Unit 3a Book

After completing the listening task above, you should have an idea of the main differences between the Present Perfect tense and the Past Simple tense. You learned about the Past Simple tense in Unit 1a, so if you think you need to revise this material, go back to the first unit of this course.

Now, let´s focus on the Present Perfect Simple tense. Students have hardly ever problems with the form of this tense:

Subject + auxiliary have/has + past participle of the main verb:

A) regular past participle: -ed,

B) irregular past participle: the “third” form

However, what causes frequent problems is the use of this tense. Remember that it is used for:

• actions that happened (and were completed) at an unspecified past time:

She has visited Prague (once). Have you fixed the machine? – I have tried, but the quick fix does not work.

• repeated completed actions that happened at unspecified past times (before the present): She has visited Prague many times (over the past few years).
• actions that started in the past and are still continuing:

This is the best book I have ever read. She has studied English for six years. (Present Perfect Continuous often used for this situation: She has been studying English for six years).

And how does the use of the Present Perfect Simple tense differ from the use of the Past Simple tense? Study the following table:

To see a more detailed explanation and more illustrative examples, read this grammar overview. Then practise these two tenses first in the context of space flights and then in the context of IT.