January 19, 2022 4:04 PM PST
There are three main contexts in which we use the present perfect. All of them are focused on the present time in relation to something in the past.
- We use present perfect for something that happened in the past but has some kind of effect on the present. For example, if a person is offered food and says, “No thank you, I’ve had my breakfast” it means that the person is not hungry now because he or she ate earlier on. Of course, the person could also say, “Yes, please. I’ve had my breakfast, but I’m still hungry”; the speaker is focusing on his/her state now in relation to something done in the past (eating breakfast).
- We use the present perfect for something that happens in a time frame that continues up to now. We can say, “I have seen Peter today”, “I have lived here for three years”, etc. It follows that we cannot use present perfect with a past time reference, so we cannot say, for example, X“I have seen Peter yesterday”.
- We use present perfect to talk about experiences that form part of who we are now. For example, “I have been to university” expresses the idea that now I am a person with a university education, and “I have never been to China” expresses the idea that now I am a person who does not have the experience of going to China.
For more detailed information, see the British Council page on this topic: Present perfect
Present, past and future perfect simple ... made simple!
