PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE:

STATEMENTS, Q and A

USE:
To talk about actions or states which began in the past and are still relevant in the
present. The Present Perfect is often used with expressions starting with FOR and
SINCE, to talk about actions or states which began in the past and are true up
until the present time. It is also used with the adverbs JUST, ALREADY, and YET to
talk about actions or events which took place at an indefinite time in the past. The
Present Perfect is also used to talk about recent actions or events ("news").

FORM:
The Present Perfect is made up of HAVE/HAS and the Past Participle (the third
form of the verb [V3]).
AFFIRMATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + (just/already) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]... (for/since...)]

EXAMPLES:
"I've lived here for two years."
"You've already lost one key. I can't believe you can't find the second."
"Whose package is this? It's been here since 4 p.m."
"We've already met them."
"They're not hungry. They've just eaten their dinner."

NOTE: In positive sentences, JUST and ALREADY usually go immediately before

the past participle. Phrases with FOR and SINCE go at the end of the sentence.
NEGATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAVE NOT/HAVEN'T + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]..] HAS NOT/HASN'T

EXAMPLES:
"I haven't met her yet."
"It hasn't begun to rain yet."
"We haven't had lunch yet."
"You haven't said a word for 2 hours."
"They haven't finished their breakfast."

NOTE: In negative sentences, YET and phrases with FOR and SINCE usually go at
the end of the sentence.
YES/NO QUESTIONS

[HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT +...PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]]

EXAMPLES:
"Have you already finished your work?"
"Has she finished painting the room?"
 WH-QUESTIONS

WH-QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUBJECT

[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS +...PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]]

EXAMPLE:
"Who has just eaten the candy?"
WH-QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REST OF THE SENTENCE

[WH-WORD + HAVE/HAS + SUBJECT +...PAST PARTICIPLE (V3)]

EXAMPLES:
"Where has he put my coat?"
"What have you done with the money?"

NOTE: In questions, JUST and ALREADY usually go before the Past Participle [V3];
YET and phrases with FOR and SINCE usually go at the end of the sentence.
CONTRAST WITH OTHER TENSES
USE:
We use the Present Perfect to talk about actions or events that happened during a
period which in some way includes or is connected to the present, when the exact
time is not given.

EXAMPLE:
"Peter Parker has written five books."

The "period" in this sentence is Parker's life. By using the Present Perfect, we show
that he is still alive and still writing books.

BUT -
"John Craig wrote five books."

In this case, the Past Simple is used, showing that the "period" is finished,
probably because Craig is dead.

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about recent actions or events which are
"news" to the listener, often with the adverbs JUST and ALREADY and YET in
negative sentences and questions.

EXAMPLES:
"The results have just come in; and here they are..."
"I don't want to go to that movie: I've already seen it."
"Have you typed that letter yet?"

NOTE: In American English, the simple past form is often used:

"The election results just came in: here they are..."
"I don't want to go to that movie; I already saw it."
"Did you type that letter yet?"

We often use the Present Perfect with certain expressions:

FOR or SINCE
We can use FOR or SINCE at the beginning of the time expression. If we say how
long the action or state lasted, we use FOR:
"...for ten minutes."
"...for twenty years."
"...for two centuries."
"...for a very long time." etc.

If we say when the action or state began, we use SINCE, followed by the time or
another expression which indicates the time:
"...since 2 o'clock."
"...since last Monday."
"...since 1975."
"...since the end of the war."
"...since I was a baby." etc.

HOW LONG
We start a question to ask about the duration of an activity or state with HOW
LONG:

EXAMPLES:
"How long have you had that sweater?"
"About six months."

"How long have you been an actor?"

"Since I left school."

EVER
If we want to know if something has happened, but not when, we often put the
adverb EVER before the verb in the question.

EXAMPLES:
"Have you ever eaten octopus?"
"Yes, I have."

"Have you ever been in an accident?"

"No, I haven't."

JUST, ALREADY or YET

JUST (=a short time ago), ALREADY (=before now) and YET (=before/until now)
are used in Present Perfect sentences that talk about recent actions or events
("news"). JUST and ALREADY usually go immediately before the third form of the
verb and YET is often used at the end of a negative sentence or question.
EXAMPLES:
"I have already seen that movie. Let's stay home!"
"But I haven't seen it yet!"

"Here we are at the Indy 500 with Mike Rhodes. Mike, have you ever driven in an
Indy race?"
"No, I haven't. But I've been a race driver in Europe for ten years."
"Well, Good Luck to you!"

PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

USE:
To talk about a continuous or repeated action which began in the past and
continues up to the present, or which finished very recently and still has an effect.
We do not normally use the Present Perfect Progressive with stative verbs (TO
HAVE RED HAIR, TO BE HAPPY/ILL/TIRED, TO KNOW THE ANSWER, etc.).

EXAMPLES:
"Betty and Joe have been working all night: they're exhausted!"
"Ted, I've been telling you to make your bed for two hours!"

FORM:

AFFIRMATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAVE/HAS + BEEN + VERB+ing ]

EXAMPLES:
"I've been sitting here for an hour."
"She's been hiding in the garage."
NEGATIVE

[SUBJECT + HAS/HAVE + NOT + BEEN + VERB+ing...]

HASN'T/HAVEN'T

EXAMPLES:
"You have not (haven't) been working all week."
"He has not (hasn't) been living here very long."

The expressions FOR and SINCE are used with the Present Perfect
NOTE: Progressive in the same way as with the Present Perfect Simple.
EXAMPLES:
"They have been studying French for three years."
"She has been living here since 1987.

THE PASSIVE: FORM - WITH OR WITHOUT AGENT

USE:
To talk about actions or events in which the agent, or the "doer" of the action, is
obvious, unknown or unimportant, or to emphasize the action, the results of the
action, or the receiver of the action. The Passive is also used to stress a process or
event.

FORM:
["BE" + Past Participle [V3]]

NOTE: The verb "BE" varies according to the tense of the sentence. It can take any
form, including progressives.

EXAMPLES:
"The castle was built in 1543."
"It has been rebuilt twice since then."
(Agent unknown/unimportant)

"English is spoken here."

(Agent is obvious or understood)

"The game is played until there are no more players on the field."
(Process is stressed)

NOTE: We can include the agent after the verb in a Passive sentence, using the
preposition BY.

EXAMPLES:
"My lunch was stolen by a gorilla from the circus!"
"The new hospital is going to be opened by the Queen herself."
AFFIRMATIVE/NEGATIVE

PRESENT/PAST SIMPLE
[OBJECT + Present/Past Form of BE (NOT) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3] (by
SUBJECT)...]

EXAMPLES:
"English is spoken here."
"These socks weren't made in Japan."
PRESENT/PAST PROGRESSIVE

[OBJECT + Present/Past Form of BE (NOT) + BEING + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3] (by

SUBJECT)]

EXAMPLES:
"The house is being painted (by John)."
"Our car wasn't being used yesterday."
PRESENT PERFECT

[OBJECT + HAVE (NOT)/HAS (NOT) + BEEN + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3] (by

SUBJECT)]

EXAMPLES:
"The house has been rented (by Bob Tell)."
"We haven't been invited to the party."
YES/NO QUESTIONS

[BE/HAVE + SUBJECT (BE) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]]

EXAMPLES:
"Was the letter sent?" (SIMPLE)
"Is it being ordered?" (PROGRESSIVE)
"Have they been asked?" (PERFECT)
WH-QUESTIONS

[WH-WORD + BE/HAVE + (SUBJECT) (BE) + PAST PARTICIPLE [V3]...]

EXAMPLES:
"Who was told about this?"
"When was John invited to the wedding?"
"Where was it being shown?"
"Why has Bill been fired?

OTHER EXAMPLES:

"The car wasn't being repaired when we arrived."

"The election results have just been announced."
"George has been caught by the police."
"Are we going to be invited to Joe's party?"
"Why has Betty been arrested?"

"Who was that movie made by?

"It was made by DeMille, I think."

RELATIVE CLAUSES: OBJECT RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
When the subject of the verb in the relative clause is not the same as the noun we
are talking about.

FORM:
These relative clauses begin with relative pronouns:
WHO (for people)
WHOM (in very formal English)
WHICH (for animals or things),
THAT (for people, animals, or things and for the words EVERYTHING, NOTHING,
SOMETHING, or ANYTHING)

We can choose to leave out the relative pronoun if it is not the subject of the verb
in the relative clause, except when the relative clause begins with a preposition (in
formal English), or if it follows a comma.

[...NOUN + (RELATIVE PRONOUN) + SENTENCE...]

EXAMPLES:
"Frederick is the man (who/that/whom) I work with."
"Here's the book (which/that) you lent me."
"Tell me everything (that) you remember."

If there is a preposition at the beginning of the relative clause we must use the
relative pronouns WHOM or WHICH unless we move the prepositionto the end of
the clause.

EXAMPLES:
"The lady with whom you were dancing is my wife."
OR
"The lady (that) you were dancing with is my wife."

"The company for which you work is responsible for your pension."
OR
"The company (that) you work for is responsible for your pension."
We can also replace IN WHICH,AT WHICH, and ON WHICH by WHERE or WHEN.

EXAMPLES:
"That's the house where Shakespeare lived."
"1492 was the year when Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic."

RELATIVE CLAUSES: SUBJECT RELATIVE CLAUSES

USE:
When the subject of the verb in the relative clause is the same as the noun we are
talking about.

FORM:
These Relative Clauses begin with relative pronouns:
WHO (for people),
WHICH (for animals or things),
THAT (for people, animals, or things; for the words EVERYTHING, NOTHING,
SOMETHING, or ANYTHING).

[...NOUN + RELATIVE PRONOUN + VERB...]

EXAMPLES:
"He's the man who/that wrote this book."
"Let's see the movie which/that won the prize."
"I've forgotten everything that happened."
"Bill's the man who called me last night."
"Where is the factory that makes those chairs?"

Remember that the relative clause always contains a verb.

RELATIVE CLAUSES:
WITH OR WITHOUT RELATIVE PRONOUNS

We can choose to leave out the relative pronoun if it is not the subject of the verb
in the relative clause, except when the relative clause begins with a preposition (in
formal English), or if it follows a comma.

EXAMPLES:
That's the man I spoke to.
BUT
That's the man to whom I spoke.