When do you use the Present Perfect tense? .

The important thing to remember about the present perfect simple and continuous is that they are related to the present – not the past. If we focus on events that happened in the past, we use the Past Simple:

Last year I went to Spain.

With the present perfect, there"s always a connection with now – even if the event happened in the past.

I"ve visited Spain before. (I have a memory of it in my mind.)
I"ve lived here for three years. (I still live here)

We can also use the present perfect to talk about recent activites. Often we use an adverb like just, already, yet or still:

I"ve just seen Robert. (about a minute ago)
I"ve already finished my work. (I finished it sooner than I thought)
I haven"t been to the bank yet. (up to now)
I still haven"t been to the bank. (the situation hasn"t changed)

Exercise

Choose just, already, yet or still to fill the gaps in the sentences below.

1. Have you sent that letter?
No, I haven"t been to the Post Office —–

2. I"ve —– seen Paul at the bus stop. He"s looking really well.

3. Do you want me to get you a newspaper when I"m out? No thanks, I"ve —– read it online. (2 possibilities)

4. She"s a great traveller. She"s —– been to most European countries, and now she"s going to South America.

5. I"m supposed to be going to an interview tomorrow, but I —– haven"t had confirmation about the time.

6. Do you want to work an extra day tomorrow? No thanks, I"ve —– come back from holiday.

Answers to last week"s English exercise

It was a hot day, so I decided to prepare salad for lunch. Outside, the children were playing in the garden. Suddenly I heard a loud noise, followed by a scream. I ranoutside to see what was happening.

On my first day at work I was a bit nervous. I got up early, had a shower, and dranksome coffee. I was too nervous to eat.

I thought I was looking / looked very smart. I was wearing a suit and my best shoes. Iwalked to the bus stop and waited for the bus. While I was waiting, I noticed that people were looking at me in a strange way. I tried to ignore them, and when my busarrived I got on and found a seat. 30 minutes later, I arrived at my office. Just as I gotoff the bus, I looked down and realised that I was wearing shoes of different colours…