Present Perfect: have / has + past participle
The present perfect connects the past to right now. You form it with have or has plus the past participle, and you use it for a past action with a present result ("I have lost my keys" — they're still missing now), for life experiences with no specific time ("She has been to Japan"), and to ask whether something is finished ("Have you finished?"). The biggest trap is adding a finished-time phrase: you can't say "I have seen him yesterday" — a specific past time forces the past simple ("I saw him yesterday"). Watch your participles too: it's "I have gone," never "I have went."
Examples
- I have lost my keys. the keys are lost and still missing now
- She has been to Japan. she has the experience of visiting Japan
- Have you finished? asking if the task is now complete
The full lesson
Everything in the video, in text.
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Say I have seen him yesterday and a native speaker will wince. The grammar is almost right — but one rule trips up nearly every learner.
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The present perfect connects the past to right now. It's the tense for a past action that still matters in the present. Here's how to build it.
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Take have or has, then add the past participle of the verb. I have, she has, they have — then the third form: lost, seen, finished, done.
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It does two main jobs. One: a past action with a result you can still feel now. Two: an experience at some point in your life, with no specific time.
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Start with a present result. I have lost my keys. The losing is past — but the keys are still missing right now. That's why it's perfect, not past simple.
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Same idea here. She has broken her arm. It happened in the past, but the cast is on now. The present result is what matters.
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Now experience. No specific time, just sometime in a life. She has been to Japan. We don't say when — the point is that she has the experience.
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Use ever and never to ask and answer about experience. Have you ever eaten sushi? It asks about your whole life up to now — not one particular day.
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And to ask if something is now complete: Have you finished? You're asking about the result this moment — is it done?
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Here's the big trap. The present perfect can't take a finished-time phrase like yesterday or last week. If you name a finished past time, you must switch to the past simple.
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The other trap is the participle itself. It is not the past simple. The third form of go is gone, not went. Learn those irregular participles.
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Compare the two tenses directly. I have finished my homework. Perfect: it's done and that matters now. Past simple would just place it in finished time.
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So remember: have or has plus the past participle, for a past that still touches the present — and drop the finished-time words.