In this lesson you’ll learn the meaning of the perfect tense and how it is constructed and used with the present tense as the present perfect.
Video Lesson
Lesson: How to Use the Perfect
The Mistake English Learners Make
Wrong Ways And Right Ways For Situations In Which Lots Of Learners Would Use The Perfect
“I have gone to the forest last weekend.”“I study English for 3 years.” AND “I am studying English for 3 years.”-> “I have studied English for 3 years.”“I felt good. I slept a lot.” -> “I felt good. I had slept a lot.” AND “I’ll know a lot. I’ll study a lot.” -> “I’ll know a lot. I’ll have studied a lot.”
What To Understand To Avoid These Mistakes
The perfect means that the verb has a result, which can be either because something that happened before somehow caused something somehow important at the moment being talked about (past, present, or future) or because there is a count of the actions of the verb up to that moment.
Practical Tip
Only use the present perfect for counts of actions of verbs up to the moment and OTHER changing, developing, evolving situations.
It’s possible to use the perfect in the present for the other perfect situation mentioned above: where something that happened before (not a count of anything) that isn’t changing, developing, evolving anymore contributed in an important way to a set of circumstances relevant at the moment. But you will practically never be wrong not to. AND, it’s dangerous to try to because unless you’ve had a lot of exposure to English at a very young age, you won’t have a good sense for when it will be right to do this or not. It’s like stabbing in the dark, and there’s really no point. It’s just as good, and right, to use the simple past in these situations.
This only applies to the present perfect though. You do need to use the perfect in the past and the future in these situations. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier then to understand when you should.
Exercise: Present Perfect or Past Simple - I
- I can’t login to my account. I ____________________ (to forget) my password.
show answer
forgothide
- I ____________________ (to buy) a lot of groceries, so my refrigerator is full.
show answer
boughthide
- I meant to write you last night, but I ____________________ (to fall) asleep.
show answer
fellhide
- William ____________________ (to be) on vacation in the mountains, but is back home now.
show answer
washide
- How are you? I ____________________ (to have) the flu for the past couple of days but am all better now.
show answer
hadhide
- Excuse me, can you help? We ____________________ (to get? OR to be?) lost.
show answer
are,got, have gottenhide
Exercise: Present Perfect or Past Simple - II
- Did you hear about the bridge? It ____________________ (to fall) into the river.
show answer
fellhide
- Rocky Balboa ____________________ (to train) to box under [[[Mickey Goldmill]]].
show answer
trainedhide
- How many battles ____________________ (Alexander the Great / to lose)?
show answer
did Alexander the Great losehide
- I ____________________ (to eat) a spicy burrito and now my mouth is burning.
show answer
atehide
- The book he released a few years ago ____________________ (to become) one of the bestsellers of all time.
show answer
has becomehide
- Who ____________________ (to discover) the principle of evolution?
show answer
discoveredhide
- Where ____________________ (you / to graduate) from high school?
show answer
did you graduatehide
- The bridge is gone. I ____________________ (to collapse) into the river.
show answer
collapsedhide
- Isaac Newton ____________________ (to be) one of world’s great geniuses, who ____________________ (to invent) both physics and calculus.
show answer
was / inventedhide
Exercise: Present Perfect or Past Simple - III
- I ____________________ (to stop) eating McDonald’s for a while, but here I am again.
show answer
stoppedhide
- I toured Europe 10 years ago, and went again last month, and wow, Europe ____________________ (really / to change).
show answer
has really changedhide
- He made a lot of money this year, but he ____________________ (already / to spend) almost all of it.
show answer
has already spenthide
- The actress ____________________ (to eat) two cheeseburgers and felt guilty for the rest of the day.
show answer
atehide
- What do you think about the band’s style? It ____________________ (to change), but ____________________ (it / to get) better?
show answer
has changed / has it gottenhide
- Are you still using the stove? No, I ____________________ (to finish) what I was cooking. You can use it.
show answer
finishedhide
- She ____________________ (to try) to run the marathon, but ended up quitting one third of the way through.
show answer
triedhide
- Where are my keys? I ____________________ (to put) them right there and now they’re gone.
show answer
puthide
- Hey, call the fire department. The store across the street ____________________ (to catch? OR to be?) on fire.
show answer
is,caught, has caughthide
- The discount store down the street ____________________ (to burn down). Did you hear? Really? How ____________________ (that / happen)? Nobody knows for sure yet, but some people think the owner ____________________ (to set) the fire himself to collect the insurance money.
show answer
burned down / did that happen / sethide