THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

 The PRESENT PERFECT TENSE (Present Perfect Simple Tense) refers to an action that has finished at a very recent time. In other words, it mainly focuses on the result rather than its time. Time is non-definite.

STRUCTURE:

 Subject + have/has + V3 + Rest of the sentence.

MAKING POSITIVE SENTENCES
Subject	Helping Verb	Main Verb (V3)	Rest of the sentence
I	have	gone	to school.
We	have	gone	to school.
You	have	gone	to school.
He	has	gone	to school.
She	has	gone	to school.
It	has	gone	to school.
Raju	has	gone	to school.
They	have	gone	to school.
Raju and Rani	have	gone	to school.
MAKING NEGATIVE SENTENCES
Subject	Helping Verb	Adverb	Main Verb (V3)	Rest of the sentence
I	have	not	gone	to school.
We	have	not	gone	to school.
You	have	not	gone	to school.
He	has	not	gone	to school.
She	has	not	gone	to school.
It	has	not	gone	to school.
Raju	has	not	gone	to school.
They	have	not	gone	to school.
Raju and Rani	have	not	gone	to school.
MAKING POSITIVE INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
Helping Verb	Subject	Main Verb (V3)	Rest of the sentence
Have	I	gone	to school?
Have	we	gone	to school?
Have	you	gone	to school?
Has	he	gone	to school?
Has	she	gone	to school?
Has	it	gone	to school?)
Has	Raju	gone	to school?
Have	they	gone	to school?
Have	Raju and Rani	gone	to school?

MAKING NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
Helping Verb	Subject	Adverb	Main Verb (V3)	Rest of the sentence
Have	I	not	gone	to school?
Have	we	not	gone	to school?
Have	you	not	gone	to school?
Has	he	not	gone	to school?
Has	she	not	gone	to school?
Has	it	not	gone	to school?
Has	Raju	not	gone	to school?
Have	they	not	gone	to school?
Have	Raju and Rani	not	gone	to school?

USAGE

When we take time of the action non-definite:

Eg:

I have finished my homework.

They have visited the temple.

Raju has read the book.

When we express a recently completed action:

Eg:

He has just told it.

They have finished the project just now.

We have just released the results.

When specifies a reason to perform an action:

Eg:

I cant fetch the doctor because I have badly hurt my leg.

They may complete this task within two days as they have finished the same thing successfully earlier.

I won't go to Hyderabad now because I have read the news about widespread covid cases there.

When we express the latest development in the news:

Eg:

Petroleum prices have increased in recent hours.

The Rupee has sunk against the dollar.

When we take the help of all adverbs of frequency:

Eg:

We have often thought of closing our business.

Raju has sometimes lost his temper while arguing with his wife.

She has rarely invited her friends to her birthday party.

When we express an idea of completion in future:

Eg:

I shall call you when I have completed my chores.

We will inform you when they have completed their work.

Rani will buy many things when has earned much money.

When we think about present and past together:

Eg:

My brother has learned piano. (He can play now piano well)

He has qualified all rounds in the job interview. ( He has a job now).

When some action happened at an indefinite time in the past it should be expressed in the Present Perfect Tense. When some action happened at a particular time in the past it should be expressed in the Simple Past Tense:

compare:

We have seen the movie "Radhe Shyam". ( correct )

Here, we are giving some general information regardless of the time of the action. It must have happened any time "before now". Focus is only on the fact and not on when

.

We have seen the movie "Radhe Shyam" on screen last night. ( incorrect )

We saw the movie "Radhe Shyam" on screen last night. ( correct )

As the attention shifted to when, but not the fact, we preferred the simple past tense here.

When you have not finished your tasks within the stipulated time in the present:

Eg:

I have not to take my bath today.

We have not started the assembly today.

Raju has not completed his worksheet today.

When communicating period for ( preposition ) is used:

Eg:

Raju has lived here for a decade.

They have left this place for a week.

They have waited for him for many hours.

When communicating a point of time since ( preposition ) is used:

Eg:

Rani has danced since 8 P.M.

They have meditated since 5a.m

I have argued with my friend since 4 o clock in the evening.

We should not use this tense in stories:

Eg:

The two friends have dug the well in complete secrecy. (incorrect)

The two friends dug the well in complete secrecy. (correct) Simple Past Tense.

I have written a story this afternoon. (still, it is afternoon)

I wrote a story this afternoon. (the afternoon is over) Simple Past Tense.

We have visited a temple this morning. (still, it is morning)

We visited a temple this morning. (the morning is over)  Simple Past Tense.

They have planned a meeting tonight. (still, it is night)

They planned a meeting tonight. (the night is over) Simple Past Tense.

Have got / Has got or got?

Even though, have or has got ( shows the possession with some emphasis) in the structure of present perfect tense, it gives the meaning of present tense. 

Eg:

compare:

I have got plenty of money. = I got plenty of money.

Have or has got is not used to describe an action.

Eg:

She has lunch every afternoon.(correct)

She has got lunch every afternoon. (incorrect)

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