Grammar · Lesson 4

Present perfect have / has + past participle

View a before-now event or situation from the present: Rina has printed the signs, so they’re ready now. Maya has worked here since 2022. The team has welcomed eighteen visitors so far today.

50–60 min corebefore now · relevant nowhave / has + past participle15–20 min listening and retrieval

NoticeRead a live status board beside its finished event log.

DiscoverFind four ways a past situation connects to now.

BuildControl participles, time viewpoint, adverbs, and duration.

UseGive a fictional event-status briefing and answer follow-ups.

Can-do: By the end, you can report a current result, describe experience up to now, show that a state continues, summarize an unfinished period, and switch to past simple for a closed event-time detail.

Two-minute retrieval

Three checks from earlier lessons

Use the completed time, subject, or current description stated in each item.

1The event log gives a completed time yesterday: Rina the first signs yesterday.

2The singular subject Maya takes third-person present have: Maya a key.

3The live status describes several signs now: The signs ready now.

Notice a live status beside a finished event log

Harbor Center at 10:00 a.m.

Live status: Rina has printed the signs, so they are ready now. Lee has lost the storage key, so the door is still locked. Maya has worked at the center since 2022, and she still works here. The team has welcomed eighteen visitors so far today.

Finished event log: Rina printed the first sign at 8:30. Lee lost the key at 9:15. Omar went to the supply store at 9:40.

Which live-status sentence reports a result that matters now?
Which situation started before now and continues?
Why does the event log use past simple?

Discovery check: identify the time viewpoint

1The signs are ready because Rina completed the printing: Rina has printed the signs presents a .

2A volunteer asks whether Maya has done this at any point before now: Has Maya ever run a workshop? asks about .

3Maya started in 2022 and still works at the center: She has worked here since 2022 describes a .

4The event is still open at 10:00: The team has welcomed eighteen visitors so far today gives an .

5The log locates the loss at 9:15 as one completed past event: Lee lost the key at 9:15 gives a .

6The verb system in They have welcomed is .

Get to the root: view before-now time from now

The present perfect asks the listener to look backward from the present. The event or situation began before now, but the speaker’s chosen viewpoint includes now through a result, experience record, continuing situation, or unfinished reporting period.

present connection	example	what matters now
current result	Rina has printed the signs.	the signs are ready
experience	Maya has run three workshops.	three events belong to her record up to now
continuing state	Maya has worked here since 2022.	the situation began then and remains true
unfinished period	We have welcomed eighteen visitors so far today.	today’s count is open and can still change

The present perfect can include time information. Since 2022, for three years, today, and so far connect a before-now period to now. The rule is not simply “no time stated.”

Build the form: have or has + past participle

purpose	I / you / we / they	he / she / it
positive	We have finished. We’ve finished.	She has finished. She’s finished.
negative	We haven’t finished.	She hasn’t finished.
question	Have you finished?	Has she finished?
short answer	Yes, we have.	No, she hasn’t.

Have or has carries subject agreement, moves before the subject in a question, and combines with not. Do not add do or does. Do not contract a positive short answer: say Yes, I have, not Yes, I’ve.

Past form and past participle are not always the same

base	past simple	past participle
work / print / finish	worked / printed / finished	worked / printed / finished
go	went	gone
see	saw	seen
write	wrote	written
take	took	taken
do	did	done
be	was / were	been
leave	left	left

Drill 1: complete the live status form

1The plural subject volunteers takes have: The volunteers arrived.

2The singular subject Rina takes has: Rina printed the signs.

3The team still needs three name tags: We finished the name tags.

4Lee still does not have the key: He found the key.

5Ask several volunteers about completion: the volunteers moved the chairs?

6Ask about Maya’s experience: Maya run a workshop before?

7After has, use the participle of write: Rina has the welcome message.

8Omar left and is still away at the supply store: He has to the supply store.

Choose the time viewpoint before the tense

Use past simple when you locate an event inside a closed past time: Rina printed the first sign at 8:30. Use present perfect when the chosen frame reaches now: Rina has printed all the signs, so they are ready.

A calendar word does not choose automatically. At 10:00 a.m., The team has welcomed eighteen visitors today treats today’s count as open. After the event closes, a report can say The team welcomed forty visitors today and present the day’s event as a completed whole.

speaker’s frame	example	tense choice
result relevant now	Lee has lost the key, so the door is locked.	present perfect
closed event time	Lee lost the key at 9:15.	past simple
open count up to now	We have welcomed eighteen visitors so far.	present perfect
completed event report	We welcomed forty visitors during yesterday’s event.	past simple

A definite closed event-time such as at 9:15 yesterday, last year, or in 2019 normally selects past simple for that event. Ask a present-perfect experience question first, then use past simple for the finished detail: Have you ever led a workshop? When did you lead one?

Place ever, never, just, already, yet, since, and for

word	meaning and position	example
ever	at any time up to now; before the participle in an experience question	Have you ever led a workshop?
never	at no time up to now; before the participle, without another negative	I have never led one.
just	a very short time ago; between helper and participle	Rina has just arrived.
already	earlier than expected; commonly between helper and participle	Lee has already called.
yet	up to now; commonly at the end of questions and negatives	Has Omar returned yet? He hasn’t returned yet.
since	starting point	Maya has worked here since 2022.
for	duration	Maya has worked here for four years.

Never already gives negative meaning, so say I have never led one or I haven’t ever led one, not I haven’t never led one. Ask duration with How long have you...?

Natural U.S. English with just, already, and yet

Present perfect is natural in U.S. English: I’ve just sent it. Have you eaten yet? Simple past is also very common with these words: I just sent it. Did you eat yet? Both patterns can describe a recent event connected to now.

This lesson’s controlled items explicitly request the present-perfect form when that is the target. Outside those items, do not treat the common U.S. simple-past alternatives as errors.

Been to, gone to, and been at

Omar has been to the supply store describes a completed visit and normally implies that he returned. Omar has gone to the supply store means he left and is still away or on the way. Omar has been at the supply store for twenty minutes places him there throughout a duration that continues now.

Drill 2: complete the present connection

1The update arrived a moment ago, and the target form is present perfect: Rina has sent the update.

2The signs were ready earlier than the coordinator expected: Maya has printed them.

3The expected return has not happened up to now: Omar hasn’t returned .

4The starting point is the year 2022: Maya has worked here 2022.

5The phrase three years states a duration: Lee has volunteered here three years.

6The event log gives the closed time at 9:40: Omar to the supply store at 9:40.

Sound natural: weaken the helper, stress the result

In positive statements, have and has commonly contract: I’ve, you’ve, we’ve, they’ve, he’s, she’s, it’s. Stress the participle or result: Rina’s PRINTed the signs. Lee’s LOST the key. In an uncontracted question, the helper is often light and links forward: Have-you ever LED a workshop?

In common U.S. pronunciation, been often sounds like /bɪn/. The contraction ’s can mean is or has, so use grammar and context. She’s working clearly means she is working; She’s finished the report means she has finished because finished heads the completed verb phrase and takes the object the report. She’s finished alone can be ambiguous without context.

Listen: what connects to now?

Your teacher reads each fictional line once naturally and once more slowly. Listen for the time viewpoint, participle, contraction, and current implication. Check your answer before discussing the line with your tutor.

Tutor-read listening check

1. What current result does Clip 1 establish?

2. Why does Clip 2 use past simple?

3. What remains true in Clip 3?

4. What does so far today imply in Clip 4?

5. Where is Omar according to Clip 5?

6. Which natural U.S. pattern do you hear in Clip 6?

Read the 10:15 status update

Message to the workshop team

We have welcomed twenty-four visitors so far today. Rina has already printed the extra signs, but she hasn’t put them by the entrance yet. Omar has gone to the supply store, so he is not here now. Maya has worked at Harbor Center for four years, and she has led this kind of event twice. She led the last one in May. The missing key has just appeared under the welcome desk, so the storage room is available again.

Read, then choose the exact evidence

1. Why does the visitor count use present perfect?

2. What does Omar has gone to the supply store imply?

3. Why does She led the last one in May use past simple?

Build the result and continuing situation

Drill 3: build the current result

The extra signs are ready now.

Drill 4: build the continuing situation

Maya started in 2022 and still works here.

Notice and repair three high-value errors

Drill 5: participle after the helper

The status says, “Omar has went to the supply store.” Tap the word to repair.

Drill 6: closed event-time detail

The log says, “Rina has printed the first sign at 8:30 yesterday.” Tap the word to remove.

Drill 7: starting point or duration?

The profile says, “Maya has worked here since three years.” Tap the word to repair.

Oral transform: keep the time viewpoint

Say every response before revealing it.

1 Rina printed the signs. Present the current result: the signs are ready.

Rina has printed the signs, so they are ready now.

2 Maya started in 2022 and still works here. Use since.

Maya has worked here since 2022.

3 Ask whether Maya has this experience at any time up to now.

Has Maya ever led a workshop?

4 Say that Lee has no experience with the task. Use never without a second negative.

Lee has never led this task.

5 Omar left for the store and is still away. Use gone.

Omar has gone to the supply store.

6 Give the closed departure detail: 9:40 this morning.

Omar went to the supply store at 9:40 this morning.

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

The 11:30 cafe update

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Message to the cafe team117 wordsAbout 1 min

Hi team, here is the 11:30 update. Good news: the new coffee machine has arrived, and Theo has already connected it. We haven’t tested it yet, so please don’t use it before lunch.

Lena has gone to the bank, so she isn’t here right now. She left at eleven. Please help Theo at the counter until she comes back. The bakery has sent the wrong bread again, and I have called them twice this week.

Kofi has worked here since March, and he has never seen a morning this busy! We have served ninety customers so far today. Last Saturday we served only sixty, so this is a great start. Thanks for your hard work, everyone. Jun

Find it

Tap the 9 past participles that follow have, has, or haven’t (sometimes already or never comes between). Skip past simple verbs like left.

Check your understanding

1. Why can’t the team use the coffee machine before lunch?

2. Is Lena at the cafe right now?

3. How many customers has the cafe served so far today?

Word search

Hidden participles

Each clue is a base verb. Find its past participle (the form after have or has). Words run across, down, or diagonally. Tap the first letter, then the last.

go → ?
see → ?
write → ?
take → ?
eat → ?
do → ?
be → ?
forget → ?

Sort it

Since or for?

Complete “Maya has worked here ___.” Tap each time phrase, then tap since or for. Press Check when the tray is empty.

Unscramble

Build present perfect sentences

Tap the words in order to build the sentence. Tap a placed word to send it back.

1. Ask about experience up to now.
2. Report a result that matters now.
3. Ask about a duration up to now.
4. Something happened a moment ago.

Use it: give a fictional live-status briefing

You never need to disclose your real work, study, home, location, schedule, travel, family, relationships, finances, food, health, history, achievements, or future plans. Use the fictional event board, invent a neutral public project, or share personal information only when you freely choose.

Current results: Report three completed fictional tasks and state why each result matters now.

Experience and follow-up: Ask two Have you ever...? questions about fictional staff roles. Answer with an experience total, then give one closed past detail.

Duration and open count: Describe one continuing state with since, one with for, and one total with so far today.

Final production: give a 45–60 second fictional event-status briefing. Include two current results, one experience, one continuing state, one unfinished-period total, one just / already / yet update, one been / gone status, and two past-simple event-log details with closed times.

Final check

Eight decisions from a library event

1. The welcome table is ready now because Maya completed it: She ___ the table.

2. Which opening asks about the listener’s experience up to now?

3. Rosa started in 2021 and still works at the library. Which sentence expresses that continuing situation?

4. The event is still open and the count can rise: We ___.

5. The log gives a closed time: Nora ___ to the print shop at 8:20 yesterday.

6. The assistant left for the archive and is still away: She ___ to the archive.

7. The delivery was expected, but it is still absent: It ___.

8. Which sentence states no experience without a double negative?

Reflect and plan the next use

Can you explain the present connection?

Explain why Lee has lost the key belongs on a live status board while Lee lost the key at 9:15 belongs in the event log. Then contrast been to, gone to, and a continuing state with since.

Choose your next use: repeat the status briefing with fewer notes, ask experience and finished-detail follow-ups, or complete the retrieval below tomorrow.

Return tomorrow before rereading. Complete the five-minute next-day retrieval, then revisit only the present connection, form, participle, time viewpoint, duration, adverb, or status pattern that still feels slow.

Next-day retrieval

Choose from memory before looking back

1The signs are ready now because Rina completed them: She the signs.

2Maya started in 2022 and still works here: She here since 2022.

3The event is still open, and the count can rise: We thirty visitors so far today.

Repair one high-risk participle