Form
| Type | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | have / has + past participle | I have visited Paris. · She has eaten sushi. |
| Negative | haven't / hasn't + past participle | I haven't seen this film. · He hasn't called. |
| Yes/No question | Have / Has + subject + past participle? | Have you ever tried sushi? · Has she left? |
| Wh- question | Wh- + have / has + subject + past participle? | How long have you lived here? |
Uses
| Use | When… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Completed actions within a still-open time period | The actions themselves are finished, but the time period that contains them (today, this week, this year…) hasn't ended yet. | I have already had three coffees today. She has called me twice this week. |
| 2. Finished action with a present result | The action itself is over, but its effect is felt right now. | My stomach hurts because I have eaten something in bad state. |
| 3. Talking about experiences | Something that happened at some point in life. The specific time doesn't matter. | I've been there, done that. Have you ever climbed a mountain? |
| 4. Repeated actions in the past | Something happened more than once in the past, and the number of times is stated (twice, several times, tenfold…). Not a habit — just something that happened to occur repeatedly, on purpose or not. | I have fallen in love many times in my life. He has crashed his car twice this year. |
| 5. Recently completed actions | An event or action that was finished moments ago, using "just" after have/has. (Which translates as "acabar de" in Spanish.) | "Wanna go to the swimming pool?" "Oh, sorry, I have just had lunch. Maybe later." |
| 6. Recent news or seeking attention | Something is announced for the first time — official news, or personal news shared to get a reaction. The specific details come later, in Past Simple. | The Olympic Games have started. I've passed my driving test! |
| 7. Actions/states continuing into the present | Started in the past and is still true or still happening now (for/since). | I have lived in Ontario all my life. She has worked here since 2021. |
| 8. "This is the Xth time…" | After "the first/second/third time (that)…", to connect a past action to a present reaction. | It's the first time this has happened to me. This is the third time she's asked me the same question. |
Talking about experiences: it's about WHAT happened, not WHEN
When you talk about a life experience, the important information is the event itself — not the exact moment it happened. That's why the time doesn't matter and doesn't need to be mentioned:
It doesn't matter if it was last month, last year, or two days ago — the point is the experience itself, not when it happened.
Important: This doesn't mean Present Perfect is the only tense allowed whenever you mention a life experience. It means you choose Present Perfect specifically when the point of your message is the action itself, not when it happened. As soon as you start telling the story with specific details (what happened first, what happened next, where, with whom), you switch to Past Simple.
Recent news: announce first, then give the details
A common pattern: use Present Perfect to introduce something, then switch to Past Simple to give the specific details.
Present Perfect shares the news — something recent, exciting, and relevant right now.
Use 1 vs. Use 7 — don't mix them up
In Use 1, each individual action is already finished/completed — it's the time period around them that's still open: "I've had three coffees today" — each coffee is done, but the day isn't over, so there could be a fourth. In Use 7, the action/state itself is still going on: "I've lived here since 2020" — the living hasn't stopped.
Overlap with Present Perfect Continuous
For Use 7 (an activity that started in the past and continues now), Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous can say the same thing: "I've worked here since 2018" = "I've been working here since 2018." But with state verbs (know, need, want, believe…), only the Simple form is possible, even when the meaning is about duration: "I've known her for ten years" — never "I've been knowing her." See Present Perfect Continuous for the full picture.
Present Perfect or Past Simple?
This isn't a mechanical rule about time words — it depends on context, and on whether the speaker feels the past action or state is still important or connected to the present in some way. Whether the time period is finished or still open is one useful clue, but not the whole story. See our dedicated Present Perfect vs. Past Simple page for the full comparison and practice.
"Have been" vs. "have gone"
This isn't one of the uses above — it's a separate choice of verb, depending on whether the person has already returned from a place or is still there.
| have/has BEEN — already back | have/has GONE — still there |
|---|---|
| A: Where have you been? B: I've just been out to the supermarket. |
A: Where's Maria? I haven't seen her for weeks. B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She'll be back tomorrow. |
| Have you ever been to San Francisco? | He's not at his desk — he's gone to lunch. |
Signal words
Present Perfect for the future
We normally use the Present Simple to talk about the future in clauses with before, after, until, when, etc.:
We'll begin when everyone arrives.
But we can also use the Present Perfect:
We'll begin when everyone has arrived.
Exercises
Warm-up — Choose the correct Present Perfect form
Choose the correct Present Perfect form.
1. She ___ to New York three times.
2. Have you ___ this film?
3. I ___ here since 2018.
4. She ___ her homework yet.
5. ___ the report yet?
6. They ___ this restaurant many times.
7. I ___ my keys — I can't find them anywhere!
8. She ___ here since she was ten.
9. We ___ three pizzas already tonight.
10. This is the funniest video I ___ ever seen.
"Have been" vs. "have gone"
Choose the correct form depending on whether the person has already returned or is still there.
1. Your coworker disappeared 20 minutes ago and is now walking back to their desk with a coffee. "Where ___ you ___? I was looking for you."
2. "Where's your brother?" "He ___ to Canada — he moved there last month."
3. ___ you ever ___ to a live concert?
4. "Where's Sofia? I haven't seen her since Thursday." "She ___ to a wedding in Italy. She's back next Monday."
5. "I've never gone to Japan, but I'd love to visit someday." — Is this sentence correct?
6. "A: Is Tom around? B: No, he ___ to the gym — he'll be back at 6."
7. ___ you ever ___ to Australia?
8. I can't find Maria. Do you know where she ___?
9. "A: You look tanned! B: Yeah, I ___ to the beach this weekend."
10. "She's been to London five times." — Is this sentence correct?
Life experience: the abstract statement vs. telling the story
Complete each sentence with the correct form. Notice how the tense changes once specific details appear.
State verbs with "for" / "since"
These verbs describe a state, not an action — they never take the continuous form, even for duration.
1. I ___ this song for years — it's one of my favourites.
2. She ___ a new phone for months, but she hasn't bought one yet.
3. Which sentence means the same as "We have lived in this house since 2015"?
4. He ___ that this is the right decision for a long time.
5. I ___ chocolate since I was a kid.
6. This car ___ to my grandfather for thirty years.
7. We ___ a bigger house for a while now.
8. She ___ the answer the whole time — she just didn't say it.
9. He ___ that job for years, but he's never had enough savings to quit.
10. I ___ the instructions since day one.