Download present perfect

English for Academic Skills
Independence
[EASI]
Session 8
Grammar
Quiz
Quick question from Session 7
What are the three most important tenses for
university study?
The three most important tenses for academic
writing …
 Present simple tense: Smith (2012) considers …
 Past simple tense: The soil was placed in …
 Present perfect: There has been an increase in …
By the end of this session you will be able to …
 state the form and function of present perfect
This is one of the most important tenses for
academic writing
Present perfect: Form
 Note that the verb group has two parts
Subject Verb group
I have finished
my essay.
Present perfect: Form
The auxiliary verb is a helping verb
Subject
I
auxiliary verb
main
verb
have
finished
 What tense is the auxiliary verb?
Present
 The auxiliary verb must ‘agree’ with the Subject
Present perfect: Form
The auxiliary verb must ‘agree’ with the Subject
Subject
She
auxiliary
verb
main
verb
has
finished
Present perfect: Form
The auxiliary verb must ‘agree’ with the Subject
Subject
She
auxiliary
verb
main
verb
has
finished
What is the form of the main verb?
 The main verb in this example ends in ‘-ed’
 It is called the past participle
Present perfect: Form
The main verb in this example has a regular spelling
Subject
She
auxiliary
verb
main
verb
has
finished
past participle
 The past participle of the verb ‘finish’ is regular because
it ends in ‘-ed’
Present perfect: Past participles
Some past participles are regular (ending in ‘-ed’)
Others are irregular
regular
accepted
consulted
demanded
revised
studied
suggested
transferred
irregular
been
become
begun
broken
built
done
grown
Present perfect: Past participles
Activity: Identify the correct form
BASE FORM
be
become
begin
build
do
grow
PAST SIMPLE
became
broke
did
-
PAST PARTICIPLE
been
begun
broken
built
grown
Present perfect: Past participles
Set yourself a goal to learn all of the meanings and
spellings of the irregular verbs in English (see list)
BASE FORM
be
become
begin
break
build
do
grow
PAST SIMPLE
was
became
began
broke
built
did
grew
PAST PARTICIPLE
been
become
begun
broken
built
done
grown
Present perfect: Function
Activity
Read this example:
My Facebook account has been hacked.
What is the basic meaning associated with the present
perfect?
Present perfect: Function
Past
Present
Future
My Facebook account has been hacked.
 Something happened in the past at an unknown or
unstated time
Present perfect: Function
Past
Present
Future
My Facebook account has been hacked.
 Shows connection between a past event/activity and
the present
Present perfect: Function
Past
Present
Future
My Facebook account has been hacked.
 Shows connection between a past event/activity and
the present
Traps …
 Many non-native speakers of English avoid the present
perfect
 Instead, they use either the present simple
 Or the
x
x
past simple
 This makes their English sound ungrammatical …
Which tense?
 To understand the present perfect, you need to
compare it with the present simple and the past
simple
 Note that the present simple is only used in English
for specific meanings [daily routine, feelings, etc]
 The past simple is typically used with past time
adverbials
Past simple tense
Use the past simple with past time adverbials:




Yesterday
A week ago
Last year
In 2010
Yesterday, my Facebook account was hacked.
Past simple tense
Past
Present
Future
Yesterday, my Facebook account was hacked.
 A completed event
 At a specific time in the past
Present perfect: Function
Past
Present
Future
My Facebook account has been hacked.
If you do not say when it happened, you should probably
use the present perfect …
Present perfect: Function
Past
Present
Future
Look! My Facebook account has been hacked.
 If you want to draw attention to something that is
interesting or important, you can imagine pointing and
saying ‘Look!’
Present perfect: Function
Activity 2
Use these verbs to make a sentence which announces
something of interest.
Start each sentence with ‘Look!’
Look! I’ve begun my assignment.
begun
broken
bought
caught
done
Present perfect: Function
Past
2002
Present
Future
You can also use present perfect to refer to something
which began in the past, is still true now and could
continue into the future:
I have lived in New Zealand since 2002.
Present perfect: Function
Consider the contrast between these two sentences:
I have lived in New Zealand since 2002. [present perfect]
I arrived in New Zealand in 2002. [past simple]
Present perfect: Function
Past
2002
Present
Future
I have lived in New Zealand since 2002.
 Shows connection between a past event/activity and
the present
Past simple tense
Past
Present
I arrived in New Zealand in 2002.
 A completed event
 At a specific time in the past
Future
Academic writing – which tense?
The problem for many students is knowing when to use
the appropriate tense.
Do not avoid the present perfect – learn how to use it!
This is one of the most important tenses for academic
writing …
Academic writing – which tense?
In academic writing, the present perfect is used to
refer to a situation which started in the past at an
unknown or unstated time - and which has some
connection with the present:
The social networking website Facebook
_______________ enormously popular
throughout the world.
Academic writing – which tense?
In academic writing, the present perfect is used to
refer to a situation which started in the past at an
unknown or unstated time - and which has some
connection with the present:
The social networking website Facebook has
become enormously popular throughout the
world.
To summarise
You will communicate more effectively if you are
aware of the following:
 Use of present perfect for academic writing
 Structure
 Uses
End of classroom session
In addition to the Grammar Activity sheet, here are some
follow-up activities you might like to do …
Homework tasks 1 & 2
1. Familiarise yourself with the main function of the
present perfect
2. Set yourself a goal to learn the past participle form of
common irregular verbs in English.
There are many lists, eg in dictionaries or online.
3. Do the activity on the website
Homework task 3
Read about tenses in English
Within a functional model of grammar, the concept of
tense comes into play when considering the clause from
an interpersonal perspective;
Remember the diagram …
Tenses review
How many tenses are there in English?
What are their names?
Two tenses in English
Strictly speaking, there are two tenses in English:
 present simple
 past simple
All other so-called ‘tenses’ are a combination of tense and
aspect.
12 tenses in English
Sometimes, for convenience, it is helpful to say that there
are 12 tenses in English
1: Simple Present
2: Present Perfect
3: Present Continuous
4: Present Perfect Continuous
5: Simple Past
6: Past Perfect
7: Past Continuous
8: Past Perfect Continuous
9: Simple Future
10: Future Perfect
11: Future Continuous
12: Future Perfect Continuous
Grammatical term ‘tense’
Strictly speaking, the grammatical term ‘tense’ refers to two
options in English:
 Present simple
 Past simple
Most birds fly.
The Titanic sank in 1912.
Grammatical term ‘aspect’
The grammatical term ‘aspect’ is related to tense, and
refers to ways of considering the verb. There are two
options in English:
 Continuous
 Perfect
aspect can apply to events situated in the past, present,
or future
Aspect and tense combined
Aspect and tense are typically combined, eg
 Present continuous
 Past continuous
We are studying the Treaty.
I was revising for the exam.
 Present perfect
 Past perfect
I have finished my essay.
I noticed that my computer had
crashed.
For convenience: 12 tenses in English
It is helpful if you can see all of the tenses in a table …
For convenience: 12 tenses in English
simple
continuous
perfect
perfect continuous
Present
study
studies
am studying
are studying
is studying
has studied
have studied
has been studying
have been studying
Past
studied
was studying
were studying
had studied
had been studying
Future
will study
will be studying
will have studied
will have been studying