The present perfect tense

ESL Helpful Handouts The Present Perfect Tense Page 1 of 11
Free handout: http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts Photo Acknowledgments: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) - Michael Kappel,
mikebaird, Feggy Art, Jinsonocx, Bohari Adventures, globrvisions, jemsweb, gbaku, justgrimes, Tambako the Jaguar, Svadifari, massdistraction, su-lin,
almodestuff, franzisco, codiceinternet, Open Sky Media
Have you flown a kite?
Yes, I have flown a kite.
No, I haven’t flown a kite.
Yes, I have.
No, I haven’t.
Have you ever flown a kite?
Yes, I have flown a kite many times.
Have you ever flown a kite?
No, I have never flown a kite.

I have climbed a mountain. You have caught a butterfly. He has ridden a horse.
She has played chess. We have been to Africa. They have planted a tree.
The Present Perfect Tense is used to talk about things that did or did not happen at some
unspecified time in the past. The exact time is not mentioned.
I have climbed a mountain.
We haven’t been to Africa.
You have never caught a butterfly.
You can use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about things that happened more than once at
unspecified times in the past.
He has ridden a horse many times.
She has played chess several times.
They have planted a tree a couple of times.

Review of the Past Participle
The past participle is a verb form used in the present perfect tense. The past participle of regular
verbs is the same as the simple past form.
Base form Simple Past Past Participle
climb climbed climbed
Some irregular verbs have a different past participle form.
Base Form Simple Form Past Participle
fly flew flown
A list of verb forms.
Base Form Simple Past Past Participle
be was/were been
catch caught caught
climb climbed climbed
eat ate eaten
feed fed fed
fly flew flown
hold held held
listen listened listened
make made made
play played played
plant planted planted
post posted posted
ride rode ridden
sleep slept slept
travel traveled traveled
use used used
win won won
wreck wrecked wrecked
Write the past participle form of each verb.
be _______ eat _______ fly ______ use _______ win _______
feed _______ hold _______ make _______ play _______ post _____
ride _______ catch _______ climb _______ plant _______ sleep _______
wreck _______ listen _______ travel _______

Form of the Present Perfect Tense
Negative form of the Present Perfect Tense
You can use the adverb not to make the sentence negative.
You can use the adverb never to make the sentence negative.
You can use a contraction of have/has and not to make the sentence negative.
Write the answer to these questions as they apply to your own life.
Example:
Have you eaten rhubarb? Have you ever fed a lion? Have you held a baby?
Yes, I have eaten rhubarb. ____________________ _________________
No, I haven’t eaten rhubarb.
Subject have/has not
She has not played
past participle
Subject have/has past participle
I have climbed a mountain.
Subject haven’t/hasn‘t past participle
chess.
Subject have/has never past participle
She has never played chess.
She hasn‘t played chess.

Have you listened to classical music? Have you ever made apple pie? Have you posted a comment on a blog?
___________________________ _____________________ ___________________________
Questions in the Present Perfect Tense
You can use the adverb ever to form a question in the present perfect tense.
Write a question for each of these answers.
Example:
Have you slept in a tent? _________________________ ____________________
Have you ever slept in a tent? No, I have not traveled to Borneo. Yes, I have used the Internet
Yes, I have slept in a tent. many times.
Have/Has subject past participle
Have you been to Africa?
Have/Has subject ever past participle
Have/Has you ever been to Africa?

Short Answers in the Present Perfect Tense
Have you ever wrecked your car?
Has he won the lottery?
Write a short answer to these questions as they apply to your own life.
Example:
Have you flown a kite? Have you ridden a horse? Have you held a baby? Have you slept in a tent?
Yes, I have. __________________ ________________ ________________
No, I haven't.
Have you ever wrecked your car? Have you ever planted a tree?
________________________ ______________________
Yes, subject have/has.
Yes, I have.
No,
No,
subject
he
haven‘t/hasn‘t.
hasn‘t.

Board Game
Instructions:
This game requires a pair of dice. The board is on page 8.
Each player receives a counter and places it on one of the starting corners. The counters are
on this page under these instructions.
Shuffle the cards and place them face down on the board. The cards are on pages 9-11.
Players take turns casting the dice and moving the counters in the direction indicated by the
arrows. When a player lands on a smiley face, he/she picks a card and asks the question
written on the card to any one of the other players.
The first player to get his/her counter back to his/her starting corner wins the game.
Counters:

Board Game
Starting
Corner
Starting
Corner
Starting
Corner
Starting
Corner
Place Cards
Here

Board Game
Playing Cards
Have you ever flown
a kite?
Have you ever
climbed a mountain?
Have you ever
caught a butterfly?
Have you ever ridden
a horse?
Have you ever played
chess?
Have you ever been
to Africa?

Board Game
Playing Cards
Have you ever
planted a tree?
Have you ever eaten
rhubarb?
Have you ever fed a
lion?
Have you ever held a
baby?
Have you ever
listened to classical
music?
Have you ever made
apple pie?

Board Game
Playing Cards
Have you ever
posted a comment on
a blog?
Have you ever slept
in a tent?
Have you ever
traveled to Borneo?
Have you ever used
the Internet?
Have you ever
wrecked your car?
Have you ever won
the lottery?

The present perfect tense

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The present perfect tense