Grammar reference and practice 5.1

5.1 ■ Present perfect

We form the present perfect with the auxiliary verb have and the past participle of the main verb.

Affirmative and negative
I We You They	have haven't (= have not)		seen this film.
He She It	has hasn't (= has not)
Questions and short answers
Have	I we you they	seen this film?	Yes, I have. No, I haven't.
Has	he she it		Yes, he has. No, he hasn't.

Use

We use the present perfect:

• ■to talk about something that happened before now, at an indefinite time in the past.

  I’ve met a lot of famous people in my life.

  He’s written six books.

  They’ve travelled a lot in Africa and Asia.

  ■to talk about an action or event that started or happened in the past, but has got a connection with the present. The action or event might be finished or unfinished.

  The rain has stopped. We can go out now.

  I’ve made a cake. Would you like some?

  She’s lost her keys and can’t open the door now.

  He’s lived in this town all his life. (He was born here and he still lives here now.)

  ■to talk about experiences, especially with ever and never.

  ■to talk about recent events.

been and gone

The verb go has two past participle forms: been and gone.

• ■We use been when we know that someone has returned from a journey.

  Josh has been to India. (He is back now.)

  ■We use gone when the person has not returned.

  Josh has gone to India. (He is still in India.)

ever and never

In present perfect questions, we often use ever (= at any time in the past).

Have you ever tried a risky sport?

To express a negative, we can use never (= at no time in the past) + affirmative verb.

I’ve never tried a risky sport.

1Study the table and complete the sentences using the present perfect. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

	take a lot of risks	travel to different countries	have a number of exciting experiences
Lydia	✔	✘	✔
Ryan	✘	✔	✔
Scott	✔	✘	✘

• During the past year …

   

  1Lydia  a lot of risks.

• 2Ryan  a lot of risks.

• 3Lydia and Scott  to different countries.

• 4Ryan  to different countries.

• 5Lydia and Ryan  a number of exciting experiences.

• 6Scott  many exciting experiences.

 

5.1 ■ Present perfect

Present perfect and past simple

Present perfect	Past simple
For experiences and actions that happened at an indefinite time in the past, often with ever and never. Have you ever been to Spain? I’ve never been to Spain. Carrie has stayed at that hotel twice.	For actions that happened at a specific point in the past, usually with time expressions such as ago, yesterday, last week / year, in 2009, etc. and in questions with when. When did Lee go to Spain? Lee went to Spain last year.
For finished or unfinished actions and situations that have a connection with the present. I’ve lived in Germany all my life.	For finished actions and situations that happened in a period of time that has ended. I lived in Germany from 2002 to 2006.

2Write the correct past simple or present perfect form of the verbs in brackets. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

• 1Mr Franks was well known in this town. He  (play) football for the local team until 2012.

• 2My grandma  (be) very happy when we visited her in her new home.

• 3We  (meet) Tim and Helen in the park last week.

• 4I  (not see) a film at the cinema for a few months.

• 5 you ever  (wear) fancy dress?

• 6He didn't pass the exam because he only  (write) his name on the paper.

• 7We  (have) a terrible day. I hope tomorrow will be better.

• 8Mum  (not go) to the shops. She’s still writing the shopping list.