Learn About the Present Perfect Tense

Read the sentence below:

 

I walked to the shops.

 

This sentence is written in the simple past tense.

It uses the past tense of the verb to walk.

 

Lots of past tense verbs end in -ed.

 

I talked to my friend.

I played my guitar.

 

 

Not all past tense verbs end in -ed and here are some of the exceptions:

 

Present Tense	Past Tense
I keep	I kept
I run	I ran
I eat	I ate

 

Present Perfect Tense

Look at the sentence below:

 

I have eaten my food.

 

Do you think this is written in the past or present tense?

 

 

It sounds as if it’s been written in the past tense but it has been written in a tense called the present perfect tense.

 

The present perfect tense uses the word have + a past tense verb (called a past participle).

 

I have walked to the shops.

I have played football.

I have jumped.

 

 

In this activity, you’ll be identifying sentences written in the past and the present perfect tense.

 

Remember that sentences using the present perfect use the word have.