Present perfect (1)

Presentation
© Form
The present perfect tense is formed by using the present tense of the auxiliary ha v e and
the past participle. For negatives and questions we also use the present tense of the
auxiliary h a v e and the past participle:

I have/'ve ta k en I ha v e no t/ha ven 't ta ken H ave I taken?

You have/'ve ta ken You h a v e n o t/h av e n 't ta k en H ave you ta k en ?
He/she/it has/'s tak en He/she/it h a s n ot/ha sn 't tak en H as he 1she/it taken ?
We have/'v e ta k en We h a v e n o t/h av en 't ta ken H ave we taken?
They have/'ve ta k en They ha v e no t/hav en't tak en H ave they taken?

The past participles of regular verbs end in -d or -ed, and have the same form as the past
simple. For a list of irregular verbs, see Appendix 2, page 188.
Note: The short forms of the positive and negative are commonly used in speech and
informal writing.

(]) Present result of the past

The present perfect often links a present situation with something that happened at an
unspecified time in the past. Therefore we do not use specific time expressions such as
yesterday, last week, in 1998, two days ago, etc.:
I h a ve given your report to the MD.
(Past action: I gav e her your report y esterda y. Present result: She h a s the report now .)
I h av e sent them the samples they wanted.
(Past action: I sen t the samples this m orning. Present result: They a re in the post now .)

Q Specific and non-specific time

If we say when something happened, we use the past simple, not the present perfect:
wrong: *1 hav e spo ken to her yesterday.
right: I spoke to her yesterday.
Similarly, with expressions such as on Monday, in 1987, at 3.30, etc. (see Unit 4), or with
questions beginning When ...? and How long ago ...?, we use the past simple and not the
present perfect.

© Just
The present perfect is often used with the word ju st to talk about very recent news or
actions that have taken place very recently. Again, the exact time is not mentioned:
I'm sorry, Mrs Smith is not here. She h a s ju st left.

O Been and gone

Notice the difference between h a s been and h a s gon e:
I'm afraid Mr Smith is not here at the moment. He h a s g on e to a meeting in London.
(He is still at the meeting.)
Amanda ha s b een to the travel agent. She has your tickets for Hong Kong.
(She went to the travel agent and has returned.)

Present perfect (1) 23

 Practice
EXERCISE O Form
Complete the follow ing sentences by putting the irregular verbs in to the present
perfect. See the example.
1 I'm going to send them a reminder. They ta v e V t (not pay) us for their last order.
2 Some of these tech shares............................(fall) by over 80%, and they still look very
risky.
3 ............................(you/write) to them about that shipment, or do you want me to phone
them?
4 W e ............................(spend) a lot on modernizing the factory, and it is now very well
equipped.
5 Unemployment is very high here because all of the coal m in es............................(shut)
down.
6 The lawyers............................(draw) up the contracts, so we are now ready to go ahead
with the deal.
7 I ............................(not speak) to the MD about your proposal, but I will soon.
8 ............................(you/find) a suitable replacement for Ivan Sloboda, or is the post still
vacant?
9 C arm en..................................... (just/get) back from lunch. Why don't you call her now?
10 Peter,............................(you/meet) Alistair MacFarlane? He's our new Finance Director.

EXERCISE © Present results of the past

Look at the notes below the pictures. Write sentences in the present perfect w hich
link the past events with the present results. See the exam ple.

Past event
m

fo r e ig n e x c h a n g e

LAST W EEK
£ - t « «C
TL—J I , I _J
SVV1 8E
^ £ = £ \ c ~i n
^ L ^ «* u t t j

El ÿ n n n
v u .u u o

Present result

FOREIGN exchange
TO DA Y CSI Systems
129-2 SamSeong-dong
€ =$0,953 Gangnam-gu
^oul, j35-798, Korea

æ £ - $ 1.610
u«Cflfi08
He/miss/the flight Euro/fall/against They/redecorate/ We/re-locate/Korea
Dollar office
He. I M i ^ e d
-the.

24 Present perfect (1)

EXERCISE © Specific and non-specific time
Com plete th e follow ing newspaper extracts w ith the correct form o f th e verb in
brackets. Then say w hen these actions to o k place. If you do no t have the
in form atio n, write n o in fo rm a tio n . See th e exam ples.

Virgin Mobile 1 £<*.id (say) yesterday Toys R Us 3 ........................ EGYPT yesterday 7.. -....................
that it was in talks with 3G license
(announce) a programme of cutbacks (carry) out a limited devaluation of
holders in Hong Kong about a
last week, when i t 4 ................................ the Egyptian pound as a way of
(give) details o f the 64 stores that are reassuring international lenders who
possible joint venture. The company
going to close with the loss o f 1,900 are concerned about the state of the
2 lr\A$ ^rowr (grow) rapidly and now
jobs. The shares are currently trading economy. The country 8 ...................
has over 1.5 million customers, slightly higher. Most analysts (suffer) a great deal from the loss of
making it the U K ’s fifth largest mobile 5............................... (welcome) the revenue from tourism, and the
phone service. news, particularly as the company unofficial rate for the Egyptian pound
6...............................(state) that it is 9........................ (fall) to below E£5
confident of reaching its targets in to the dollar. Egypt is looking for
spite of ‘difficult trading conditions.’ about $2bn in support, and the US
10 ....................... (already/ agree) to
speed up the annual payment of aid.

£Aid - ye.zte.rdAy 6
\\<k$ ^row* ~ i\o ii\.-fbrMA"tiofv 7
8
9
10

E X E R C IS E O Just - recent actions

Com plete the sentences w7ith one o f the verbs in the box, using fu st and the present
perfect. See the exam ple.

announce arrive buy give

leave read speak

1 I'm afraid Ms Japtha isn't here. She Irute le.-ft.

2 A: There's an article in the paper about BMW.
B: Yes, I know7. I ...............................................................it.
3 He's feeling very pleased. T h e y ........................................ him a pay rise.
4 I ........................................ a new7 car. Would you like to come and have a look at it?
5 A parcel for y o u ......................................... in reception. Shall I send it up to you?
6 I ....................................... to the MD about your proposals, and he wants to discuss them.
7 The com pany......................................it is going to close the Glasgow factory next month.

E X E R C IS E © Been and gone

Fill in the blanks w ith h a ve /h a s been or h a v e/h a s gone. See the exam ple.
1 I'm afraid Mr Davis h a j ^o*e. to Bali and w7on't be back for two weeks.
2 Jane will know a good place to stay in New York. S h e .........................there lots of times.
3 I ........................to the printers to collect the brochures. They're in my car.
4 Mr L u n d ........................to Oslo. Would you like the phone number of his hotel?
5 I don't know where their new offices are. I ........................n o t ......................... there.

Present perfect (1) 25

 Production
TASK 1 Complete these sentences. Use a verb in the present perfect to explain why the
present situation has occurred. See the example.
1 Our sales are improving because ...
we. hAva introduced £o m £ i\e.w product In\e.£.
2 Our agent wants the brochures delivered urgently because ...

3 Maria is off work for three months because ...

4 We are having a very successful year because ...

5 At the moment the government is very unpopular because ...

6 This year's coffee crop in Colombia will be very small because ...

7 I think it would be a good time to buy shares now because ...

TA S K 2 Write short paragraphs about the changes th at have taken place. See the example.
1 The new supermarket is attracting a lot of new customers.
The. ne.w MAivsujje.r£ have. re.-fwrbi£he.d "the. bwildir^ coMple.-te.ly Ai\d the.y have, put
irv a rve.w de.1icA~te.££e.r\ £e.ctio»\. "The.y hAve. iMp>rove.d the.ir rArv^e. o-f -fre^h -food£
o\Ad hAve. Added a cA-feteriA.
2 The office isn't the same as it was when you were here.

3 The company has spent a great deal on new technology.

A
'The office isn't the sam e as it
was when you were here.'

TA S K 3 Complete or continue these sentences using the present perfect. See the example.
1 Indira's definitely here today. I've, ju ^ t £poke.»v -to he.r oi\ the. phoi\e..
2 He isn't coming in to work today............................................................................................
3 Yes, the report is ready.................................................................................................................
4 Boeing's financial future now looks very secure...................................................................
5 Why don't we have lunch in that new restaurant th a t.....................................................
6 I think she must be out...............................................................................................................
7 No, I won't have a coffee, thank you.......................................................................................

26 Present perfect (1)