Indra (2016) China, Tradition, Beijing, Asia. Taken from http://bit.ly/2milxr8
Have you ever travelled to other countries? Many people travel to other countries to learn more about their culture and traditions. A good idea to experience this is by participating in their celebrations and festivities.
OOne way to express our social, cultural and family experiences we have in life is by using the present perfect tense. It also has three forms: affirmative, negative and interrogative. In this section, we will review the form of the present perfect, as well as how to structure the 3 types of sentences.
To familiarise yourself with this verb tense, read the following information. It gives an example of how to use the perfect present when narrating past experiences that connect with the present.
The above paragraph is an excerpt from the following video.
Watch it, and try to identify the present perfect phrases.
National Geographic (2014) The Venetian Art of Rowing | National Geographic. [Video] Consulted February 12, 2017 from http://bit.ly/2mip5tw
By the end of this topic you will:
• Make affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences in the present perfect using the auxiliary: have/has to speak about past experiences in social, cultural and family contexts.
We use the present perfect simple to talk about your experiences. How? The perfect present allows us to express experiences that happened in the past or at a specific time and which are essential in the present.
For the present perfect simple in its affirmative, negative and interrogative form, we will use the auxiliary have/has as follows:
In addition to the auxiliary verb have, the present perfect uses the past participle of regular and irregular verbs.
Look at the examples below. Click on each tab to review the construction of these sentences.
| Subject | Auxiliary | Verb in past participle | Complement | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
+ |
|
+ |
visited |
+ |
----------------------- |
For example:
I have visited China for their New Year’s celebration.
| Subject | Auxiliary | Verb in past participle | Complement | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
+ |
|
+ |
visited |
+ |
----------------------- |
For example:
I haven’t visited China for their New Year’s celebration.
| Question word | Auxiliary (affirmative or negative) | Subject | Verb in past participle | Complement | ? | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
+ |
|
+ |
|
+ |
visited |
+ |
----------------------- |
? |
For example:
When have you visited China?
But! That’s not all! There are many more uses for the present perfect. Let’s take a look at them so you can use this tense in other contexts. Click on each tab to review the information.
StockSnap (s.f) Snow Taken from https://pixabay.com/es/snow-invierno-blanco-fr%C3%ADo-clima-2589046/
The present perfect is used to talk about actions that started in the past and are still going on in the present.
For example, I have had a cold for two weeks. I’m still sick.
(s.a)(s.f) Wake up Taken from: https://www.finerminds.com/health-fitness/not-a-morning-person-this-yoga-series-will-get-you-out-of-bed/
It also makes reference to events which have recently occurred.
For example: She has just had a baby; they just came from the hospital this morning.
(s.a.) (s.f) Family Taken from: https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/MTF/Buckley/News-Events/Article/1527556/novak-family-becomes-the-one-percent/
The present simple describes unspecified actions finished before now.
For example: I think I have met him once before.
Notice: the contrast with Simple Past which refers to Specific past actions.
quinntheislander (s.f.) Latin Family Taken from: https://pixabay.com/es/latino-familia-latina-hispanos-2569583/
This structure is used to express with a superlative to talk about experience.
For example: Mexico is the friendliest place Martin has ever visited.
Vuong Tri Binh, 2014 snake Soup Taken from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snake_soup_prepared_in_Hanoi_2.jpg
Ever! When the specific time is unknown or unimportant.
For example: This is the first time I've ever eaten snake soup.
Never! not having the experience before.
For example: Have you ever been abroad? No, I've never been abroad.
Activity 1
→ What is your favorite holiday of the year?
→ Do you know of other holidays / celebrations around the world?
Some holidays and celebrations are different from country to country, they vary from culture to culture. Many people like to travel around the world to experience holidays in different ways and to learn more from other cultures.
Read the following text. In it, you will find information about some festivities in different countries. Pay attention and identify the phrases in present perfect.
Activity 2
Vacation periods are often connected to holidays or special celebrations each country has. What’s your favourite holiday? What do you usually do during this time? Where do you spend this celebration? Who do you spend it with?
Write a postcard of about 80 words describing the best holiday you have ever had using the present perfect. Follow the guidelines below:
Remember that postcards, just like letters, must have a salutation such as a Dear friend, Hi Maria!, etc. and a farewell, like See you soon! Regards, etcetera.
Now, take a look at the rubrics that you will use to get your score when you finish your writing.
I wanted to give you a postcard because I’ve just remembered our trip to Puerto Vallarta. That has been one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. I remember Damian, you and I stayed in a lovely hotel where we could see whales. It was a whale-watching season, remember? We visited the Malecón in the evenings, and we had the best time together. Hope we get to do that again soon!
Regards
Larissa
Activity 3
Every person is different; some see life as a glass half full and others as a glass half empty. This means that some people are positive about their experiences in life and some others are slightly negative.
Listen to the following audio, you will hear a conversation between two men using present perfect. You can listen to it as many times as you need before doing the exercise. When you are ready, write the present perfect in the blank space in the text. You can only do the exercise once. When you finish, check your results.
Activity 4
What do you usually do on your holidays? Do you spend your holidays outside the city?
Now that you have reviewed and practised the perfect present in its affirmative, negative and interrogative form, you will exercise your speaking ability when narrating information related to your travels
Read the following questions and write the answers in a word document in a maximum of 200 words or 5 minutes. When you finish, record your writing in the free application vocaroo.com.Once the recording is completed, listen to it carefully. Please try to remark and pronounce the present perfect because your grade will depend on that.
Listen to the example here.
When you finish, use the following rubrics to get your score.
Do you remember how to use the present perfect? In this topic, we checked the use of present perfect in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms to refer to experiences that happened in the past or at a specific time and which are important in the present.
• British Council (2017). Present perfect. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/present-perfect
• Gramarly blog (2007). Persent perfect tense. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/present-perfect-tense/
• The Venetian art of rowing (2007). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AI6dO2cTmQ