Present Perfect Tense & Exercise

1. Form: to have (present tense)+ the past participle
of the main verb.

Positive

Subject
to have
past participle

She
has
finished.

Negative

Subject
to have + not
past participle

She
hasn’t
finished.

Interrogative positive

to have
subject
past participle

Has
she
finished…?

Interrogative negative

to have + not
subject
past participle

Hasn’t
she
finished…?

Example: to leave (irregular verb), present perfect
form

Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative

I have left
I haven’t left
Have I left?
You have left
You haven’t left
Have you left?
He, she, it has left
He, she, it hasn’t left
Has he,she,it left?
We have left
We haven’t left
Have we left?
You have left
You haven’t left
Have you left?
They have left
They haven’t left
Have they left?

2. Use:

The present perfect is used for a complete action: We are thinking of the result when describing:

EXAMPLES:

1. An action or situation that started in the past and continuesin the present.

I have lived in Canada since 1984. (and I still do)

2. An action performed during a period that has not yet finished.

She has been to the doctor twice this week. (and the week isn’t over yet)

3. A repeated action in an unspecified period between the past and now.

We have visited London several times.

4. An action that was completed in the very recent past (expressed
by ‘just’)

I have just finished my work.

5. An action when the result is very important but the time is not.

He has seen ‘Harry Potter’.

Present perfect OR past simple?

Very Important: When we want to give or ask details about
when, where, who, we use the simple past.

Example: He saw ‘Harry Potter’ last week.

Use the present perfect when the time is not important.

Use the simple past when the time or place is important.

PRESENT PERFECT + for, since

When talking about the length of time (duration), we use the present
perfect with for + a period of time.

When talking about a starting point, we use the present perfect with
since + a point in time.

For + a period of time:

for six years, for a week, for a month, for
hours, for two hours.

I have worked here for five years. She has lived here for twenty
years. They have been married for six months.

Since + a point in time:

since this morning, since last week, since yesterday,

since I was 12, since Friday, since 6 o’clock.

I have lived here since 1998. They have been married since June.
We have been at this school since last year.

F PRESENT PERFECT + adverbs (ever, never, already, yet, still)

‘Ever’ and ‘never’ are always placed before the past
participle.

‘Ever’ = sometime before now, is used:

a. in questions

Have you ever been to Canada?

Has she ever met someone famous?

b. in negative questions

Haven’t they ever been to Canada?

Haven’t you ever eaten Thai food?

c. and in negative statements using the pattern nothing…….ever,
nobody…….ever e.g.

Nobody has ever said that to me before.

Nothing like that has ever happened to me.

d. ‘Ever’ is also used with ‘The first time…. e.g.

It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten Thai food.

This is the first time I’ve ever been to Canada.

‘Never’ = not ever. Never is used after have/has.

I have never visited London. I’ve never
been so sick.

Already, yet and still. It can be placed before
the main verb (past participle) or at the end of the sentence.

Already = sooner than expected, is used:

a. I’ve already heard the story five times.

b. Most people have already gone.

It is also used in questions:

a. Have you already rung Mike?

b. Has he arrived already?

Yet is used in negative statements and questions when we are
expecting something to happen and goes at the end of the sentence.

a. Have you bought a ticket yet?

b. I haven’t met her yet.

c. Has your course started yet?

d. They haven’t arrived yet.

Still = continuing longer than expected. Still is stronger
than yet and often expresses surprise that a situation has continued
for so long.

a. She isn’t home yet. She’s still at work.

b. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

c. I’m still thinking about it.

Back to Grammar Table

First, make sure the survey link you sent out is correct. Links are character and case sensitive, so an extra space or a lower-case letter in place of an upper-case letter could break the link.

Respondents see a message saying they’ve already taken the survey

• Check to see if you have Multiple Responses turned on or off. It’s possible some respondents are using the same computer to complete the survey. You need to turn on Multiple Responses to account for this.
• Check to see if have Response Editing on or off. It’s possible the respondent already submitted a survey and is trying to make edits.
• If you used Email Invitation, respondents may be forwarded a link from someone else. Email Invitation Collectors can only record one response per email address, so you need to add new recipients.

If you make edits to a collector, respondents just need to click the link you already sent to access the survey. The URL doesn’t change, so you don’t need to send a new link.

Respondents are asked to log in to SurveyMonkey

Check to see if your collector has Multiple Responses turned on or off. If you only allow one response per computer, respondents might be sent to a SurveyMonkey webpage if they try to access your survey again. This page thanks them for taking the survey and provides information about our site. If they click a link to create a survey or take a SurveyMonkey Contribute survey, they may be asked to log in to SurveyMonkey.

Respondents see a different survey, not mine

If respondents mention anything about being asked how much soda they drink, how often they watch TV, or their income levels or political leanings, then they probably clicked on a link for for our Contribute program. 

Respondents can see the Contribute ad in the following situations:

• Your collector has Multiple Responses turned off and the respondent already took your survey.
• A respondent is forwarded a link from someone else’s email invitation—Email Invitation Collectors can only record one response per email address.

You can edit the Survey End Page to redirect respondents to any URL after completing the survey. This prevents respondents from being sent to our Contribute page.

You can create a Custom Thank You so respondents know when your survey is done.

Respondents can’t move forward in the survey

If you included Skip Logic in your survey design, there may be logic on a question or page that is directing respondents backwards in the survey. You’ll need to edit your survey design to fix the problem. Be sure to only skip respondents forward in a survey or it can create an endless loop.

After you edit the design of a live survey, respondents taking your survey at that time may be looped back to the start as your survey refreshes. However, respondents will just need to click the link you already sent to access the updated survey. The URL doesn’t change, so you don’t need to send a new link.

Respondents see a message saying the survey is closed

Check to see if you turned on Cutoff Date and Time or Response Limits. If the date has passed or the response count has been reached, respondents won’t be able to access your survey. You can edit the closed message or turn these settings off.