The Present Perfect
The “So far” and “Since” Tense

In English grammar, Perfect means “before.” It is like a bridge between a moment and the time before it. Therefore the Present Perfect tense refers to things which happened at an unspecified moment before now. It is a tense which starts in the past and includes the present. This tense does not exist in French.

Think of your life to this point as a bridge. Imagine you cross that bridge and then look
back. You see all the past things, even if they happened at different times. This is what the Present Perfect does. It can't be specific because so more than one time is involved.

Visually, the Present Perfect would be represented like this (where 1 is a moment in the past and 2 is now):

Make sure that you pronounce the -ed endings in regular verb past participles. You can see how confusion can result from hearing:

I have paint instead of I have painted
J'ai de la peinture J'ai peint

I have water I have watered
J'ai de l'eau J'ai arrosé

I have sand I have sanded
J'ai du sable J'ai sablé

I have oil I have oiled
J'ai de l'huile J'ai huilé

I have smoke I have smoked
J'ai de la fumée J'ai fumé

Forms:
have + Past Participle He has finished.

Remember that a 3rd Person Singular subject (he, she, it or other nouns meaning
the same things) always uses has.

Negatives: not goes before the past participle
subject has/have not ______ed He has not finished.

Questions: reverse the subject and the auxiliary verb have
has/have subject ______ed Has he finished?

Informal negative questions: Hasn't he finished?

Formal negative questions: Has he not finished?

Misuse:
Francophones might make the mistake of thinking that the Present Perfect is the same as the Passé composé in French, (J'ai mangé, As-tu fini or Nous avons entendu...) This is not true. The Passé composé is much more like the Simple Past. There is no such idea as the Present Perfect aspect in French.

Time References:
The Present Perfect uses unspecified time, i.e. time is not important. What is important is the order of things or to find out if the answer is Yes or No. The sentence does not tell us when something happened. If the sentence tell us when it occurred, then we use the Simple Past tense.

Why would time not be important? Well, sometimes we start off a conversation using the Present Perfect to find out if the answer is Yes or No. Then once we know, we continue the conversation with the Simple Past tense.

Many time references refer to unspecified time. We can't say exactly when they refer to.

1. For Yes / No questions using ever
Have you ever gone to New Zealand? Have you ever skied?
Have you ever seen Star Wars? Have you ever visited Morocco?
In cases like these, ever could be translated as déjà. Don't use ever if the answer is yes. When used with the Present Perfect, it is only used in the question.

2. For negative answers using never, not ever or yet
No, I have never gone to New Zealand. No, I haven't ever skied.
I haven't seen Star Wars yet. I haven't visited Morocco yet.

In English, it is considered abrupt to answer only Yes or No. After a Present Perfect question, it is polite to answer Yes, I have or No, I haven't. Here, the adverb yet indicates that the person wants to do it in the future. Notice that yet appears at the end of the sentence.

3. For frequency of repetition questions using How often or How many times
How often has he gone to your house?
How often have you eaten horse meat?
How often have you been stuck in traffic?
How many times has she seen “Titanic?”
How many times have you been to New York City?
How many times have you taken an airplane?

4. For frequency of repetition statements using a few times, always, frequently, many times, often, once or twice, on occasion, several times, sometimes and the nth time
I have always thought that Michael Jackson was a freak.
He has frequently talked to his boss about it.
They have often gone to that restaurant.
A few times, I have been tempted to quit my job.
She's tried to commit suicide many times.
My colleague has sometimes drunk too much at company parties.
This is the third time she's done that.

Notice that one-word time references go immediately before the past participle but multiple-word time references can go at the beginning or the end of the sentence.

5. For accomplishments using so far, until now, up till now, up to now or over the years
I have managed 40 different people over the years.
Until now, I haven't had trouble finishing under budget.
Up till now, I have been in charge of over 60 projects.
So far, I have received 'Employee of the Month' honours five times.

We use the Present Perfect for accomplishments that are not finished. Notice that this is similar to your CV. You could think of these expressions as being jusqu'à date in French.

You could also think of this being used for a progress report or checklist, where you describe where you are in your progress. Remember, it's not a past tense, since it is not finished. There should logically be at least one affirmative and one negative in the list.
The other steps in the middle can be either affirmative or negative.
I have received approval for my project.
I have prepared the budget.
I have done my research.
I haven't interviewed my candidates yet.
I haven't made a final decision yet.

6. Recent actions which use again, already, finally, just, lately and recently
My son has won a scholarship!
Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France again!
We have already done this lesson!
I have finally finished my project!
My grandmother has just died!
Have you read any good books lately?
They have recently moved into a new home.

We often use an exclamation mark (!) after announcements. Whenever you feel like saying Yesssss! or Oh no!, it is very likely that you could use the Present Perfect. The use of the adverb just indicates it happened a short time ago. Notice that the adverbs again and lately usually go at the end of the sentence.

U.S. English is usually simpler than British or Canadian English is, so Americans more often use the Simple Past tense for this use.

Many students don't really undestand why the Present Perfect should be used here and to be honest, it is not really necessary. Since actions are recent, there is not a big difference in meaning here. However, keep in mind that the use of the Present Perfect, being more British, is slightly more sophisticated and nuanced than its U.S. equivalent.

7 Superlatives using ever* (Don't say never for superlatives.)
This is the hardest project I've ever worked on.
Isn't this the funniest movie you've ever seen?
This isn't really the best steak I've ever eaten.
This is the second worst day I've ever experienced.
That's the third best joke I've ever heard.
Isn't she the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?
He isn't the smartest guy I've ever met.
The CN Tower is the tallest free-standing structure Canadians have ever built.

Superlatives are the best and worst of things. They can be experiences, products, people, animals or anything. Notice that they can be negative or questions as well. Superlatives are not necessarily #1 on a list, but they can be #2, #3 or anything else as well. Just be ready to justify what the #1 is, if someone asks.

8. How long questions using non-progressive verbs

Some verbs can't be progressive. These include verbs of state, possession, perception, mental action and preference. They either are or they aren't.

There is much confusion among English students about how to answer How long
questions. A typical answer is I have been ....ing since 4 years. This is wrong!
It is caused by thinking that the word depuis is always since.

Since is used for a starting point in past time. The point can be very small or very large, (e.g. a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a century) but it remains a point. It can also be a specific past event (using the Simple Past ).
I've been collecting stamps since I was 10 years old.
She has been working there since she finished high school.
They have been going to that chiropractor since 2001.
We have been working on this project since January.
My friend has been reading that book since April.

For expresses a duration of time. Usually it is followed by a number and a unit,
which can be plural.
The baby has been sleeping for an hour.
My neighbour has been causing me trouble for 4 months.
We have been buying our clothes at Sears for 20 years.
Romeo and Juliette have been meeting in secret for three weeks.

During isn't used with perfect tenses. It refers to events, not start points or durations.
She stayed with friends during the ice storm.
During our vacation, we're playing golf every day.
I'll try not to cry during my daughter's wedding.
Telemarketers always phone during my supper.

Simple Past or Present Perfect

Americans often use the Simple Past where Britons and Canadians use the Present
Perfect. It's simpler, but not as precise. The British and Canadians make a distinction between the two tenses, which makes for a more sophisticated language. Remember the visual representations of these two verb tenses:

Simple Past Event is finished		Present Perfect Event is not finished

The Simple Past is used to describe things that started and ended in the past. They happened in the past and might not occur again.

The Present Perfect tense is used to describe things that started in the past and are not yet finished. They can still occur in the future. If you can answer the question When? , use the Simple Past.

Notice the nuances in meaning between:
He frequently talked to his boss about it.
This sentence means that he doesn't talk about it anymore.

He has frequently talked to his boss about it.
This means that he still talks to his boss about it.

They often went to that restaurant.
This sentence means that they don't go there anymore.

They have often gone to that restaurant.
This means that they still go to that restaurant.

A few times, I was tempted to quit my job.
This means that I don't think that way now.

A few times, I have been tempted to quit my job.
This means that I still think that way.

Some time references cannot be used with the Present Perfect since they refer to a specific past time (they tell us when something happened). Here are some examples:

... ago, at that time, before that, in (past month / year), last ..., once, one day,
that day / week / month / year, when I was young, yesterday

Yesterday I have gone to the bank.
Yesterday, I went to the bank.

Last month, we have sold $3M of our inventory.
Last month, we sold $3M of our inventory.

They have gone there on their honeymoon 5 years ago.
They went there on their honeymoon 5 years ago.

When I was young, I have stuttered.
When I was young, I stuttered.

One day I have lost my car keys.
One day I lost my car keys.

These situations are impossible in the Present Perfect since they do not include the present time.

However, American English often uses the Simple Past where British speakers use the Present Perfect. The US form is simpler and more informal. The UK (British) form is more sophisticated and formal.

US We already went over this.
UK We've already gone over this.

US You didn't do your homework yet.
UK You haven't done your homework yet.

US Did you ever wonder if life exists on other planets?
UK Have you ever wondered if life exists on other planets?