Present perfect: past linked to now

Approximate A2–B1 · editorial content label, not a certified rating.

Use have/has plus a past participle to connect a past event or situation with the present. It can describe experience without a finished date, a present result, or a state continuing to now. Use for with a duration and since with a starting point.

Try the three exercise formats

Examples to compare

  • I have lost my key, so I cannot open the door.
  • She has lived here since 2020.
  • Have you ever visited that museum?

Watch the meaning and the limits

Do not normally pair this form with a finished past date such as yesterday. American speakers often use the simple past in some recent-event contexts where British speakers prefer the present perfect. The drill uses explicit form and time clues to avoid grading a dialect preference as an error.

Read each example aloud, then change one detail to make a sentence you could use. Continue with focused practice when you want a different set.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Mistake: She has wrote the report.

Use: She has written the report.

Has takes a past participle; written is the participle and wrote is the past simple.

Try the pattern

3 choose questions · 2 sentence completions · 2 word gaps. Read the reason after every answer. No timer.

Typed answers stay on this page. This guided set checks the requested construction; it does not judge general writing. Read the accepted answers and reasons.

Use it in your own sentence

Write one sentence about your own routine or situation. Check the subject, verb form and intended meaning against the rule above. A different sentence may need a different form: these exercises accept the reviewed answers for their stated context.

Try the next practice set, or choose another grammar point.

All drill answers and reasons

  1. Complete the present-perfect form: She ___ finished.

    Choices: has / have / is

    Accepted: has

    She takes has plus the participle finished.

  2. Complete the present-perfect form: We have ___ the report.

    Choices: written / wrote / write

    Accepted: written

    Have takes the past participle written.

  3. She has lived here ___ 2020.

    Choices: since / for / during

    Accepted: since

    Since introduces a starting point.

  4. Complete the present perfect of finish: We ___ the report.

    Accepted: have finished / ’ve finished

    We takes have plus finished; we’ve is the contraction.

  5. Complete the present-perfect negative of see: I ___ that film.

    Accepted: have not seen / haven’t seen

    Use have not plus the participle seen, not saw.

  6. She has ___ a lot this year. Use the past participle of learn.

    Accepted: learned / learnt

    Both learned and learnt are standard participles after has.

  7. We have lived here ___ five years. Use for or since.

    Accepted: for

    For introduces a duration; since introduces a starting point.

Practice questions

How do the three exercise formats work?

Choose asks you to pick an answer. Complete the sentence asks you to type the missing phrase. Fill in the word asks for one word, or no article where stated. Every checked answer includes a reason.

Which typed answers are accepted?

Use the form and meaning requested in the prompt. Reviewed alternatives and contractions are accepted where they fit. Capital letters, surrounding spaces, straight or curly apostrophes and a final full stop, question mark or exclamation mark do not affect marking. The answer reference lists the accepted forms.

Are my typed answers sent or saved?

Typed answers stay on this page in your browser. They are not sent to the server or saved. If device progress is available, completing a set records only the activity and study points on this device.

Can this check my own writing or certify my level?

No. This is a small guided set with reviewed answers, not a general grammar checker or a level certificate. An unlisted answer does not mean it is always wrong in English. Read the prompt and the explanation for this construction.

Further reference: Cambridge English Grammar Today. The explanations, examples and exercises here are original; each lesson covers a useful pattern rather than every exception.