Lesson 11 - Present Perfect Tense

المقدمة

In this lesson, you'll learn about the verb have. you'll also learn how to use the past participle of verbs as well as how to use the present perfect tense. The lesson starts with a short English conversation.

محادثة

Concert

English

Tom and Sarah are talking during lunch break. Tom mentions a new band that he really likes.

Tom: Have you heard any of the songs from the new band Syndica?

Sarah: No. I haven't heard of that band before.

Tom: They've only been around for about a year. They released their first album just last week.

Sarah: Have they played any shows around here?

Tom: They've played at the Commodore theater before. They have another concert planned next month. I've already bought a ticket for it.

Sarah: I'll listen to them tonight, and if I like them, maybe I'll go too.

Eric: It'll be a great show. I haven't been to any concerts lately, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Sarah: I haven't seen any good concerts yet this year either.

Eric: Let me know if you decide to go to the concert. Tom and I, and maybe a few others, are going to have dinner before the show. You're welcome to join us.

Sarah: Thanks. It sounds like fun.

المفردات والعبارات

Sound Let me know if you decide to go to the concert. اسمحوا لي أن أعرف إذا قررت أن تذهب إلى الحفل
Sound You're welcome to join us. كنت موضع ترحيب للانضمام إلينا
Sound It sounds like fun. يبدو هذا ممتعا
Sound Have they played any shows around here?
Sound songs أغاني
Sound band الموسيقى المجموعة
Sound before قبل
Sound during أثناء
Sound they released أطلقوا سراح
Sound album القرص المضغوط
Sound just last week الأسبوع الماضي فقط
Sound concert حفلة موسيقية
Sound to mention ذكر
Sound to like استمتع
Sound to plan خطط
Sound theater مسرح
Sound ticket تذكرة
Sound maybe ربما
Sound to look forward to لنتطلع إلى

الإعلانات

قواعد

The Verb Have

The verb have is one of the most common verbs in English and has several different meanings. Here are some of the more common one:

  • own
  • possess
  • hold
  • include
  • consume or use up
  • state the existence of
  • to be scheduled to attend undertake, or perform and action
  • experience or undergo
  • be afflicted with
  • cause to be

The verb have is also used as a helper verb to create the present perfect tense, which will be covered later in this lesson. The following table shows the present and past tense of the verb have.

Present Tense Past Tense
I have had
you have had
he has had
it has had
she has had
we have had
they have had

Examples

I have a laptop.
I have his car keys.
The door has a lock.
I have a brother.
I had a cold.
I have an appointment at 3:00.
I have too much work to do.
We had a great time.

The Past Participle

The past particple is a form of a verb that can be used to turn verbs into adjectives. The past participle can also be used with the auxiliary verb have to create certain verb tenses such as the present perfect tense that will be discussed later in the lesson.

For most verbs, the past participle is the same as the past tense. Some example of past participles that are the same as the past tense are shown in the following table.

Verb Past Tense Past Participle اللغة العربية
close closed closed أغلق
learn learned learned تعلم
have had had لامتلاك
think thought thought فكر
find found found للعثور على

There are some very common verbs in English that have a unique form of the past participle. Most verbs whose past tense is creating by changing the vowel have a unique form of the past participle. Some common verbs with a unique form of the past participle are shown in the following table.

Verb Past Tense Past Participle اللغة العربية
be was been يكون
go went gone للذهاب
begin began begun استهل
drink drank drunk ليشرب
ring rang rung
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
swim swam swum أن تسبح
bite bit bidden
hide hid hidden إخفاء
drive drove driven
ride rode ridden
rise rose risen
strive strove striven
write wrote written لكتابة
break broke broken خرق
choose chose chosen لاختيار
freeze frose frosen
fly flew flown أن يطير
come came come تأتي
do did done فعل
eat ate eaten لتناول الطعام
find found found للعثور على
forget forgot forgotten ننسى
give gave given أعطى
throw threw thrown إلقاء
know knew known أن تعرف
run ran run لتشغيل
see saw seen لترى
speak spoke spoken تحدث
take took taken أخذ

Examples

a locked door
a broken window
a hidden treasure

الإعلانات

Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is created in English by using the past participle of a verb along with the present tense of the verb have.

The following table shows how to create the present perfect tense for the verb walk.

Present Perfect Tense
I have walked
you have walked
he has walked
she has walked
it has walked
we have walked
they have walked

The present perfect tense is used in English to describe:

  1. an action that started in the past and continues into the present
  2. an action that started in the past and just finished
  3. a repeated series of actions that have finished in the past, but are likely to happen again in the future
  4. a change that has happened over an extended amount of time.

For example:

I've gone to see the ocean.
I have seen the ocean.
I have seen the ocean many times.
I have seen the ocean, but I can't remember when.
She has grown since the last time I saw her.

Never use the present perfect tense with with words such as today, yesterday, days of the week, or other words that indicate a specific time. For a single action that happened at a specific time in the past, the simple past tense needs to be used. For example:

I saw the ocean yesterday.
I saw the ocean on Monday.
I saw the ocean in June.
I saw the ocean on our vacation.

Examples

I have been to Spain. لقد كنت إلى اسبانيا
She has gotten better at math. وقالت انها حصلت على نحو أفضل في الرياضيات
I have learned another language. لقد تعلمت لغة أخرى
They have done that already. لقد فعلوا ذلك بالفعل
We have seen the movie. فإننا قمنا شاهدت الفيلم بالفعل
He has written a book. وقد كتب كتاب
The book has been read by many people. تمت قراءة الكتاب من قبل العديد من الناس

Contractions

Contractions are often used with pronouns and have.

Examples

I've done that too many times. لقد فعلت ذلك مرات عديدة جدا
You've seen it already. كنت قد رأيت بالفعل
She's taken that course before. قالت أنها أخذت تلك الدورة قبل
He's watched the show five times already. كان يشاهد العرض خمس مرات من قبل

Negative Statements with the Present Perfect

The following table shows the forms of the present perfect tense that are used to make a negative statement.

Negative Form
I haven't walked
you haven't walked
he hasn't walked
she hasn't walked
it hasn't walked
we haven't walked
they haven't walked

You can also create a negative statement by using the adverb never after the verb have.

Examples

It hasn't happened before. لم يحدث عليها قبل
I haven't been there.
We've never been there. كنا أبدا هناك
I have never done that. لم يسبق لي أن فعلت ذلك

Question Form of the Present Perfect

To make a questions with the present perfect tense, the noun or pronoun follows the auxiliary verb have.

Question Form
Have I walked?
Have you walked?
Has he walked?
Has she walked?
Has it walked?
Have we walked?
Have they walked?

Examples

Have you ever seen a bear? هل سبق لك أن رأيت الدب؟
Has the car ever worked? والسيارة عملت من أي وقت مضى؟
Have the books been read yet? وقد الكتب تم قراءة حتى الآن؟
Have you thought about it? هل فكرت في ذلك؟
Has it happened before?
Have you seen it already?
Where have you been?

Flashcards

Here are some flashcards to help you learn the present perfect tense of some common English verbs.

الاختبار

In the quiz for this lesson, you'll practice writing sentences using the present perfect tense. You can take the quiz as many times as you like. Your highest score will be saved.

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