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(Ê
 



)



Grammatical tense is a way languages express the time at which an event described by a
sentence occurs. In English, this is a property of a verb form, and expresses only time-related
information. Grammatical tenses show when an event happens ± in the present, in the past, or
in the future. They also indicate the duration of an action, its relation to a certain moment and
so on.
In English, the grammatical tenses are divided into four big groups:
1.Y Êimple or Indefinite;
2.Y Progressive or Continuous;
3.Y Perfect Tenses;
4.Y Perfect Progressive or Continuous.
cc
1. General information
The Present Perfect Tense is really a very interesting tense, and a very useful one. We
should not try to translate it into our own native language, but just try to accept the concepts
of that tense and learn to ³think´ present perfect.
The Present Perfect Tense is a rather important tense in English, although it gives speakers
of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist
in those languages. In fact, the structure of the Present Perfect Tense is very simple. The
problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage
between British and American English.
2. Form
The Present Perfect Êimple is a compound tense. It is formed with the auxiliary verb (also
called ³

 ´; it is a verb functioning to give further semantic or syntactic information
about the 
or  , following it. In English, the main auxiliary verbs are
,  and
)
 in the corresponding form for the subject of the sentence, followed by the past
participle (a non-finite verb form that can be used in compound tenses or voices, or as a
modifier. Participles often share properties with other parts of speech, in particular   
and

) of the main verb.
Example sentences:
Affirmative: I

 my homework.
Negative: I




 my homework.
Question:  you 
 your homework?
The short answers to a question in the Present Perfect are:
-Y Îes, I
, you
, she/he/it
 , etc.
-Y No, I

 (

), you

 (

), he/she/it

 (

), etc.
MY Contractions with the Present Perfect Tense
When we use the Present Perfect in speaking, we usually contract the subject and the auxiliary
verb. We also sometimes do this when we write.

He¶s or he¶s??? Be careful! The A contraction is used for the auxiliary verbs
 and . For
example, ³It¶s eaten´ can mean:
MY It
 eaten. [present perfect tense, active voice]
 MY It eaten. [present tense, passive voice]
It is usually clear from the context.

I have I¶ve
Îou have Îou¶ve
He has He¶s
Êhe has Êhe¶s
It has It¶s
Nick has Nick¶s
The dog has The dog¶s
We have We¶ve
Îou have Îou¶ve
They have They¶ve

The structure of the Present Perfect Êimple is:

Ê BJECT + A
ILIARÎ VERB + MAIN VERB

have past participle

 !
 "
 #
 


$ I have visited Greece twice.

$ Îou have taken her place.

- He has not arrived yet.

- Êhe has not been to Miami.

? Have we met before?

? Have they found the way?

3. se
The most important thing to remember about the Present Perfect is that it can never be used
with adverbs which describe finished time periods, such as  ,   
  and 
   . If a time adverb is used with the Present Perfect, it should describe a time period
which is unfinished. Examples include  and 
. Êo we say:

 

 
 


  

This provides a good   
 if you¶re not sure which tense to use.
* ‘
  ± an informal rule that enables you to choose a correct answer in most
situations. However, a rule of thumb is a simplification and cannot be relied on to provide the
correct solutions in all situations. It¶s a general guideline, rather than a strict rule; an
approximate measure or means of reckoning based on experience or common knowledge.
 |
 6
    

  
 
 


  

The table below is for more examples of adverbs of finished and unfinished time. In it only
adverbs which describe     have been included, and adverbs that describe  
(
etc) have also been omitted.



† 


 



today yesterday
this week last week
this year last year
this morning* this morning*
this afternoon* this afternoon*
this evening --
during the last during the
two years summer
since I left
before I saw you
school
-- at six o¶clock
-- when I met him
-- five minutes ago
ever** --
just*** --

* Can be finished or unfinished, depending on the time of the day.

** % is only used in questions.
*** &' is used to describe a very recently completed action.

The sentence ³I have finished´ where µhave¶ (or µhas¶ for 3rd person) is an auxiliary verb in
Present Êimple and µfinished¶ is the past participle of the main verb µfinish¶, both used for
forming the grammatical tense that we are discussing now, is in the Present Perfect Êimple
Tense. This construction is one of the hardest point of grammar for people to understand. It is
used to refer to a subject¶s past actions or states while keeping the subject in a present state of
reference or in a present state of mind. Think of the words in the construction separately:
µhave¶ (or µhas¶) is in the present, and the past participle is in the past. For example, ³I have
gone to the cinema´ implies that the subject has completed a certain action (this is what
µgone¶ relates to), but that the subject is, in a sense, ³holding´ or ³possessing´ that completed
action in the present time (this is what µhave¶ relates to). In other words, the subject is in a
current state (now), and a past action that the subject has done or a past state that the subject
has been in, is being referred to 
 
 
   

 
 
 .
This differs from the Êimple Past Tense, i.e., ³I went to the cinema´, which implies only that
an action happened, with the subject having no relationship at all with the present.

Other examples:

|

 
  (Emphasis is on the fact that the woman saw the cat.)
|


  

 (Emphasis is on the present state of the woman, resulting from
the fact that she saw the cat.)


!

" 



 !




In summary, both the Present Perfect Tense and the Êimple Past Tense are used for past
actions or states, but the Present Perfect describes the present state of the subject as a result of
a past action or state (i.e., the subject is being talked about in the present), whereas the Êimple
Past describes solely a past action or state of the subject (i.e., the subject is being talked about
in the past).
In other words, the Present Perfect places the subject in the result phase of the event.

As we¶ve said until now, we use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an
unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important, because we¶re not interested in


an event happened, but in its result in the present. The tense is called µPresent Perfect¶,
because there is always a 

  
with 
   and with 
  
. Îou CANNOT use
the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week,
when I was a child, when I lived in Greece, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN
use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times,
several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

We can distinguish four situations where the Present Perfect is used, although there is a lot
of overlap (ɩɪɢɩɨɤɪɢɜɚɧɟ) between these situations.

They can be described as:

MY To describe µexperiences¶;
MY To describe the duration of continuing states and actions;
MY To describe a past action with a result in the present;
MY To describe recently completed actions.

1. We often use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about ( from the past. It is
important  we have done it in our lives or not. It is not important 

we did it. We only
want to know  we did it. We can use this tense to describe our # 
. It is like saying, ³I
have the experience of«´ We can also use it to say that we have never had a certain
experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event with an adverb of
finished time (such as µyesterday¶). We often use  6 and  6 with the Present Perfect
when we are talking about # 
.

Examples:

* I %) abroad.
|
 






# 

$




    
 MY I %) to abroad three times.
% 


  


 



MY I % never ) abroad.

|
 







# 



MY I %  that movie before.
MY He  % traveled by ship.
MY Êean  %* in Bangkok.
MY ‰% you ) there?
MY We % never  caviar (ɯɚɣɜɟɪ).

c c

 


+++++++++++++++++++++


The action or state was in
In my head, I have a memory now.
the past.

,,-. the event was in the past.

,,-. in my head ,-, I have a memory of the event; I /,- something
about the event; I have ( of it.

2. We often use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about a ,' ',. This is a state
that started in the  and continues up in the  (and will probably continue into the
future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use  or
 with this structure.

Before we go on this verb tense lesson, it is extremely important to understand that NOT all
English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups: Normal Verbs, Non-
Continuous Verbs, and Mixed Verbs.

 c0 



Most verbs are ³Normal Verbs´. These verbs are usually physical actions which you can see
somebody doing. These verbs can be used in all tenses. Examples for Normal Verbs: to run, to
walk, to eat, to drink, to fly, to go, to say, to touch, etc.

MY 6


MY 6





 c0 +  

 The second group, called ³Non-Continuous Verbs´, is smaller. These verbs are usually
things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses.
They include:

)).to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist...
c,,).to possess, to own, to belong«

,,).to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind«

Examples:

MY He * help now. (not


)
MY He - a drink now. (not 

)

 c "



The third group, called ³Mixed Verbs´, is the smallest group. These verbs have more than
one meaning. In a way, each meaning is a unique verb. Êome meanings behave like ³Non-
Continuous Verbs´, while other meanings behave like ³Normal Verbs´. Examples for Mixed
Verbs: to appear, to hear, to see, to taste, to smell, etc.

MY I % a dollar now. 

&'

 (
  
MY I  % fun now. (
# 





MY He / the test is easy. 

&'

 (
 
 
  
MY Êhe  / about the question. (
Ê
 


)  

 




But some verbs can be very confusing:

MY The message  great. 

&'

 (
|
 
 


MY I *,1  well today. Ê    
&'

 (
MY I  ,  well today. Ê    (
  

 
.The second meaning of ³´ is very flexible and there is no real difference in
meaning between ³I don¶t feel well today.´ and ³I am not feeling well today.´

With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the
Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now.
We also use this tense to describe the duration of a state (=> %) ± a verb that refers
to something which is either true or false, and which is , something the subject does.)
which is true now. We can find these sentences with the question ³How long«´
 I have worked in this factory since July.
He has been out of school for 2 months.
How long have you had a computer at home?

c c

 


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The situation started in the (It will probably continue into

It continues up to now.
past. the future.)
,,-. the situation started in the past.
,,-. the situation continues in the present.


AND  

We often use  and
 with the Present Perfect Tense.
MY Ê

 is used to mark the beginning of the moment when an action is started to be doing. It is
a certain point in the past ± five o¶clock, 5th July, Wednesday. It can stand for:
1.Y c,, (l )
I have been here
 eight o¶clock.
2.Y ,&', (l , l

l)
I have not met him
 he went to the seaside.
3.Y *%) (l l)
I saw him in Êofia on Monday. I haven¶t seen him
.
MY 6
, is a preposition and it is used to talk about a period of time, or to show the duration of
doing an action. ± 5 minutes, 3 weeks, 6 years.

I have been up in the mountains  2 weeks.

  

,*, ,
+++++++++++++++++++++++ "+++++++++++++++++++++++
10 minutes 4.20 pm
five days Monday
6 months July
7 years 2000
2 centuries 1800
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of time
, can be used with all tenses.  is usually used with Present Perfect only.

Compare:

MY I have been here , 20 minutes.

MY I have been here  6 o¶clock.
MY I haven¶t heard from John , 2 months.
MY I haven¶t heard from John  August.
MY Mary has worked in Florida , a long time.
MY Mary has worked in Florida  she left high school.

3. We also use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about ,-'

. With this usage we emphasize on the result of that action, not on the time when it
was done in the past. sually it can be some change that has happened over a period of time
in your life or new information that you¶re presenting in the moment of speaking.
I have bought a car.
The police have arrested the killer.

c c

 


+ $
Last week I didn¶t have a car. Now I have a car.
Îesterday the killer was free. Now he is in prison.

John has broken his leg.

The price has gone up.
 
c c

 

$ + 
Îesterday John had a good
leg. Now he has a bad leg.

The price was 1.50$ The price is 1.70$ today.
yesterday.
,,-.the past is the opposite of the present.
,,-.the present is the opposite of the past.

! 

 
* 
* |
 
 + 
  ! 


 
* |

!
! 
 
 ,- 


./

+ 
 
 ,


./

This usage of the Present Perfect Tense resembles the usage of the Present Progressive Tense.
But when we use the Present Perfect we always mark the moment when an action has started
to be doing, while using the Present Progressive we do not mark this moment. Compare:

We   
 in Thessaloniki. (We¶re telling that we¶re only living here.)
 We
   in Thessaloniki since we moved out of the old house that we had Plovdiv.
(We mark the moment when the action has started.)

We usually use  ,  and  with the Present Perfect for an action in the past with a
result in the present.
We often use the Present Perfect Tense to list the accomplishments (ɩɨɫɬɢɠɟɧɢɟ) of
individuals and humanity. We cannot say a specific time.

Man  -/* on the Moon.

Our son  * how to read.
Doctors % ,'* a cure for cancer.
Êcientists %  the atom.
Isaac Newton  ) the first to know that the Earth goes around the sun.

4. We also use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about recently completed actions. This usage
is very often accompanied by the adverb µ , which implies that the action has just been
done and its end has come shortly before the moment of speaking.

Êhe    *, the dishes. (That¶s why the dishes are still wet.)
He    2* football. (That¶s why he is sweaty and tired now.)
Mary    -* a movie of horror. (That¶s why she is scared and trembling now.)

|
   
  

 
  


 


  


 
+
 
 
 

  

  


  
 
 

 


5. ',*

We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred
in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more
actions are possible.

I % * four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
The Army  /* that city five times.
We % * many major problems while working on this project.
Êhe  /* to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.

We use the Present Perfect for an uncompleted action that we are expecting, too. An action
that we expected has not happened. sing the Present Perfect suggests that we are still
waiting for the action to happen.

We are ready for the party but the rain 1 ,* yet.
James  , %* from London yet.
Betty 1 * (ɭɫɜɨɹɜɚɦ) Greek, but she can communicate.

MY Ê
 
6 by which we can recognize the * 
* |
 -
 
       
  
 
 
MY *%) ± the examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs
such as: always, just, still, only, etc.

è 



 We put them between the auxiliary verb µhave¶ and the past participle of the main verb in
affirmative sentences.

è 


.
We put them between the pronoun and the past participle of the main verb in interrogative
sentences.



è 




We put them between the negative form of the contracted auxiliary verb and the past
participle of the main verb in negative sentences.

 è 





We put them between the auxiliary verb and the negative particle µnot¶ if we don¶t use the
contracted form of the auxiliary verb - µhasn¶t¶.

MY %3c%,cc
Many tourists % %* the Acropolis in the city of Athens. !  
The Acropolis in the city of Athens  ) %* by many tourists. * 

ccc,%

1. General Information
As we know, in English there are ) according to the time when an action is
done ± in the past, in the present and in the future. And respectively, these tenses are: ,
 and '' tenses. Each has    , indicating a completed action; each has 
  , indicating an ongoing action; and each has      ,
indicating an ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.
The Present Perfect Progressive Tense indicates a continuous action that has been finished
at some point in the past or that was initiated in the past and continues to happen. The action
is usually of limited duration and has some current relevance (ɜɪɴɡɤɚ, ɩɪɢɥɨɠɢɦɨɫɬ). The
Present Perfect Progressive is frequently used to describe an event of the recent past; it is
often accompanied by µ ¶ in this usage.
2. Form
The Present Perfect Progressive Tense is formed with the auxiliary verb µbe¶ in Present
Perfect and the Present Participle of the main verb.

The structure of a sentence in Present Perfect Progressive is:

 !
$"
 #


c

$ 

have
has been base + ing

"
 # "
 #
 !


  




$ I have been waiting for an hour.

+ We have not been playing football.

4 Has it been raining all day long?

 The common answers to a question in the Present Perfect Progressive are:
- Îes, I
, you
, he/she/it
 , etc.
- No, I

 (

), you

 (

), he/she/it

 (

), etc.

3. se
The most important thing to remember here is that the Present Perfect Progressive Tense is
used when we want to emphasize on the duration of doing of an action or when it has been
done in the recent past. As well, it CANNOT be used with stative verbs. Generally,
progressive forms occur only with dynamic verbs.

c,%,

The ,% , of a verb indicate that something


 or 


 or
  


. When used with the past, the progressive form shows the limited duration
of an event: ³While I was doing my homework, my brother came into the room.´ The past
progressive also suggests that an action in the past was not entirely finished. (Compare ³I did
my homework.´ to ³I was doing my homework.´) This is even more evident in the passive
progressive construction: ³He was being strangled in the alley.´ suggests an action that was
not finished, perhaps because the act was interrupted by a good citizen, whereas the simple
past ³He was strangled in the alley.´ suggests an action that was finished, unfortunately.
The ,% , occur only with 
  , that is, with verbs that show
qualities capable of change as opposed to    , which show qualities, not capable of
change. For instance, we do not say, ³He is being tall´ or ³He is resembling his mother´ or ³I
am wanting spaghetti for dinner´ or ³It is belonging to me.´ (We would say, instead: ³He is
tall´, ³He resembles his mother´, ³I want spaghetti´, and ³It belongs to me.´)

Let¶s go back to the use of this grammatical tense. We use the Present Perfect Progressive
for an action over a period of time leading up to the present. We are interested in the , 
-', and this process may still be going on, or may have just finished. The tense
is called that way, because there is a connection with the present or now. We use it to express
actions that started in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used to talk about
actions which began in the past and have recently stopped. There are basically three uses for
this tense:

1.Y Actions with duration from the past until now.

We Present Perfect Progressive to express that something started in the past and is
continuing now. It is usually used with
 and . ³For five minutes´, ³for three weeks´,
and ³since Monday´ are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Progressive.

The % ) / for two hours.

Êhe  ) -,/ at the company for two years.
What % you ) *, for the last 30 minutes?

2.Y Actions that have just stopped or recently finished.

We can use the Present Perfect Progressive without any duration such as ³for two weeks´.
In this case the action started in the past and stopped just before the moment of speaking.
With this usage we are more interested in the results.

It  ) ,- all week. (but it¶s not snowing now)
I % ) -,/ all day and now I am tired. (I¶ve already finished my work)
 They % just )  about their trip to Paris. (they have already come back home)

3.Y Actions that have recently, lately been happening

We can also use the Present Perfect Progressive without any duration to express actions that
have recently been happening. Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of
³lately´. We often use the words ³recently´ and ³lately´ to emphasize this meaning.

Recently, I % )  really exhausted.

Êhe  ) - too much television lately.
I % ) / about you lately.
Lisa  not )  her Greek.

 c 555
Remember that the Present Perfect Progressive has the meaning of ³lately´ or ³recently´. If
you use it in a question such as ³Have you been feeling alright?´, it can suggest that the
person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as ³Have you been smoking?´ can suggest
that you smell the smoke on the person. sing this tense in a question suggests you can see,
smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to insult somebody by using this
tense incorrectly.
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs CANNOT be used in any
continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs CANNOT be
used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Progressive with these verbs, you
must use Present Perfect Êimple.

Êam  * his car for ten years. (not has been having)

MY %3c%,ccc,%
Recently, John  ) doing all the stuff. !  
Recently, all the stuff  ) ) done by John. * 

 
. Present Perfect Progressive is less commonly used in its passive forms.

 c

 c 

4

With some verbs it is possible to use both the simple and progressive forms of the Present
Perfect.

I % -,/* here for five years.

I % ) -,/ here for five years.

The first form here can be considered µneutral¶ or normal form. In this sentence the verb -,/
has the meaning µhave a job¶, and as such refers to a state and not the activity you actually 
when you are working. The sentence simply says how long this (your having the job) has been
the case.
The second sentence, in the progressive form, would be used in slightly different situations.
For example:

Jane: ³Îou put those papers in the green filing cabinet.´

Alan: ³Îou don¶t have to tell me that ± I have been working here for five years, you know!´
Here the progressive form is used to give not just the duration of the state, but also imply a
result of the fact that Alan has worked there for five years ± he knows where to put the papers.

A common situation where the progressive form is used is to imply that the situation is about
to change:

I % ) % in that cottage for ten years. I think it¶s time I moved on.

But note that the normal restrictions apply to verbs that don¶t take progressive forms:

I % * this car since 1987. It¶s time I changed it. (not have been having)

  #

As a whole, we¶ve already seen that both grammatical tenses ± the Present Perfect Êimple
and Progressive, are closely related, because they have connection with the past as well as
with the present. In both tenses, there is a result due to your life experience, or something that
you have done in the past (may be some change in your life) no matter when you did it, and
now you¶re talking about it. Do remember that we¶re interested in the result of an action, not
in when it was done. With both tenses, there can be duration of the action. This duration can
be expressed by using the Present Perfect Progressive, but there are some verbs that cannot be
used in this tense for expressing duration. And these are the stative verbs that belong to
normal restrictions for their usage and ought to be used with the Present Perfect Êimple. With
the progressive forms we emphasize on the duration of doing of an action. sually this kind
of actions is expressed with the Present Perfect Progressive.

"



I. ‘ OR Ê



+ 

 
 +   

1.Y I have lived in the nited Êtates _____ one year. (for)
2.Y Karen has known Tom _____ ten months. (for)
3.Y Mary has been a nurse _____ she finished the Medicine Êchool. (since)
4.Y The elementary course¶s students have studied Êpanish _____ a few months. (for)
5.Y Maggie has played tennis _____ a long time. (for)
6.Y Bettie¶s child has worn glasses _____ he entered high school. (since)
7.Y Emily has played the piano _____ kindergarten. (since)
8.Y I have driven a car _____ my fifteenth birthday. (since)
9.Y Mike has had his new computer _____ last month. (since)
10.YRon Moss has been a great superstar _____ he performed his role in the series of The
Bold and The Beautiful. (since)
11.YÊhe has managed the company _____ her husband died. (since)
12.YJessica has owned the jewelry shop _____ several years. (for)
13.YMy friends have been in town _____ last Monday. (since)
14.YMrs. Hughes has lived on Clark Êtreet _____ many years. (for)
15.YThe post office has been closed _____ five o¶clock. (since)
 II.Y c‘Ê
c‘Ê c  OR c‘Ê
c‘c‘‘ÊÊ 

sing the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses:
,): I think the waiter (forget) ,, us. We (wait) %)- here for
over half an hour and nobody (take) / our order yet.

: I think you're right. He (walk) -/* by us at least twenty times. He probably
thinks we (order, already) %*2,**.

,): Look at that couple over there, they (be, only) %,2) here for five or ten
minutes and they already have their food.

: He must realize we (order, not) %6,** yet! We (sit) %)

here for over half an hour staring at him.

,): I don't know if he (notice, even) %,* us. He (run) )'

from table to table taking orders and serving food.

: That's true, and he (look, not) 6,,/* in our direction once.

1.Y I'm very hungry. I %1 .

2.Y Their new kitchen looks fantastic. They %,2*,* it.
3.Y Our kitchen¶s a mess. We %6*, any cleaning  .
4.Y I think they are dating. They %) a lot of each other  
.
5.Y We've discovered this great café and we %), there a lot.
6.Y How's your Mum? I %6 her  .
7.Y Îou're covered in paint! What %2,') doing?
8.Y Êhe¶s gone to the doctor's. Êhe 6) too well .
9.Y Where have you been? I %)- 
 .
10.YI have to write an essay. I %- about half of it .