The present perfect at CEFR Level A2. On this page, we will look at another common English tense – the present perfect. Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

• I have cleaned my shoes.
• He has finished work for today.
• I have travelled through Asia, but I haven’t been to Africa.
• I have only seen 2 famous people in my life.

The present perfect has 2 main purposes:

1. Present effect: To talk about something completed some time in the (recent) past that has an effect now
2. Experience: To talk about an experience we have had in our lives

Let’s look back at the example sentences we used at the beginning of this page:

I have cleaned my shoes. This is purpose #1 (present effect) The shoes were dirty > I cleaned them >Now they are clean.

He has finished working for the day. This is purpose #1 (present effect) He was working > He finished > Now he’s not working.

I have travelled through Asia, but I haven’t been to Africa. This is purpose #2 (experience)

I have only seen 2 famous people in my life. This is purpose #2 (experience)

The present perfect at CEFR Level A2 is formed by using have / has + [3rd form of the verb / past participle] 

• I have cleaned my shoes.
• He has finished work for today.

To form a negative sentence, we simply add not – have / has + not (or n’t) + [3rd form of the verb / past participle]

• I have not been to Africa. / I haven’t been to Africa.
• She has not seen John today. / She hasn’t seen John today.

To form a question, we simple move the pronoun:

• I have cleaned my shoes. > Have I cleaned my shoes?
• He has finished work for today. > Has he finished work for today?

However, when we use the present perfect to talk about experiences, there are three other words you need to know: ever, never, and yet.

Have you ever…..? is used for questions about experience up to now. For example:

• Have you ever taken an over night train?
• Has he ever met your wife?

Have you…… yet? is used for questions and negative sentences about experience up to now. For example:

• Have you seen that new film yet?
• I haven’t asked him yet.

When we use ‘yet’ in present perfect questions, we expect that the listener will say ‘Yes’ at some point.

• Have you finished yet? (I expect that you will finish at some point if you haven’t already)
• Have you ever eaten crocodile? (‘ever‘ is used instead because the listener may never eat crocodile)

Not that we don’t use ever and yet in the same question:

• Have you ever visited New York? (I don’t know if you will)
• Have you visited New York yet? (I expect you will at some point – maybe the listener is travelling around the USA)
• NOT: Have you ever visited New York yet?

I have never… is used for negative sentences about experience up to now.

• I have never climbed a mountain.
• I have never spoken to her.
• NOT: I have never drunk champagne yet.

NOTE: American English does not use the present perfect to talk about experience – they use the present simple instead.

“Have you ever visited New Zealand?” (British English)
“Did you ever visit New Zealand?” (American English)