Present Perfect Tense: Formation, Usage and BAC-Style Exercises — 1st Year Secondary — English — Algerian Curriculum

Present Perfect Tense: Formation, Usage and BAC-Style Exercises — 1st Year Secondary — English

Learning Objectives

• Form the Present Perfect tense correctly
• Understand when to use Present Perfect vs Past Simple
• Use time expressions with Present Perfect (ever, never, already, yet, just, since, for)

Formation

Structure: Subject + have/has + past participle

Affirmative:

• I have studied English for three years.
• She has visited Paris.
• They have finished their homework.

Negative:

• I have not (haven’t) seen that film.
• He has not (hasn’t) eaten breakfast.

Questions:

• Have you ever been to London?
• Has she done the exercise?

Uses of Present Perfect

1. Life experience (no specific time mentioned):
   I have visited the Sahara Desert.
2. Past action with present result:
   She has broken her leg. (It is still broken now.)
3. Unfinished action (with for/since):
   I have lived in Algiers since 2018.
4. News/Recent events (with just):
   The president has just announced the new law.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect

Expression	Meaning	Example
ever	at any time (questions)	Have you ever seen the sea?
never	at no time	I have never been to Japan.
already	before now (affirmative)	She has already finished.
yet	until now (negative/questions)	I haven’t done it yet.
just	a short time ago	He has just arrived.
since	starting point	Since Monday / 2020
for	duration	For two hours / 3 years

Present Perfect vs Past Simple

• Present Perfect: He has visited France. (Experience, no specific time)
• Past Simple: He visited France last year. (Specific past time)

BAC-Style Exercises

Exercise 1: Complete with Present Perfect

1. I ________ (never/see) such a beautiful sunset.
2. She ________ (just/finish) her homework.
3. They ________ (already/eat) lunch.
4. ________ you ever ________ (visit) the Casbah of Algiers?

Answers:

1. have never seen
2. has just finished
3. have already eaten
4. Have … visited

Exercise 2: Choose Present Perfect or Past Simple

1. I ________ (visit) my grandmother yesterday.
2. She ________ (live) in Oran since 2015.
3. We ________ (not/see) that film yet.
4. They ________ (go) to the beach last weekend.

Answers:

1. visited (Past Simple – yesterday)
2. has lived (Present Perfect – since)
3. haven’t seen (Present Perfect – yet)
4. went (Past Simple – last weekend)

Similar Lessons

• Simple Past vs Past Continuous
• Present Simple vs Present Continuous