The Perfect Aspect

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The Perfect Aspect


The perfect aspect is a verb form that expresses the consequences resulting from a previous action or state. The previous action or state began inthe past and continued up to the present.

Situations or events described by the present perfect do not always continue until the time of speaking, nor have they necessarily always happenedimmediatly before the time of speaking, but they usually imply some conection or relevance to the present time.
e.g: I´ve finished with the computer now, you can use it if you like.


The uses of theperfect aspect


All forms of the perfect aspect in English include some form of the verb have followed by a past participle. Perfect aspect verb phrases in the passive voice also include been, thepast participle of be, between the have and the past participle. The following verb chart outlines the verb phrase patterns for the perfect aspect:





How to form the perfect aspect


We usethe Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as:yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once,many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.
Examples:
I have seen that movie twenty times.
I think I have met him once before.

The Present Perfect Aspect

Use thepresent perfect to express a state or repeated action that began in the past and continues into the moment of speaking. The present perfect or the present perfect continuous can often be interchanged. Themain difference between these two forms is that the present perfect continuous is generally used to express the length of the current activity up to the present moment in time.

This tense is...