She hasn’t eaten dinner too early.
- He hasn’t lost the keys to his room.
- Jim and I haven’t stayed in five-star hotels so many times.
Interrogative sentences
Auxiliary verb | Subject | Main verb | Object (optional) | Punctuation |
Have / Has | Subject | 3rd form of the verb | Object | Question mark (?) |
Example:
- Have I lived in London all my life?
- Have I watched this movie so many times?
- Has she eaten dinner too early?
- Has he lost the keys to his room?
- Have Jim, and I stayed in five-star hotels so many times?
Uses of Present Perfect Aspect
The fundamental and vital use of the present perfect aspect is to express the actions that took place in the past and are related to the present time. But besides that, there are many ways in which the present perfect aspect can help English. The essential uses are mentioned and explained below.
- Effects in present
The present perfect aspect is used to express those actions or ideas that have taken place in the recent past and have some effect in the present time.
Example:
- It has rained.
- Tom has started a new job.
- I have finished my chores.
- Not fixed timing/experience
The present perfect aspect is used to express those actions or events that you have experienced in your life but not at fixed timing (Anytime in your life). But it still has some effect in the present time.
Example:
- I have watched this cartoon ten times.
- She has asked him not to wear this dress so many times. (but he still does)
- I have been to America two times.
- They haven’t watched this cartoon ten times. (Negative)
- I have lost my keys.
- Change over time
The other distinct use of the present perfect aspect is to talk about change over time. Something that took some time to change or to grow up can be expressed by using the present perfect aspect.
Example:
- My brother has grown up.
- I have grown up in LA.
- I have renovated my house in 3 years.
- Pending action
The other distinct use of the present perfect aspect is to talk about change over time. Something that took some time to change or grow up can be expressed using the present perfect aspect. Example:
- She has not returned my dress yet.
- Bella hasn’t apologized for her mistake yet.
- They haven’t finished their homework yet.
- A short time ago (just)
You can use the present perfect aspect along the word ‘just’ to convey that the event happened a short time ago.
Example:
- Shahana has just left home.
- He has just gone for a walk.
- They have just arrived.
Conclusion
In this lesson, you have learned that the present perfect aspect is useful in many ways. There are, and there can be many more uses of the present perfect aspect along with the uses that are mentioned above. The structure of the present perfect aspect is easy. Remember that you have to use the 'have to' auxiliary verb and 3rd form of a verb.