PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
First of all, let’s just analyse the title. Here, we know that the word in the title present means now. Then, what the word perfect means here…? Don’t worry, in tense, it means a completed verb, that is a completed action. So, we can say that ‘this completed verb or action’, completed now itself. That is, if we have to tell about an action that completed now itself, ‘that is just now’, we can say, ‘that action’ is in present perfect tense form..
So, when we get ready to make the pattern of present perfect tense, first of all we have to bring the auxiliary verbs suitable for this perfect tense. Normally the auxiliary verbs of perfect tenses are ‘has’, ‘have’ and ‘had’ ( the forms of Have ). Here we are talking about the completed action in present tense. So, the present forms of ‘Have’, that is the auxiliary verbs ‘has’ and ‘have’ should be brought here as the auxiliary verbs of the present perfect tense.
Then we have to make the verb in completed form, here means, the ‘past participle form’ or ‘V3 form’. That is the third form of the verb as explained in the topic Verbs – the real sense makers .
So, now we are able to make the pattern. At first ‘subject‘, then, the auxiliaries, ‘has’ or ‘have’ , then the ‘V3 form’, after that the ‘Object.‘, So, let’s write it in the form of pattern. That is, the pattern of Present perfect tense is,
S + has/ have + V3 + O.
- If ‘subject’ is ‘singular’, the singular auxiliary verb ‘has’ is used with ‘V3’.
eg: Jacob has finished his work.
S —-> Jacob ( singular) , so, { has + finished ( V3 form of the verb ‘finish’)}
- If ‘subject’ is plural, the plural auxiliary verb ‘have’ is used with ‘V3.’
eg: My students have studied how to make the pattern for present perfect tense.
S —–> My students ( plural ), so, {Settings have + studied ( V3 form of the verb ‘study’) }
So, we have understood how to identify the sentences in present perfect tense.
Now let’s go to its uses.
The main use of present perfect tense has already been told in the last line of the first paragraph itself. That is,
- Present perfect tense is used to denote an action that is completed in the present tense itself.
eg: My wife has just called me and told me not to stick on the same diet.
In this usage, the word ‘just’ is often used to show the intensity of the time of the completed action .
The present perfect tense has one more usage. Before knowing it, let’s discuss the following sentence and its idea,
Shakespeare has written 37 plays.
We know Shakespeare, the greatest playwright the world of literature has ever seen, baptised in 26th April 1564 and died in 23rd April 1616. And also it was in the 16th and 17th centuries, he wrote his famous plays.
These are facts, but why we think of Shakespeare while studying present perfect tense…..?
The reason is that, his works are relevant at present, and so will it be in future too, even if he wrote it in the 16th and 17th centuries. That is why the sentence, we are discussing, is written in present perfect tense. That is Shakespeare’s act of writing along with his plays has relevance at the time of speaking.
S —> Shakespeare ( singular), so, { has + written ( V3 form of the verb ‘write’) }
Now we are getting closer to the second usage of present participle. That is , if we have to denote a past action having relevance in present tense, we can say it in present perfect tense.
So, the second usage of present perfect tense is,
- To ‘denote a past action having relevance at the time of speaking.’
eg; Sachin has scored 100 centuries in International Cricket.
S —-> Sachin ( singular ) so, { has + scored ( V3 form of the verb ‘score’ ) }
Let’s remind the uses of Present perfect tense once more,
1 To denote an action completed in the present tense itself
eg: We have just studied present perfect tense.
S —-> We ( plural ), so, { have + studied ( V3 form of the verb ‘study’) }
2 To denote a past action having its relevance at the time of speaking
eg: Many of us have once felt the taste of failure, that is why we move on with care.
S —-> Many of us ( plural ), so, { have + felt ( V3 form of the verb ‘feel’) }
The timing words of present perfect tense. ‘ever’, ‘never’, ‘just’, ‘already’, ‘so far’, etc….