Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Passive

Present Perfect
Present perfect tense is used to describe an event which starts in the past and continues until
the present.
Mastery of this pattern is an essential for writing successful referral letters. Three common
ways to form present perfect when writing referral letters are as follows:
Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Passive
Form: have/has+ past Form: Form: have/has +been+ past
participle have/has+been+____ing participle
(present participle)
 I have treated Mr.  Mr. Smith has been
Smith at this hospital  I have been treating treated at this hospital
for 3 years. Mr. Smith at this for 3 years(..by Dr X).
hospital for 3 years.  They have been treated
 Dr X has treated Mr.  Dr X has been treating at this hospital for 3
Smith at this hospital Mr. Smith at this years(..by Dr X).
for 3 years. hospital for 3 years.
Present perfect is often combined with for/since/over. Compare the usage below and note
time markers used.
For Since Over
For is used to describe a Since is used to refer to the Over uses similar time
period of time start of period of time markers to for but is used to
express a change in condition,
 I have been treating  I have been treating or to describe a repeated
the patient for 3 years. the patient since 2007. event.
 The patient has been  The patient has been
on this medication for on this medication  The patient's condition
6 months. since January. has deteriorated over
 I haven’t seen the  I haven’t seen this the past 3 months.
patient for 1 year. patient since (change in condition)
 The patient has been in December 2009.  The patient has
pain for 5 hours.  The patient has been in presented several times
 The patient has been pain since 10am. over the last year.
(repeated event)
waiting for 15 minutes.  The patient has been
 The patient's back pain
 He has been waiting since 11.45am.
has worsened over the
complaining of back  He has been
last week.(change in
pain for a week. complaining of back condition)
 He has not had bowel pain since last week.  He has tried to quit
motions for 3 days.  He has not had bowel smoking several times
 He has been a smoker motions since over the past 25 years.
for a period of 25 Saturday. (repeated event)
years.
 He has been a smoker  The patient has
since 1985. experienced seizures
on 3 occasions over
the past year.(repeated
event)
Handy Tip
When using time markers such as ...for the past 20 years, ...for the last 3months, ...for the
next 3 months or .... for the previous 3 months always use the definite article "the" as it its
function is to specify a particular period of time.
Common Errors
Incorrect Correct
 The patient was diagnosed  The patient has had hypothyroidism
hypothyroidism since 2007 since
2007. (present perfect)
Explanation: Past tense cannot be used with  The patient was diagnosed with
for or since hypothyroidism in 2007. (simple past)
 She has been problems with arthritis in  She has been having problems with
her hands. arthritis in her hands since 2007.
(present perfect progressive)
Explanation: Problems in this sentence is a  She has had problems with arthritis in
noun so you can not use “been” with a noun. her hands since 2007.(present perfect
You must use have or has + noun or been+ simple)
___ing verb. You can also use been +  She has been arthritic since 2007.
adjective (present perfect simple +adjective)
 She has had arthritis since 2007.
(present perfect simple +noun)
 He is smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a  He has been smoking two packs of

day for the past 25 – 30 years. cigarettes a day for the past 25-30
 Over the past week she remains free years. (present perfect progressive)
from severe pain and has been able to  Over the past week she has remained
tolerate a fluid diet. free from severe pain and has been
 Also, there is an ulcer on the right able to tolerate a fluid diet.(present
lower lateral border of the tongue perfect simple)
which is present for more than one  Also, there is an ulcer on the right
year. lower lateral border of the tongue,
 Mr. Diamond is a patient of mine which has been present for more than
since 2000 one year. (present perfect passive)
 Mr. Eddy is a known smoker for 25-30  Mr Diamond has been a patient of
years. mine since 2000.(present perfect
simple)
Explanation: The verbs in these sentences are  Mr. Eddy has been a smoker for 25
in simple present tense. Present perfect needs years. (present perfect simple)
to be used because you are referring to a time
period which started in the past and has
continued to the present.
 Mrs. Brown has been presenting to me  Mrs. Brown has presented to me on

on several occasions over the past few several occasions over the past few
months. months.
Explanation: Progressive form not required.
Last modified: Wednesday, 11 August 2010, 11:00 PM

Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Passive

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Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive Present Perfect Passive

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Present Perfect

 He is smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a  He has been smoking two packs of

 Mrs. Brown has been presenting to me  Mrs. Brown has presented to me on

Explanation: Progressive form not required.

Last modified: Wednesday, 11 August 2010, 11:00 PM

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