Grammar ~21 min of the core left

Say what has already been done

After this lesson you can

I can say that something is done and that the result can be seen now.

Start the lesson Core 19–21 min · steps: 6 · optional: +2

Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.

Grammar

5 min

have / has + the third form of the verb. This tense is not about a moment in the past, but about a RESULT that is there now.

I have finished my work. → I've finished. the work is done
She has gone home. → She's gone. she left, and she is not here now
Have you eaten? a question: are you still hungry or not?
I haven't finished yet. a negative: the work is not done
Yes, I have. / No, I haven't. the short answer

With he, she, it — has, with all the others — have. The third form comes from the table in lesson 1.

The difference from the past tense is in what the message is about:

Past Simple — when Present Perfect — the result
I finished the work at five. I have finished the work. (it's done)
She went home an hour ago. She has gone home. (she isn't here)

If the sentence names the TIME of the event (yesterday, at five, last week), the perfect is impossible — you need the Past Simple. The full comparison of the two comes in lesson 20.

Four words that live with the perfect:

just — a very short time ago I've just finished.
already — before now, sooner than expected I've already eaten.
yet — in a question and a negative; at the end Have you finished yet? / Not yet.
still — even now (with a negative) I still haven't finished.

just and already go between have and the third form.

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Common learner errors

written for your language
1

The perfect with an exact time

✗ I have finished at five

✓ I finished at five

In German (Ich habe um fünf aufgehört), French (J'ai fini à cinq heures) and Italian the form with "have" also tells when something happened. The English perfect does not: if the time is named, it is the Past Simple.

2

is instead of has

✗ She is gone home

✓ She has gone home

German (Sie ist gegangen), French (Elle est allée), Italian and Dutch make this form of "go" with "be". In English it is always have or has.

3

The second form instead of the third

✗ She has went

✗ I have saw

✓ She has gone

I have seen. With regular verbs the two forms are the same, so learners stop looking for a difference. After have and has there is only the third form.

4

yet in the middle

✗ Have you yet finished?

✓ Have you finished yet?

French (Tu as déjà fini ?), Italian (Hai già finito?) and German put the word in the middle, like just and already; yet goes at the end.

Pronunciation

3 min

's can be both is and has — only what comes next tells them apart:

She's working. = she is (before -ing)
She's gone. = she has (before the third form)

have and has are unstressed in fast speech: /həv/, /həz/, and often just /əv/, /əz/. I've finished sounds like /aɪv ˈfɪnɪʃt/ — one piece.

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Text

3 min

Have you finished the report?

Not yet. I've written two pages, but I still haven't finished.

Has Tom seen it?

No, he hasn't. He's gone home — he left at five.

And have you eaten?

Yes, I've just had lunch.

Reading aloud

Exercises

8–10 min

1. Gap fill.

  1. I (finish) my work
  2. She (go) home
  3. They (see) the film
  4. He (not / eat)
Show the answers
have finished, has gone, have seen, hasn't eaten.

2. Gap fill.

  1. I've finished. (a minute ago)
  2. Have you eaten ?
  3. I've seen this film, thanks
  4. I haven't finished
Show the answers
just, yet, already, still.

3. Error correction.

  1. She has went home.
  2. I have finished at five.
  3. Have you yet finished?
Show the answers
She has gone home. / I finished at five. / Have you finished yet?

4. Multiple choice.

  1. `I my work.` (it's done, no time given)
  2. `I my work at five.`
Show the answers
have finished; finished.
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Summary

Covered

  • have/has + the third form
  • the result against the moment
  • just
  • already
  • yet
  • still

Next — lesson 4: asking about experience.

End of the core

The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.

Lesson 40

optional

Vocabulary for your deck

12 words
  • finish /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ to do the last part of something; to end
  • already /ɔːlˈredi/ before now; sooner than expected
  • yet /jet/ until now (in a question or a negative)
  • just /dʒʌst/ a very short time ago
  • still /stɪl/ even now; not stopped yet
  • report /rɪˈpɔːt/ a written text about a piece of work
  • page /peɪdʒ/ one side of a sheet of paper in a book
  • lunch /lʌntʃ/ the meal in the middle of the day
  • ready /ˈredi/ prepared; able to start
  • lost /lɒst/ past and third form of lose
  • forget /fəˈɡet/ not to remember
  • forgotten /fəˈɡɒtn/ third form of forget

Writing

Four sentences about today: what is already done and what is not done yet.

Example

I've already finished two pages. I've just had lunch. I haven't written the report yet. Tom has gone home.

Checklist

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Practise this lesson in the other sections

Dictationbased on this lesson Write down what you hear. The check shows every word that differs, and how. Write the dictation Reading aloudbased on this lesson Read the lesson text aloud — speech recognition highlights the words it did not catch. Read the text aloud Reading and listeningA1–C1 Texts at every level with comprehension questions; the transcript opens after you answer. Try it

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