Present perfect and Adverbs

PRESENT PERFECT

The present perfect in English is some of the most confusing. So today, we are going to put them into practice.

The present perfect in English is used 'has' or 'have' and the past participle of the verb.

For example, "I have run in the park" or "She has seen the movies."

Use of the present perfect in English

We use the present perfect in English when we are talking about an event that started in the past and the event still has some influence on the present. This influence could be something you've experienced that still has an impact on your life. It could also be used for things that have changed over time, or a task that was left unfinished in the past and will be completed in the future.


1. An experience:
   “I have been to India.”
2. Change over time:
   “Her English has improved since she joined EF English Live.”
3. An unfinished task:
   “He has not finished cleaning the house. “

All of these tasks started in the past, but something about them still applies today. Something about them could change in the present or future.

Adverbs

We will focus on particles such as: just, already, yet, for and since. There are certain adverbs and certain prepositions that tend to slip very often in sentences where the verb form is the present perfect.

I’ve just finished this exercise     –     Acabo de terminar este ejercicio

She has played the violin for ten years      –     Lleva tocando el violin diez años

They have already found a place    –     Ya han encontrado un sitio

JUST

Recently it can mean just a few moments ago or in the very recent past.

• Jane has just made a cake. Would you like some? 

Jane acaba de hacer un pastel. ¿Quieres un poco? – she has only prepared it a moment ago.

• We’ve just bought a new house 

Nos hemos comprado una casa  – Very recently, but not necessarily that same day

'Just' always goes between the auxiliary and the participle:

Subject + have / has + just + Verb (Participle) +(Complement)

ALREADY / YET

To highlight whether an action has been carried out or not, we use the adverbs 'already' and 'yet'.

Already

'Already' appears in affirmative sentences and indicates that the action has already been carried out.

• I have already written the article – Ya he escrito el artículo

As you can see in the examples, 'already' always goes between the auxiliary and the participle:

Subject + have / has + already + Verb (Participle) + (Complement)

Yet

'Yet' is used in interrogations, to ask whether the action has been carried out or not, and in negations to say that the action has not yet occurred.

• Have you read it  yet? – Ya lo has leído?
• No, I haven’t read it yet – No, aún/todavía no lo he leído

 However, 'yet' always goes to the end of the sentence, either negative or interrogative:

• Negative:

Subject + haven’t / hasn’t + Verb (Participle) + (Complement) + yet

• Interrogative:

Have/Has + Subject + Verbo (Participle) + (Complement) + yet ?

FOR / SINCE

We use an expression with the prepositions 'for' or 'since' to indicate how long an action has been taking place.

To express the duration of an activity we can say the amount of time it has been doing.

Then we will use that quantity after the preposition 'for'.

• I haven’t been to that restaurant for six months – No he estado en ese restaurante en seis meses

We can also point out the specific moment in which said action began.

In this case we will have some time expression just behind the preposition 'since'.

• They haven’t had holidays since last summer – No han tenido vacaciones desde el verano pasado
• Maya has lived in the USA since 2001– Maya vive en los Estados Unidos desde el 2001