Present Perfect Simple
"Have" in present simple + past participle
The past participle and past simple (regular affirmative verbs) have the same form.
I, you we, they have (not) lived, worked, played ...
He, she, it has (not) lived, worked, played...
Have (not) I, you, we, they lived, worked, played...?
Has (not) he, she, it lived, worked, played...?
There are a lot of irregular past participles.
Examples
Have you been to paris? No, I haven't.
He hasn't finished his homework.
They've played basket ball 3 times this week.
Present Perfect Continuous
Be in present perfect + verb+ing
I, you we, they have (not) been living, working, playing ...
He, she, it has (not) been living, working, playing ...
Have (not) I, you, we, they been living, working, playing ...?
Has (not) he, she, it been living, working, playing ...?
Examples
Haven't you been running? No, I haven't.
He's (has) been living in Paris for 3 years.
They've been seeing each other ever since.
The Present Perfect has always a connection with now.
From past (= perfect) to present (still true or not) (We don’t know/say when)
In my life until now (We don’t know/say when)
Recent actions with consequence on the present
(often used with "So far, yet, just , already, recently, ever, never…")
Present perfect simple : how many times in your life, from past to present still true or just finished, already, just,
yet ..., the action has a consequence on the present,
Present perfect continuous : progressive from past to present still true or we don't know
Examples
I've been to Paris three times. (how many times in my life until now)
He's had several cup of coffees today, (From beginning of the day until now, the day is not finished, he may have more cups of coffees)
I haven't finished yet (consequence: it is not over now)
We've just finished (consequence: it is over)
They've been living in Paris for 3 years. (progressive from past to present, still true)
The simple form focuses on the result of an action whereas the continuous form focuses on the process of the action :
She's painted the wall. ( consequence : It is finished)
She's been painting the wall (we don't know if it is finished or not)
Exercises
Past simple vs Present perfect
The main difference between the two is that the Past Simple refers to the Past only with a precise past context and The Present perfect takes into consideration both past and present but with no reference to when it happened. With the Past simple, we know when the action happened (from the context or precising a past moment)
Examples
I played basket ball yesterday (we say when it happened)
When I was a child, I went to Paris. I thaught the city was great and I loved the food... (a past context is put and then the following actions in the following sentences agree with the context)
I've been to Paris when I was a child
She's been to Paris twice this year.(from past to present, the year is not finished, we don't say/know when she went exactly)
I did my homework this afternoon, (we say when)
I've done my homework. (recently finished but we don't say when)
Exercises
Past Perfect Simple
"Have" in past simple + past participle
I, you we, they had (not) lived, worked, played ...
Had (not) I, you, he ,she, it we, they lived, worked, played...?
Past Perfect Continuous
"Be" in past perfect + verb+ing
I, you, he, she, it, we, they had (not) been living, working, playing ...
Had (not) I, you, he, she, it we, they been living, working, playing ...?
Same use as Present perfect but in a past context. Instead of "from past to present" it's "from a past moment to another later past moment".
Examples
I'd (had) been to Paris three times before I came to live here. (how many times in my life before another later past moment )
He'd had several cup of coffees that day, (From beginning of a past day until the end of the day)
I hadn't finished yet (consequence: it was not over then)
We'd just finished (consequence: it was over)
They'd been living in Paris for 3 years when the war was declared. (progressive from past to another past)
The simple form focuses on the result of an action whereas the continuous form focuses on the process of the action :
She'd painted the wall. ( consequence : It is finished)
She'd been painting the wall (we don't know if it was finished or not)
