Present perfect

• 5 Present perfect

  5.1

  Structure (have / has + past participle)

  

  

  The present perfect tense connects the past and the present: a past action has an effect on the present now, or it refers to life experience.

  Structure: 主语 + have / has + 过去分词(he / she / it → has)

  我I （完成时）have 完成finished 我的my 作业homework.

  I have finished my homework. (So I am free now)

  她She （完成时）has 丢失lost 她的her 钥匙keys.

  She has lost her keys. (She hasn't found them yet)

  Past Participle:

  • Regular verbs = -ed: work → worked, finish → finished.
  • Irregular verbs must be memorized: go → gone, see → seen, do → done, be → been, eat → eaten.

  Note: Present perfect usually does not specify exact times. If you mention a specific past time (yesterday, in 2019), use the simple past instead.

  5.2

  ever / never / just / already / yet

  These words are frequently used with the present perfect tense:

  • ever: Used in questions to mean "at any time." never: "not ever."
  • just: "just now." already: "already." yet: Used at the end of negative or interrogative sentences to mean "not yet."

  （完成时）Have 你you 曾经ever 去过been （介词）to 伦敦London?

  Have you ever been to London?

  我I （完成时）have 刚刚just 吃过eaten 午饭lunch.

  I have just had lunch.

  他He 还没hasn't 完成finished （句末"还没"）yet.

  He hasn't finished yet.

  5.3

  for and since

  To say how long something has "continued," use for or since:

  • for + a period of time: for three years, for a week.
  • since + starting point: since 2020 (from the year 2020), since Monday (from Monday).

  我I （完成时）have 住lived 这里here （持续）for 五five 年years.

  I have lived here for five years. (And I still live here)

  我们We （完成时）have 认识known 彼此each other 自从since 2018年2018.

  We have known each other since 2018.

  Note: Use 'for' with duration and 'since' with a starting point; don't mix them up: ~~for 2018~~ ✗ → since 2018 ✓.

  Common Errors

  • ❌ ~~I have seen him yesterday.~~ → ✓ I saw him yesterday. — Once a specific past time is mentioned (yesterday, last week, in 2019), switch to the simple past.
  • ❌ ~~I live here for ten years.~~ → ✓ I have lived here for ten years. — "Lived here for ten years and still live here" requires the present perfect. Chinese lacks this distinction, making it easy to overlook.
  • ❌ ~~She has go home.~~ → ✓ She has gone home. — After have / has, use the past participle, not the base form.
  • ❌ ~~Have you ever went to Beijing?~~ → ✓ Have you ever been to Beijing? — Use have been to for "visited a place."
  • Distinguish gone and been: He has gone to Beijing. (He went there and hasn't returned yet) vs He has been to Beijing. (He visited there and has come back).

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