To talk about things that we have experienced in life, we use the present perfect tense. Note that this usage is possible only when there is no definite time reference. For example, we cannot use the present perfect tense to say that something happened to us on a particular day.
Form: Subject + has / have + past participle form of the verb
Exercise
Make sentences in the present perfect tense.
1He ............... to all the continents in the world.
Wrong!
Use "has been" for a life experience without saying exactly when it happened.
2I have never ............... a ghost.
Wrong!
After "have never", use the past participle "seen".
3I ............... experienced despair.
Wrong!
Use "have" with the subject "I" in the present perfect.
4I ............... that movie.
Wrong!
Use "have seen" with "I" for an unspecified past experience.
5I ............... all the novels written by Mark Twain.
Wrong!
Use "have read" for a completed experience relevant to now.
6He ............... faced many setbacks in life.
Wrong!
Use "has" with "he" before the past participle in the present perfect.
7She ............... written a novel.
Wrong!
Use "has" with "she" before the past participle in the present perfect.
8Raju ............... played cricket at the national level.
Wrong!
Use "has" with a singular third-person subject such as "Raju".
9You ............... seen her before.
Wrong!
Use "have" with the subject "you" in the present perfect.
10I ............... that movie.
Wrong!
Use "have watched" with "I" for an unspecified past experience.
Answers
- He has been to all the continents in the world.
- I have never seen a ghost.
- I have experienced despair.
- I have seen that movie.
- I have read all the novels written by Mark Twain.
- He has faced many setbacks in life.
- She has written a novel.
- Raju has played cricket at the national level.
- You have seen her before.
- I have watched that movie.
Notes
- I wrote a novel last year. (NOT I have written a novel last year.)
- I watched that movie yesterday.
- I faced many setbacks in 2012. (NOT I have faced many setbacks in 2012.)
- I have been married to Alice for ten years.
- How long have you been married to Alice?
