CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 4 THE PRESENT PERFECT AND THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS 1 Use of the present perfect The English Present Perfect tense is used to express actions which have already been completed,[.]
Trang 1CHAPTER 4. THE PRESENT PERFECT AND THE PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
1 Use of the present perfect
The English Present Perfect tense is used to express actions which have already been
completed, or perfected, at the time of speaking or writing In the examples given below,
the verbs in the Present Perfect tense are underlined
e.g I have done the work
She has answered half the questions
In the first example, the use of the Present Perfect tense emphasizes the fact that, at the time of speaking or writing, the work has already been completed In the second example, the use of the Present Perfect indicates that, at the time of speaking or writing, half the questions have been answered
2 Formation of the present perfect: Regular verbs
The Present Perfect tense of any English verb is formed from the Simple Present of the
auxiliary to have, followed by what is generally referred to as the past participle of the
verb
Most English verbs form the past participle in a regular, predictable manner These verbs
are commonly referred to as regular verbs.
The past participle of a regular English verb is formed by adding the ending ed to the bare infinitive of the verb For instance, the past participle of the verb to work is
worked.
Thus, the Present Perfect tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:
I have worked you have worked
he has worked she has worked
it has worked
we have worked they have worked The following contractions are often used in spoken English:
Trang 2It should be noted that the contractions for he has, she has and it has are the same as the contractions for he is, she is and it is.
3 Spelling rules for adding ed to form the past participle
Some regular verbs change their spelling when the ending ed is added to form the past
participle
a Verbs ending in a silent e
When a regular verb ends in a silent e, only the letter d must be added in order to
form the past participle For example:
to close closed
to please pleased
to receive received
b Verbs ending in y
When a regular verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to i before the ending ed is added For example:
to study studied
to rely relied
to carry carried
However, when a regular verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed before the ending ed is added For example:
to convey conveyed
to enjoy enjoyed
c Verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel
The rules concerning the doubling of final consonants which apply when adding the
ending ing to form the present participle also apply when adding the ending ed to form
the past participle
Thus, when a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y
immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant must be doubled before the
ending ed is added to form the past participle In the following examples,
the consonants which have been doubled are underlined For example:
to trim trimmed
to plan planned
to stop stopped
Trang 3When a verb of more than one syllable ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y
immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled before the ending
ed only when the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the
heaviest stress In the following examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined For example:
to control controlled
to infer inferred
to occur occurred
to permit permitted
to fasten fastened
to order ordered
to focus focused
to limit limited
In the first four examples, the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest
stress, and the final consonant is doubled before ed is added In the last four examples,
the first syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress, and the final
consonant is not doubled before ed is added.
The final consonants w, x and y are never doubled when the ending ed is added For
example:
to follow followed
to portray portrayed
It should also be noted that final consonants immediately preceded by two vowels are not
doubled when the ending ed is added For example:
to greet greeted
to rain rained
to soak soaked
to treat treated
4 Pronunciation of the ed ending The ending ed is usually not pronounced as a separate syllable For
instance, in each of the following examples, both the bare infinitive and the past participle consist of one syllable For example:
Trang 4However, when the ending ed is added to verbs which end in d or t, the ed ending of the
past participle is pronounced as a separate syllable The reason for this is that the sounds
of d and t are so similar to the sound of the ed ending, that the ending must be
pronounced as a separate syllable in order to be heard clearly
In each of the following examples, the bare infinitive consists of one syllable; whereas the past participle consists of two syllables For
example:
Similarly, when d is added to verbs ending in a silent e preceded by d or t, the final ed of
the past participle is pronounced as a separate syllable In each of the following examples, the bare infinitive consists of one syllable; whereas the past participle consists of two syllables For example:
5 Formation of the present perfect: Irregular verbs
In addition to regular English verbs, there are many irregular English verbs, which do not form the past participle with the ending ed The English irregular verbs are related to the strong verbs of the German language The following are examples of
irregular English verbs For example:
The past participles of irregular English verbs are formed in an unpredictable manner, and must be memorized A table of common English irregular verbs is provided
Except for the irregularity of the past participle, the formation of the Present Perfect tense
is the same for an irregular verb as for a regular verb In both cases, the Simple Present of
the auxiliary to have is followed by the past participle of the verb.
For instance, the irregular verb to take has the past participle taken Thus, the Present Perfect of the irregular verb to take is conjugated as follows:
Trang 5I have taken you have taken
he has taken she has taken
it has taken
we have taken they have taken
6 Questions and negative statements
As is the case with other English tenses, questions and negative statements in the Present Perfect are formed using the auxiliary In the case of the Present Perfect, the auxiliary is
have or has.
a Questions
In order to form a question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject of the verb For example:
I have worked Have I worked?
You have worked Have you worked?
He has worked Has he worked?
She has worked Has she worked?
It has worked Has it worked?
We have worked Have we worked?
They have worked Have they worked?
b Negative statements
In order to form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the auxiliary
For example:
Affirmative Statement Negative Statement
I have worked I have not worked
You have worked You have not worked
He has worked He has not worked
She has worked She has not worked
It has worked It has not worked
We have worked We have not worked
They have worked They have not worked
The following contractions are often used in spoken English:
Trang 6c Negative questions
In order to form a negative question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the
word not is placed after the subject However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary For example:
Without Contractions With Contractions
Have I not worked? Haven't I worked?
Have you not worked? Haven't you worked?
Has he not worked? Hasn't he worked?
Has she not worked? Hasn't she worked?
Has it not worked? Hasn't it worked?
Have we not worked? Haven't we worked?
Have they not worked? Haven't they worked?
d Tag questions
Tag questions are also formed using the auxiliary In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined
Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I have worked I have worked, haven't I?
You have worked You have worked, haven't you?
He has worked He has worked, hasn't he?
She has worked She has worked, hasn't she?
It has worked It has worked, hasn't it?
We have worked We have worked, haven't we?
They have worked They have worked, haven't they?
7 The present perfect continuous
a Use
The Present Perfect Continuous tense is used to express continuous, ongoing actions which have already been completed at the time of speaking or writing
In the following example, the verb in the Present Perfect Continuous tense is underlined e.g The bus has been waiting for one hour
The use of the Present Perfect Continuous tense in this example indicates that, at the time
of speaking or writing, the bus has completed one hour of continuous waiting
b Formation
The Present Perfect Continuous tense of any English verb is formed from the Present
Perfect of to be, followed by the present participle of the verb For instance, the Present Perfect Continuous tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:
I have been working you have been working
he has been working she has been working
it has been working
we have been working they have been working
Trang 7Thus, it can be seen that the Present Perfect Continuous tense has two auxiliaries The
first auxiliary is have or has, and the second auxiliary is been.
c Questions and negative statements
When a verb has more than one auxiliary, it is the first auxiliary which must change its form to agree with the subject of the verb It is also the first auxiliary which is used to form questions and negative statements
Questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject of the verb For example:
I have been working Have I been working?
You have been working Have you been working?
He has been working Has he been working?
She has been working Has she been working?
It has been working Has it been working?
We have been working Have we been working?
They have been working Have they been working?
Negative statements are formed by placing the word not after the first auxiliary
For example:
Affirmative Statement Negative Statement
I have been working I have not been working
You have been working You have not been working
He has been working He has not been working
She has been working She has not been working
It has been working It has not been working
We have been working We have not been working
They have been working They have not been working
Negative questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject, and the
word not after the subject However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the first auxiliary For example:
Without Contractions With Contractions
Have I not been working? Haven't I been working?
Have you not been working? Haven't you been working?
Has he not been working? Hasn't he been working?
Has she not been working? Hasn't she been working?
Has it not been working? Hasn't it been working?
Have we not been working? Haven't we been working?
Have they not been working? Haven't they been working?
Trang 8Tag questions are formed using the first auxiliary In the following
examples, the negative tag questions are underlined For example:
Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I have been working I have been working, haven't I?
You have been working You have been working, haven't you?
He has been working He has been working, hasn't he?
She has been working She has been working, hasn't she?
It has been working It has been working, hasn't it?
We have been working We have been working, haven't we?
They have been working They have been working, haven't they?