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Read the sentence below:
Sophie walked back from the shops.
Which tense is this sentence written in?
It’s written in the simple past tense.
The verb walked is written in the past tense form and it tells us about something that has already happened.
In this activity, we’re going to look at a different tense called the present perfect.
Present Perfect Tense
From its name, it sounds as if the present perfect tense is used to describe something that is happening right now, but the name tricks us.
The present perfect tense is actually used to talk about something that started happening in the past but it might still be happening and is connected to what’s going on in the present.
For example:
Baxter has chosen his dinner.
This sentence shows that Baxter started choosing his dinner in the past, but his choosing may have continued into the present.
To write in the present perfect tense we must use have/has + a past participle.
A past participle is a past tense verb ending in -ed (like walked) or -en (like eaten).
In this activity, we’ll be using past participles ending in -en.
We use have after the pronouns I, you, we and they.
I have eaten
You have eaten
We have eaten
They have eaten
We use has after the words she, he and it.
She has eaten
He has eaten
It has eaten
The past participle in these examples is eaten.
Here are some examples of past participles ending in -en.
| Present Tense | Past Participle |
| bite | bitten |
| choose | chosen |
| drive | driven |
| forget | forgotten |
Which word is missing from this present perfect sentence?
I ____ written a letter to my friend.
We use have after the pronoun I when writing in the present perfect form.
I have written a letter to my friend.
In this activity, you’ll be using past participles ending in -en to help you write in the present perfect tense. Make sure you remember when to use 'has' and when to use 'have'.
