Pluperfect Progressive - Uses of Verb Combination Types - Present Perfect

The present perfect (traditionally called simply the perfect) combines present tense with perfect aspect, denoting the present state of an action's being completed, that is, that the action took place before the present time. (It is thus often close in meaning to the simple past tense, although the two are not usually interchangeable.) It is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary have (namely have or has) and the past participle of the main verb.

The choice of present perfect or past tense depends on the frame of reference (period or point in time) in which the event is conceived as occurring. If the frame of reference extends to the present time, the present perfect is used. For example:

I have written a letter this morning. (if it is still the morning)

He has produced ten plays. (if he is still alive and professionally active)

They have never traveled abroad. (if they are still alive and considered capable of traveling)

If the frame of reference is a time in the past, or a period which ended in the past, the past tense is used instead. For example: I wrote a letter this morning (it is now afternoon); He produced ten plays (he is now dead or his career is considered to be over, or a particular past time period is being referred to); They never traveled abroad (similarly). See under Simple past for more examples. The simple past is generally used when the occurrence has a specific past time frame – either explicitly stated (I wrote a book in 1995; the water boiled a minute ago), or implied by the context (for example, in the narration of a sequence of events). It is therefore normally incorrect to write a sentence like *I have written a novel yesterday; the present perfect cannot be used with an expression of past time such as yesterday.

With already or yet, traditional usage calls for the present perfect: Have you eaten yet? Yes, I've already eaten. However, current informal American speech tends to use the simple past: Did you eat yet? Yes, I ate already.

Use of the present perfect often draws attention to the present consequences of the past action or event, as opposed to its actual occurrence. The sentence she has come probably means she is here now, while the simple past she came does not. The sentence, “Have you been to the fair?” suggests that the fair is still going on, while the sentence, “Did you go to the fair?” could mean that the fair is over. (See also been and gone below.) Some more examples:

I have eaten. (implies that I'm no longer hungry)

We have made the dinner. (implies that the dinner is now ready to eat)

The weather has got cloudier. (implies that it is now more cloudy than previously)

It may also refer to an ongoing state or habitual action, particularly in saying for how long, or since when, something is the case. For example

I have lived in Paris for five years.

He has held the record since he won his Olympic gold.

We have eaten breakfast together every morning since our honeymoon.

This implies that I still live in Paris, that he still holds the record and that we still eat together every morning (although the first sentence may also refer to some unspecified past period of five years). When the circumstance is temporary, the present perfect progressive is often appropriate in such sentences (see below); however, if the verb is one of those which does not use the progressive aspect, the basic present perfect is used in that case too:

Amy has been on the swing for ten minutes.

The present perfect may refer to a habitual circumstance, or a circumstance being part of a theoretical or story narrative being given in the present tense (provided the circumstance is of an event's having taken place previously):

Whenever I get home, John has usually already arrived.

According to the plan, the speeches have already been given when the cake is brought out.

The present perfect may also be used with future reference, instead of the future perfect, in those dependent clauses where future occurrence is denoted by present tense (see Dependent clauses below). For example:

When you have written it, show it to me.

For the possibility of a present perfect subjunctive, see English subjunctive. For special use of the present perfect of get to express possession or obligation, see have got below. For the use of have been in place of have gone, see been and gone below.