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7 Present Perfect Phrases You Can Use In Conversation

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The present perfect is used to talk about events which have a connection between the past and now.

Knowing a few phrases with the present perfect built into it may help improve your understanding of this ‘tense’ as well as get you sounding more natural.

Just as a reminder, an example of the present perfect form is:

I’ve been to Japan.
She’s travelled to Sydney.
She hasn’t seen him for ages.

[HAVE/HAS + third form of the verb]

Here are 7 present perfect phrases which you can add into your conversations today:

1. “I’ve known her for ages.”

You met your friend a long time ago eg “I met her 3 years ago.”

But the time you know her began 3 years ago and continues until now. So that’s why it’s a present perfect phrase.

I’ve known her for ages | years | a long time

2. “I’ve had a tough day.”

If you see the day as being over and complete, you can use the past simple. But otherwise when you’re meeting up with friends or perhaps when you’re at lunch, you can use the present perfect to say how your day has been so far:

“I’ve had a great | boring | fun | tough | rough day at work. How about you?”

3. “This is the first time I’ve been here.”

Phrases starting with “This is the first time I…” are followed by the present perfect form.

So if you are at a place and you’ve never been there before, you say:

“This is the first time I’ve been here.”

Likewise, you can use these other variations:

“This is the first time I’ve done this | seen him so angry | seen this | heard about it.”

4. “I haven’t done it yet. I’ll do it now..”

Sometimes you need to do something. Perhaps it’s for work or a task someone has asked you to do. Often it comes up in conversation.

eg “Have you taken out the rubbish yet?”

That’s when you can reply:

“Sorry, I haven’t done it yet. I’ll do it now..”

Usually if you haven’t done something which you were asked to do, it’s good to add when you will get it done:

“Sorry, I haven’t done it yet. I’ll get it done first thing tomorrow.”

5. “I’ve had a great evening. Let’s do it again soon!”

Maybe you’ve just had a fun night out with a good friend of yours, or perhaps you’ve been on a date.

From the start of the evening until now, you’ve had a nice time. So that’s why you can say how your night has been:

I’ve had a   wondeful |  lovely  | great  time.

Then you can call your best friend and give another perspective:

“Simona, I’ve just had the WORST date of my life!”

“I’ve just met the man who I want to marry.”

6. “I’ve had enough.”

Imagine you’re not happy at work or with your boyfriend or girlfriend. You’ve reached your limit as to how much you can accept:

“Kate, I’ve had enough of this. Either you stop seeing your ex or we’re through!”

“I’m just tired of the same boring routine at work. There are no new challenges, I’ve had enough!”

7. “Have you heard?”

You’ve just heard some important news on the radio or from a friend, and now you want to tell someone:

“Have you heard? There’ll be an election in September!”

“Have you heard? Anna and Pavel are having a baby!”

And of course when you want to tell friends your news, you can use this in the same way:

“Have you heard? Jack and I have split up.”

Or you can also say:

“Haven’t you heard? Jack and I have split up.”

Check out extra tips on learning English (especially spoken English phrases and expressions) on the Get Into English Facebook page!

Read more

Let’s catch up – and 8 other phrasal verbs (with worksheet)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Francisco Javier says

    February 9, 2013 at 11:06

    Very useful phrases.

    Reply
  2. Abdul Samad Ramzi says

    May 20, 2013 at 11:55

    I would like learn english, but it very difficult to me. If you help me God bless you.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • David Sweetnam says

      May 22, 2013 at 00:20

      Hi thanks for your comment, Abdul. I’m going to write more posts on this blog, which I hope you’ll find useful. Also please check out my new blog http://www.linkinenglish.com

      Best wishes

      David

      Reply
  3. Sergio Rodrigues says

    August 21, 2013 at 21:29

    Very useful tips.The presente perfect tense is a real nightmare for Brazilian learners, but you managed to explain it in a very effective way.

    Reply
    • David Sweetnam says

      August 25, 2013 at 12:18

      Hi Sergio

      Thanks! Hopefully I can post more regularly now, there’s still much to cover..

      David

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The present simple in everyday conversation — Get into English says:
    February 10, 2013 at 14:02

    […] -> I’ve known him for 5 years (present perfect form) […]

    Reply
  2. 7 Tips to Top Up Your Vocabulary — Get into English says:
    March 29, 2014 at 21:23

    […] Phrases Often Used In The Present Perfect Form […]

    Reply
  3. No English Coursebooks..For A While — Get into English says:
    June 26, 2014 at 23:20

    […] Grammar will still be covered but more by using my own worksheets, and from concentrating on the language which students already produce. I’ll also promote grammar in a more lexical way – for example, here are 7 Present Perfect Phrases You Can Use In Conversation. […]

    Reply
  4. Are Language Exchanges Any Good..? says:
    June 14, 2015 at 21:23

    […] 7 Present Perfect Phrases You Can Use In Conversation […]

    Reply

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