What time does yet indicate? Marker words Present Continuous

I am sure that many people who study a language on their own reach the Present Perfect and... this is where their study ends, because according to the explanations from the textbook, not everyone can understand How is it? and Why is this? In this article I will not rewrite the rules, I will try to clearly and clearly explain what Present Perfect is.

First of all, let me remind you of the formation of this time.

We form the statement using the auxiliary verb have or has and the main verb in the third form, which in grammar is called Past Participle. If the verb is regular (regular), then the ending is added to it -ed, if the verb is irregular (irregular), then we take the third form from the third column of the table irregular verbs. In this article I will denote Past Participle as V3:

In negation, a negative particle is added to the auxiliary verb not:

To form the interrogative form, the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject ( Subject):

Not all special questions can be asked in the Present Perfect. For example, a question with a word is impossible, so in the Present Perfect interlocutors are only interested in the result. If we are interested in time, then we need to use another grammatical construction to express actions in the past.

Using the Present Perfect

Present Perfect - present perfect tense. From the name it is clear that this tense denotes an action that was performed in the past, but is connected with the present. How is it connected to the present? How do we understand that it is connected?

From theory, you probably remember that this tense should be used when talking about the result of an action; if the action began in the past, but is still ongoing; and also if we talk about our life experiences; when the action took place in a period of time that has not yet ended... Surely you have already read about this many times in books or heard from a teacher.

I will try to explain to you step by step and clearly in what cases the Present Perfect is used in English. I will try to give situations from life that you encounter every day, and in which it is appropriate and even necessary to use Present Perfect. In this article I will give you small tasks, by completing which you will be able to see the importance of using this time. I would like to note that my explanation will be significantly different from those you read in grammar books.

What makes the Present Perfect different from other tenses? These are his markers (they are also called defining words, time indicators). Let us highlight the main markers of this time:

I'm going to tell you about each of them because each marker reflects the main points of time use.

1. Just (just now)

The tense indicator just is often used with Present Perfect and indicates that an action has just occurred and there is a certain visible and significant result.

In the statement, the place of just is after the auxiliary verb:

Just is not used in negatives. In general matters it is extremely rare.

Just used in special issues with question words ( , Why, etc.) You can see questions like this with just :

What has just happened? - What just happened?

What has he just done/ said? - What did he just do/say?

What just happened? Someone just broke a cup.

When did this action take place? In the recent past, we don't know exactly when.

What do we know? We only know the result of an action. And we can say this in Present Perfect:

What did they just do? They have just cleaned the room.

We don't know the exact time, but we have a visible result - the room is clean.

They have just cleaned the room.

What did he just do? He just woke up.

The time of his awakening is unknown to us (although there is a clock in the photo), but we see the result: he is no longer sleeping.

He has just woken up.

What did you just do? You just read the explanation. The action is completed, there is a result: you learned about the word just.

You can say:

I have just read the explanation.

Exercise: Having performed some action and received a result, talk about its completion:

I have just had my breakfast.

You can look out the window and comment on what just happened there:

The tall man has just crossed the street. Two girls have just entered the shop.

2. Already/ yet (already; yet)

Present Perfect is used to describe an action that has already happened or has not yet happened. In these cases, we are invariably interested in the result, not in time. To make it clearer, let's look at an example from life.

Imagine that you come to a store with a shopping list.

Having already done some shopping, you stop to see what you have already purchased.

Let's consider different situations.

You read and translate complex text. You have only translated ten pages so far. You are still working with the text. You say:

I have translated ten pages so far. - I have translated ten pages so far.

Your friend is a writer. He writes novels. He has published one novel so far and continues to write. About him you will say:

He has published one novel so far. - He has published one novel so far.

The company you work for is expanding rapidly. At the moment, you have opened twenty new offices throughout the country and the company continues to grow:

Our company has opened twenty new offices so far. - Our company has opened twenty new offices at the moment.

All the actions described above took place in the past, but we evaluate their results at the moment while the action continues.

Question: How many paragraphs of this article have you read so far?

5. Never / ever (never / ever)

If you decide to indulge in memories and talk about your life experience, then without time Present Perfect you can't get by.

Do you like to travel? What countries have you visited?

I have been to France. - I was in France.

I have been to Italy. - I was in Italy.

I have been to Spain. - I was in Spain.

It doesn’t matter at all when you went to these countries, the main thing is that you visited there, got impressions, and can talk about it.

Which countries have you never been to? You can use negation or the word never to talk about it. The place of never in a sentence is after the auxiliary verb have/has:

I haven't been to India. - I have never been to India. - I've never been to India.

I haven’t been to China. - I have never been to China. - I have never been to China.

I haven't been to Japan. - I have never been to Japan. - I've never been to Japan.

If the word never is used, then the negative particle not is not needed because never itself has a negative meaning.

You want to ask questions to your interlocutor. Use the word ever:

Have you ever been to London? -Have you ever been to London?

I really hope that my explanation helped you understand the essence of the Present Perfect tense. Send your feedback

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The present perfect tense is a difficult tense for a learner of English to understand. We are not accustomed to the fact that the past tense in English can be represented by a variety of options, which differ in what exactly the author emphasizes in his sentence (the time of the action, its result, duration or lack thereof). The Present Perfect tense is the present perfect tense, but, nevertheless, it is translated into Russian by a verb of the past tense, and even of the perfect form.

And the whole point is that this time just talks about events that have happened, actions that have been completed. But these actions or events have a direct connection with the present, their result affects this very present. How can I not remember classic example Present Perfect: I have lost my keys. I can't open the door. (I lost my keys and can't open the door). The second is a consequence of the first, and the first, in turn, is the cause of the second. This example clearly illustrates the present perfect tense. But there are times when you wonder how to translate or understand correctly? To make the perception of time even a little easier, you should pay attention to the Present Perfect marker words in a sentence; they are an indicator of this particular time. Such markers exist in all tenses of the English language, and knowing them can be a great help in a situation when you doubt your choice of the necessary grammatical form.

Adverbs of indefinite time are what are usually companion words to the Present Perfect. These time indicators emphasize the connection of an action that began in the past and ended not so long ago with the present time. Here are the adverbs with the Present Perfect that you need to remember when studying the present perfect tense:

• ever – ever, whenever, someday;
• never - never;
• just - just, exactly, barely, just, only, completely, just, only, now;
• already – already, earlier, even;
• not...yet - still not, not yet, not yet, no, not yet;
• before – earlier, before, not yet, already, before;
• lately - long ago, in lately, recently, lately;
• of late – recently, lately, recently;
• so far - already, by now, at this hour, so far, until now, up to this moment;
• recently - recently, the other day, recently, just now, not so long ago;
• by now - on present moment;
• up to now - until now, until now.

Even looking at the meanings of these adverbs with the Present Perfect, one can already understand that they are all closely related to the present time, although they serve to explain the actions of the past. These adverbs are placed before semantic verb, but some of them have their own usage features that need to be listed:

1. With the adverb never, the verb is used only in the affirmative form, since the sentence already contains one negation:

   I have never seen him. - I've never seen him.

2. Present Perfect marker words such as yet, already, lately, recently, before, of late can appear at the end of a sentence:

He has seen many films lately. – He has watched a lot of films lately.


He has not finished his work yet. - He hasn't finished his work yet.


He has made good progress recently. “He has made significant progress recently.”


I have seen this cartoon before. – I have seen this cartoon before.


I’ve been here for an hour already. – I’ve been here for an hour already.


We haven’t spoken of late. “We haven’t talked lately.”


Note that the adverb yet is used in negative sentences. By the way, the adverb ever is most often used in interrogative questions:

I haven’t had lunch yet. - I haven't had lunch yet.


Have you ever had a car accident? -Have you ever been in a car accident?


3. Adverbs so far, up to now, by now are usually placed at the beginning of the sentence (sometimes at the end):

So far, he has written ten letters to this company. – By now he has already written ten letters to this company.


Up to now, I haven’t found this book. – I still haven’t found this book.


By now, she has read fourteen novels by Stephen King. – So far, she has read fourteen Stephen King novels.


4. In the Present Perfect, the indicator words lately (lately) and just (meaning just now) are used only in the Present Perfect tense:

   The mail has just come. - The mail has just arrived.

   I've just heard this news. – I just heard the news.

And if we encounter the combination just now, then we must choose the simple past tense Past Simple:

She was here just now. - She was just (this minute) here.


5. When we use such an adverb with the Present Perfect as recently, we mean “recently” (for a short period of time before the present). Here we definitely take the forms of the present perfect tense:

   I haven’t heard from her recently. “I haven’t heard from her lately.”

If we need to use this adverb recently in a sentence meaning “not long ago”, we turn to the tense form of the simple past tense (Past Simple):

I started painting only recently. – I started drawing not so long ago.


We met quite recently. – We met quite recently.

Perfect tenses are the most difficult English grammatical constructions for foreigners to understand. Not only is the construction multi-elemental, but also the situations of use are separated from other aspects by such a thin thread that sometimes this line is very difficult to detect. But even for such difficult situations you can find a simple solution, especially when it is suggested by you English grammar. We are talking about the circumstances of time, emphasizing the need to use a specific aspect, for which the British called them time markers. Today we will analyze the aspect of the perfect present, paying special attention to the indicators characteristic of the present perfect words.

The very concept of perfect is intended to indicate the completion of an action. Accordingly, when using these aspects, we focus on the events that occurred and their results, therefore verbs of this form are always translated into Russian in the past tense. The use of present perfect is justified in the following cases:

• The action ended recently and has a direct connection with the present: I have just got youremail– I just received your letter.
• The experience or result of actions is important, but the time of their implementation is indifferent: I’ve read theWarandPiece– I read “War and Peace”.
• The action is in process, but is expressed by a static verb, and therefore cannot take the form of a continuum: We have had theparrotsince2011 – This parrot has been living with us since 2011.

Even in these few examples, the signal words corresponding to this aspect are already clearly highlighted. But we'll talk more about this later. Now let’s remember the construction of grammatical structures in sentences of various types.

Predicate statements are formed by combining the auxiliary verb have and the past participle. We remember that for the third person singular. Pronouns and nouns are characterized by changing the form of the helping verb to has.

• We have sent the fax -Wesentfax.
• She has just arrived atthestation- She has just arrived at the station.

To negate, you need to add the particle not to the auxiliary part of the predicate.

• They haven 't been heresince1997 - They haven't been here since 1997.
• He hasn't 't done histask “He didn’t complete his task.”

In interrogative sentences, have changes places with the subject.

• Has heever heard aboutit? – Has he ever heard of this?
• Have theyever seen eachother? -Have they ever seen each other?

Knowing the constructions, it is easy to determine the context and meaning of the sentence in the finished text. What about the practical part and application of the aspect in your speech? To confidently navigate English times it is necessary to study the time markers accompanying a certain aspect. The perfect present also has such helpers.

Present perfect words of indicators

By their meaning, most sentences of this aspect involve an indication of the duration of the action, so they are often accompanied by temporary indicators. Let's consider everything possible satellites present perfect.

never; ever; always

Words never, ever, always not only popular adverbs of time, but also indicators of the presence or absence of experience in performing actions. Comparing their meaning with the scope of use of the present perfect, we will notice that it is about such actions we're talking about in the second item on the list.

• Have you ever traveled bytrainwithoutaticket? – Have you ever traveled by train without a ticket? (Have you ever experienced traveling by train without a ticket?)
• Jack has never won moneyinalotteryJack has never won money in the lottery.
• We have always liked towalkinthispark– We always liked to walk in this park.
• She has always wanted to become a famous actress –SheAlwayswantedbecomefamousactress.
• Myrelatives have never forgotten aboutme“My relatives never forgot about me.
• Has he ever voted againsttheRepublicanParty? “Has he ever voted against the Republican Party?”

already; yet

This type of adverb indicates the degree to which an action is performed. In the first case we say that it already completed, and in the second - that the action more not completed. Accordingly, already is used only in positive statements, and yet only in negative sentences. In the interrogative form, both options are used equally, but there is a slight difference in shades: yet - expected action, already - surprise, surprise.

• Has she bought a new car already ? – Shealreadyboughtnewcar?
• I have already written this exerciseIalreadywroteThisexercise.
• He hasn't finished his project yet – HemoreNotcompletedmineproject.
• Have you sent the parcels yet ? – Youalreadysenttheseparcels?

since; for

Words of this group act as signals of the beginning or duration of an action: from now on, during this time. Very often these pointers are used with the present perfect, when the predicate is expressed by a static verb. That is, the statement indicates a process, but it is impossible to form a continuum form. This is the third item in the list of uses of this aspect that we have analyzed.

• I have had this computer since 2017 – Thiscomputeratmesince 2017year.
• My daughter has had a toothache since morning –UmydaughtersWithmorninghurtstooth.
• Nick and Barbara have been married for ten years –NickAndBarbaramarried 10 years.
• He hasn't played basketball since he finished school –HeNotplayedVbasketballWiththosesince thenHowgraduatedschool.

just; recently; lately

And these clues point to the very first meaning in the list of situations of use - connection with the present moment in time. These expressions are translated into Russian as: just now, the other day, recently. Just is used much more often than the other two expressions, but sometimes they also appear in speech.

• Has she been uptoMoscow recently ? – Has she been to Moscow lately?
• I have just noticed yourmessage– I just noticed your message.
• Lately , we have met onlyonSaturdays– Lately we have only met on Saturdays.
• He has just bought abeautifulnecklaceforme“He just bought a beautiful necklace for me.”
• You have recently received alargeamountofmoneyHaven'tyou? – You recently received a large sum of money, didn’t you?
• He hasn't 't written asingleline lately “He hasn’t written a single line lately.”

so far; up till now

These expressions are practically synonymous. They are both perceived as an indicator of a completed event, but taking into account future prospects. These are sentences like: by now, at the moment, for now. That is, there are already certain results, but the performer does not intend to stop there.

• Myfavoritefootballteam has had sevenpoints so far inthisseason– My favorite football team at the moment is 07 points this season.
• Jack has been ill up till now – Jacktothesesince thensick.
• So far, only two students have passed this exam –ByeWhatonlytwostudentspassedthisexam.
• Up till now , we have worked at the factory –TorecenttimeWeworkedonfactory.

Based on all of the above, a logical conclusion suggests itself: a perfect is always a result, even if it is negative! Having mastered the meaning of time and adding to your knowledge of the present perfect all the indicator words given in this text, you will easily perceive English speech and with dignity tell foreign interlocutors about your practical experience and committed actions.

Any tenses of the Perfect category indicate the perfection of the action, that the situation is complete, and not long-term or permanent. As for The Present Perfect Tense– ‘this is a time that is certainly associated with real action, as evidenced by its name.

General information

The main feature of this type of tense form is that in sentences with the Present Perfect we are talking about a completed action, the result of which has a direct connection with the current time. Very often there is a time where there is no emphasis on connections with the present, and it is based solely on the fact of the event that occurred.

Here are examples of sentences that show how the present perfect tense looks and is used in English:

· You have done more than stay young; you have stayed a child - You did more than just stay young - you remained a child
· I have made you a bed upstairs, make yourself at home - I made you a bed upstairs, make yourself at home

As can be seen from these examples, the present perfect tense, as it is called in Russian transcription, is used to express not just an event that took place in the past, but reflects the result of a completed action that is relevant now.

Education Present Perfect

The present completed tense often causes difficulties for those who are still at the stage of learning English, because here several nuances come into force at once, which are extremely important to take into account. Firstly, the Present Perfect is necessarily formed using auxiliary verbs. These are auxiliary verbs such as have and has (the latter is used only for third person pronouns used in the singular - he, she, it). Secondly, this verb in the present perfect tense is followed by a main verb, which is in the form Past Participle, or Participle II (popularly the third form of the verb). Here it is important to navigate the list of irregular verbs, but for regular verbs everything is simpler, because the ending –ed is simply added to the word.

Therefore classical present formula Perfect looks like this:

Have
Has + V(3) (–ed)

· I have never had a chance to meet anyone here – I have never had the opportunity to meet anyone here
· She has worked in this company for 3 years already – She has worked in this company for 3 years already

Questions and denials

Interrogative sentences

here are formed with the same auxiliary verbs have and has, which are in general issue, i.e. in the one to which the answer can be “yes” or “no”, are in the original position:

· Have you already finished your course work? – Have you finished your coursework yet?
· Has he just returned from his trip? – Has he just returned from his trip?

Special questions

at the beginning of which there is a question word like when, why, how, etc., are formed according to a similar principle, with the only difference that the initial position is occupied by these question words:

· How long has she been here? – How long has she been here?
· Why has he written so many articles today? – Why did he write so many articles today?

Present Perfect formula in a negative sentence

practically no different from affirmative form. Here the grammar provides for the simple use of the particle not after the auxiliary verb, where have not = haven’t, hasn’t = has not. Negation looks like this:

· I haven’t completed my daily report yet – I have not yet completed my daily report
· He still hasn’t brought us money - He still hasn’t brought us money

Note: the rule provides for the use of this tense in special interrogative and negative constructions with the inclusion of the phrase “ever”, where the Present Perfect time markers used are the adverbs ever or never:

· Have you ever been to Bangkok? – Have you ever been to Bangkok?
· I have never seen such a beautiful landscape! – I have never seen such a beautiful landscape!

Using the Present Perfect

The use of the Present Perfect is typical for the following situations:

1. Completed action

In order to display perfect action, which has a clear echo in the present tense and, unlike the simple tense, is used to express completeness. Companions of the Present Perfect in such situations are specific adverbs already, ever, never, yet (typical for interrogative and negative sentences, where its frequent position is at the end of the phrase), just, for (shows the duration of the action), as well as those time frames which show that the action is not yet completed (this year, today, etc.).

· He hasn’t called me for ages – He hasn’t called me for ages
· We have already found out the latest news – We have already found out latest news
· I have done much this year - This year I have done a lot (in the sense that the year is not over yet)

Note: in the Present Perfect just, this is one of the markers that translates as “just now.” But if the construction just now is used, then the Past Simple is typical, despite the fact that the translation will be identical:

· I have just cooked breakfast - I just cooked breakfast
· I cooked breakfast just now - I just cooked breakfast

Note: the so-called American English, which has become an integral part of modern life, very often does not provide for the use of the Present Perfect, even in such obvious situations when there are special helpers in the form of adverbs or there are other factors regulating the use of the Perfect. In this version, the perfect is ignored, although classical grammar does not approve of this:

I have lost my key – I lost my key (I lost the key)

2. With the preposition “since” + Past Simple

The situation deserves special attention when with the Present Perfect since, the preposition, which is translated as “from”, “from the moment”, is used in the same sentence together with. With this sense, the construction of the sentence is constructed as follows:

I haven’t seen her since I left for Sydney - I haven’t seen her since I left for Sydney

In this example, the first part of the sentence uses the Present Perfect, and the second uses the Past Simple. Very often in such proposals it is recommended to look for the so-called starting point, i.e. the action from which it all began. In this example, this is the part “since I left for Moscow.” The use of Perfect is relevant here for the reason that the action is performed (or not performed from then until now, which shows the result to this day). In the Present Perfect, examples of such situations are not uncommon, and the English language in this case provides a well-founded reason for such use.

3. In subordinate tenses

The use of this tense is also typical for those cases when the perfect is part of subordinate parts time. Marker words Present The perfect in this case is the same as in (Conditional I): these are conjunctions unless, when, as soon as, before, after, etc. The main feature here is that the emphasis is on the completeness of the event, and not on its fact. Present Perfect sentences here could be as follows:

· I will not call him until you have told me everything - I won’t call him until you tell me everything
· They will come as soon as I have finished my work - They will come as soon as I finish work

Note: There is an exception to this rule. Provided that the verbs in the Present Perfect here belong either to the category of movement (arrive, come, return, etc.) or sensory perception, then using the present perfect tense with them is undesirable; it would be correct to use the usual Present Simple, more often used in a conditional sentence of the first type:

· I will be glad when he comes - I will be glad when he comes
· She will get in a fury when she hears my words – She will get furious when she hears my words

But even here the Present Perfect is possible when there are indicators that the speaker is deliberately emphasizing completeness and not expressively emphasizing it; the translation in this case will prove the relevance of the use of the perfect:

I will learn the poem by heart when I have heard it a few times - I will learn the poem by heart when I listen to it several times(completeness, performed several times, is expressively emphasized)

Let's sum it up

As it becomes clear from all of the above, phrases in the perfect are formed and used when there is an intention to demonstrate the completeness of an action or to display the period of time that it occupies up to the present moment. Scheme Education Present Perfect is quite simple, although it requires memorization. Like any other tense form, the Present Perfect Tense rules The uses are clearly indicated, so the main thing is to strictly follow all the instructions, and then this time will not cause any inconvenience.