Uses Of The Present Perfect Sheet 2009 (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

Uses Of The Present Perfect Sheet 2009 Page 2

Uses of the Present Perfect

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Some Reasons Why These Rules Can Be Confusing:

The uses of the present perfect can sometimes be confused with the uses of the simple past.

The present perfect is often used without an indication of time, whereas the simple past is

often used with a word or phrase describing specifically when an action took place.

Examples:

1. I watered my garden yesterday. (the simple past watered is used with the word yesterday to

indicate when the action occurred.)

2. I have eaten twelve cupcakes, and now I have a stomach ache. (here, the past perfect have

eaten indicates that the cupcakes were recently eaten, and that they were the cause of the

stomach ache.)

II. Has and is are both contracted with an ’s when used with personal pronouns.

Examples:

1. She’s eaten pizza at her best friend’s birthday party. (She’s is a contracted form of she has

eaten, not she is; here, has eaten is the present perfect form of to eat.)

2. She’s eating pizza at her best friend’s birthday party. (here, she’s is the contracted form of she

is, and the action is in the present rather than the recent past.)

3. It’s been an interesting class today. (It’s is a contraction of it has been, not it is.)

4. It’s interesting being in class today. (It’s is a contraction of it is, not it has.)

Let’s Practice:

Complete the following sentences with a correct form of the verb in parentheses.

1. I ______ (to hope) this day would finally come.

2. My granddaughter ______ (to grow) three inches since last summer.

3. James ______ (to ride) his bike every day for a week.

4. After hiking along the creek, she ______ (to find) an abandoned treehouse.

5. He ______ (to find) the error in his experimental method.

Further Resources:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/03/

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/601/04/

These materials were partially adapted from Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed.

Ed. Betty S. Azar and Stacy A. Hagen. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print.

Uses Of The Present Perfect Sheet 2009 Page 2