The present perfect tense is commonly used with the indefinite time adverbs never, ever, before, yet, already.
- Have you ever been to the USA?
- I have never seen a kangaroo.
- I have seen her before.
- They have already arrived.
- She has not received the parcel yet.
The present perfect tense is not used with adverbs of past time. Examples are: yesterday, last week, last year etc.
Cases where the present perfect tense cannot be used
We do not use the present perfect tense when we say when something happens. In such cases, we use the simple past tense.
- I saw Rani yesterday. (NOT I have seen Rani yesterday.)
- She called me in the morning. (NOT She has called me in the morning.)
- She died three years ago. (NOT She has died three years ago.)
- I was born in 1979. (NOT I have been born in 1979.)
Exercise 1
Complete the following sentences using has or have.
1. I ……………………………….. been to London twice.
2. ……………………………….. you ever been to Australia?
3. She ………………………………. not done anything.
4. He …………………………….. arrived.
5. It ………………………………… not stopped raining since morning.
6. Sania ………………………………. returned from school.
7. Rohan ………………………………….. finished his homework.
8. Rohan and Sania ……………………………….. gone to the market.
9. We …………………………………. experienced despair.
10. She ……………………………. made another discovery.
Answers
1. I have been to London twice.
2. Have you ever been to Australia?
3. She has not done anything.
4. He has arrived.
5. It has not stopped raining since morning.
6. Sania has returned from school.
7. Rohan has finished his homework.
8. Rohan and Sania have gone to the market.
9. We have experienced despair.
10. She has made another discovery.
