Present Perfect Simple

Form:It is formed with have / has + the past participle.


Affirmative:

He / she / it has walked in the park.
He / she / it has walked in the park.

Negative:

He / she / it hasn’t walked in the park.
I / you / we / they haven’t walked in the park.

Questions:

Has he / she / it walked in the park.
Have I / you / we / they walked in the park.

Short answers:

Yes, he / she / it has.
Yes, I / you / we / they have.
No, he / she / it hasn’t.
No, I / you / we / they haven’t.

When do we use the present perfect simple?

1) For an action which happened at an indefinite time in the past.

They have bought a new car.

2) For an action in the past with a result now.

He has cleaned his shoes. (= His shoes are clean now.)

3) For a period of time which continues from the past until now.
We use ever in questions and never in negative sentences.

Have you ever been to Italy?
Has she ever eaten caviar?
They have never ridden a horse.
She has never been to France.

4) With just. For an action that have recently finished and you can see the result in the present.
Note: we use just between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

She has just painted the door. (The paint on the door is still wet.)

5) With for and since.

Note:
For + a period of time
For two years
For ages
For ten minutes
For a long time

Since + a point of timeSince 9 o’clock
Since Easter
Since March
Since he left school
Since 1999

I have known them for 5 years.
She has been a teacher since 2004.

6) With already and yet
Already is used in affirmative sentences between the auxiliary and the main verb

I have already cleaned the house.

Yet is used in negative sentences and questions and it goes at the end of the sentence.

She hasn’t done the shopping yet.
Have you written the letters yet?