Present Perfect Tense (simple) looks like this:

I have been here for a long time.

How long has he been here?

He has only just arrived.

Have you eaten?

No, I haven’t.

Have they?

No, they haven’t. They haven’t eaten either.

Present Perfect Tense (continuous) looks like this:

I have been studying English for five years.

I have been working at Nestle for two years.

How long have you been living here?

She has been living here for longer than me.

They have been working here for longer than me.

We use Present Perfect Tense to talk about :

1. A past action continuing to the present.

I have been here since eight o’clock. (And I am still here!)

2. A past action which is important now!

I have seen that movie. (So you don’t have to tell me all about it!)

Let’s familiarise ourselves with some common sentences in present perfect tense. Click the link to see a page with real conversations that contain the present perfect tense. Read the text and listen to the sound file and write out the sentences in present perfect tense. Do it like this:

1. Open a word document.
2. Listen to the first conversation and type in the sentences

Like this:

Conversation One: Hitching Around Australia.
I have heard stories of …
I have heard similar stories….

Now do the same thing for the next conversation and the next one and so on.