Present perfect and past perfect
Present perfect simple
negative sentences with still and yetb1
Present perfect: still and yet
Grammar contents
- I still haven't bought a present for Ed. I keep forgetting!
- She still hasn't packed her case. She's going on holiday tonight!
- Emma still hasn't arrived. She's really late!
- I haven't finished my English essay yet. I'll do it at the weekend.
- Has Ed left yet?
Still goes between the subject and haven't/hasn't.
Subject + still + haven't/hasn't + past participle
| Negative (-) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect with still | ||||
| Subject | still | auxiliary verb | past participle | |
| She | still | hasn't | arrived. | |
| I | haven't | bought | a present. | |
Yet goes at the end of the sentence or question.
Subject + haven't/hasn't + past participle + yet.
Have/has + subject + past participle + yet?
| Negative (-) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect with yet | ||||
| Subject | auxiliary verb | past participle | yet | |
| She | hasn't | arrived | yet. | |
| We | haven't | had | breakfast | |
| Questions (?) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect with yet | ||||
| Auxiliary verb | subject | past participle | yet | |
| Has | she | left | yet? | |
| Have | they | packed | their bags | |
Regular verbs have past participles which are the same as their past simple forms, ending -ed.
- visit → visited arrive → arrived
Irregular verbs have irregular past participles. Sometimes the past participle of an irregular verb is the same as the past simple form and sometimes it is different.
- have, had → had lose, lost → lost
- do, did → done eat, ate → eaten
We use the present perfect with still in negative sentences to talk about actions that we expected to happen before now. Still looks back at the past.
- Emma still hasn't arrived. She said that she'd be here at six o'clock. (I expected Emma to arrive before now.)
- I still haven't bought a present for Ed. I keep forgetting!
We use the present perfect with yet in negative sentences and questions to talk about actions that we expect will happen. Yet looks towards the future.
- Emma hasn't arrived yet. I'll tell you when she arrives. (I expect Emma to arrive in the future.)
- I haven't finished my English essay yet. I'll do it at the weekend.
- Has she left yet?
- Have you packed your bag yet?
Grammar contentsView all
Present perfect and past perfect
Quantifiers, possessives and demonstratives