Conjugation & verb forms of the present perfect simple
(Formation of the present perfect simple tense in English)
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Formation of the present perfect simple
The present perfect simple requires the conjugated present tense form of the auxiliary verb ‘to have’ and the past participle of the corresponding verb. One thing to keep in mind is that ‘have’ changes to ‘has’ in the 3rd person singular (which means, when it is used with ‘he, she, it’). See the following table for detailed verb forms.
- Two example sentences to show the use and the conjugation of the present perfect simple:
- “I’ve worked with that company for more than twenty years.”
- “Sam has never had a car accident.”
Verb forms of the present perfect simple
Example verb: ‘to go’
Positive/affirmative sentences
| Person | Positive | Short form | Interrogative form | Short form of question |
| I | We have gone. | We’ve gone. | Have we gone? | – |
| you (singular) | ||||
| we / you (plural) / they | ||||
| he/she/it | She has gone. | She’s gone. | Has she gone? | – |
Negative sentences
| Person | Negative | Short form | Interrogative form | Short form of question |
| I | You have not gone. | You haven’t gone. or You’ve not gone. |
Have you not gone? | Haven’t you gone? |
| you (singular) | ||||
| we / you (plural) / they | ||||
| he/she/it | He has not gone. | He hasn’t gone. | Has he not gone? | Hasn’t he gone? |
Further explanations relating to the ‘Conjugation of the present perfect simple’
The following explanations relate to the topic ‘Conjugation and verb forms of the present perfect simple’ and may be interesting too: