Present Result, Past Action

1. Somebody has been eating here. = present perfect continuous
2. Someone has crushed my phone. = present perfect simple
3. Someone has brought me a gift. = present perfect simple
4. Someone is watering plants. = present continuous 

Placing words together to make a verb form in English is simple. All you need is the formula and a bit of practice and you will know how to make a sentence using the present perfect or any other tense. Here are two tables to refresh your memory:

Problems arise when you have to decide which tense to use. Should you be using the present or the past? And when do you need to use the perfect aspect or the continuous aspect? The present perfect may seem difficult to understand, but if you think of this tense as a bridge between the past and the present, then it should be easier for you to know when to use it.

A great example of this bridge is in picture 2: I can see a crushed phone—this is the past event. I can see this phone in this condition now—this is the present event. A bridge between the two events is communicated by using the present perfect tense. The actual action was short, and we are looking at the result of the action; therefore, the correct tense to use is present perfect simple: someone has crushed my phone. From this same picture I can come to other conclusions about why this phone is now in this condition. I could say ‘a car has run over my phone’ or ‘you’ve stepped on my phone’—all present perfect simple.

The same is true for picture 3: A friend hands me a beautifully wrapped box now—this is the present event. I believe the gift was not here before she arrived. I believe she brought the gift here—this is the past event. Now I can come to the conclusion that ‘she has brought me a gift’. To give you more examples, I could also say ‘she has remembered my birthday’ or ‘she has wrapped it so nicely’—all present perfect simple.

Now let’s look at picture 1. What happened, or what was happening (to be more precise), is the action of eating—this is the past event. This past event is connected to the present in that now we can see the evidence of somebody eating from what was left in the room—this evidence is the present event. Now we have a bridge between past and present. Furthermore, we would like to emphasise that the action was quite recent and that there was duration, meaning it was not a short, instant action like in picture 2; therefore, we use the present perfect continuous instead of the present perfect simple: Someone has been eating here.

But what about when there is no bridge from the past to the present? Well, then you do not use the present perfect tense. If the action is completely in the present happening now, then use the present continuous like in picture 4: Someone is watering plants.

Have you been having problems with any other verb forms? Would you like to understand which forms to use to talk about the future, for example?

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