The Present (Tense) Perfect (Aspect) =
The Pedagogical Present Perfect Tense
FORM:
Present tense form of have (have/has) + Past Participle Form of the Verb
I have walkedwe have walked
You have walkedyou (all) have walked
He/she/it has walkedthey have walked
USAGE:
Looks at an activity from the endpoint.
Refers to an unspecified time before now.
Experience: I have talked to her.
Change over time: She has lost weight, since March.
Accomplishments: They have learned to read French.
Uncompleted activity you are expecting to finish (negative): He hasn’t arrived yet.
Multiple (repetitive) actions at different times: I have gone to 5 different MS specialists.
With non-progressive verbs (e.g. statives) the present perfect is often used to describe duration of an activity/action frm the past until the present: I have known him for six years.
The Present Perfect cannot be smoothly used with certain types of past tense adverbials. Generally the native English speaker will prefer to switch to the simple past to use adverbs such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was ten, when I lived in England, at that moment, that day, one day, etc.
The Present (tense) Perfect (aspect) Progressive (aspect) = The Pedagogical Present Perfect Progressive
FORM: Have/has + Been + ing Participle
I have been walkingwe have been walking
You have been walkingYou all have been walking
He/she/it has been walkingThey have been walking
USAGE:
The present perfect progressive is used to express incomplete, ongoing action that started in the past and continues to the present.
Unlike the present perfect, it suggests that not all of the activity has been completed.
CONTRAST: I have typed this. (and it’s done now and what are you complaining about).
I have been typing this for the last hour (and it’s not done yet).
It is not used with verbs that cannot be progressive (e.g. understand).
Contrast: I have known him for ten years.
*I have been knowing him for ten years.
Some verbs can have different meanings, depending on the aspect.
Contrast: The woman has died. The woman has been dying.
The present perfect progressive is often used with adverbs that show duration (ex. “for ten years” or “since yesterday”). It often carries with it a sense of an ongoing action that is interrupted. This feature of “interruption” is a feature of the progressive part of the aspect.
Example: You smell like smoke. Have you been smoking?
Present perfect or present perfect progressive
Taken from:
Circle the correct answer.
1 I .... these tenses for three weeks now. Do you think I have made any progress.
have practised
have been practising
2 She ... about me, hasn't she. I can just feel it.
has gossiped
has been gossiping
3 Helen ... me you are seriously ill. Why didn't you tell me yourself.
has told
has been telling
4 Our company .... its turnover over the past six months.
has doubled
has been doubling
5 .... Your breath smells awful.
Have you smoked?
Have you been smoking?
6 I .... at this menu for ages now and I still .... yet.
have stared, haven't been deciding
have stared, haven't decided
have been staring, haven't decided
7 Pope Benedict .... more than 20 countries.
has visited
has been visiting
8 I .... her to be extra careful when opening the car door. I'm not really surprised to hear that she knocked down a pedestrian.
have often told
have often been telling
9 I .... paperwork all day. In all, I guess I ... about 65 letters.
have done, have signed
have been doing, have signed
have done, have been signing
10 With this last sentence you ... the exercise.
have finished
have been finishing