The present perfect

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The present perfect
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When do we use the present perfect?
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In Book 1A, we learnt how to use the simple past
to talk about actions that began and ended in the
past.
I visited Repulse Bay yesterday but I didnt
enjoy it. There was too much litter on the beach.
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We can also use the present perfect to talk about
actions that happened in the past. We use it
to talk about actions that ? happened in the
past but are connected to the present. We do not
need to say when they happened.
Weve organised a recycling campaign at our
school.
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? began in the past and continue to the present
(and possibly into the future).
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When we use the present perfect, we often use
since to say when an action started. We use
for to say how long an action has lasted.
Ive been a member of the Environment Club since
2006.
Our school has had an Environment Club for ten
years.
Other words we often use with the present perfect
include ever and never.
Note
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We form the positive and negative statements in
the present perfect with the simple present of
the verb to have the past participle of the
main verb, like this.
I You We They
have have not / havent
saved energy.
has has not / hasnt
He / She / It
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We form yes / no-questions in the present perfect
like this.
I you we they
Have
saved energy?
Has
he / she / it
I you we they
I you we they
have.
have not / havent.
Yes,
No,
he / she / it
he / she / it
has not / hasnt.
has.
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Practice
Read the letter to the editor and fill in the
blanks using for or since and the present
perfect. Use the verbs in the brackets to help
you.
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Dear Sir I have lived in Hong Kong more
than thirty years. In that time, Hong Kongs air
(become) extremely
dirty. I would like to take this opportunity to
talk about two changes that I (notice)
because of our worsening air pollution. First,
many tourists (stop)
visiting Hong Kong. Those that (visit)
the city recently say they (be)
anywhere with such bad air pollution before, and
many say they will never return.
for
has become
have noticed
have stopped
have visited
have not been
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Second, many residents (start) to suffer
from health problems because of the poor air
quality. For example, my wife has suffered from
asthma 2000. any
of your readers ever (have) similar
problems? I bet they have. The Government claims
that it is tackling the problem, but the air
quality (improve). As concerned
residents, we all need to ask the Government to
do more. Yours faithfully
have started
since
Have
had
has not improved
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The end