§ 1. The Formation of the Present Perfect

1. We form the Present Perfect by means of the auxiliary verb TO HAVE in the Present Indefinite (have/has) and Participle II of the main verb.

HAVE

+ PARTICIPLE II (Ved/V3)

HAS

Infinitives of irregular verbs form Participle II by:

• changing the root vowel (to sing – sung)

• adding the ending -(E)N (to fall – fallen)

• changing the root vowel and adding the ending -(E)N (to speak – spoken)

• changing the final consonant (to build – built)

• using the same stem (to cut – cut)

• using a different stem (to be – been)

E.g. I have written the letter already.

She has just translated the text.

SPELLING RULES

Before the ending -ED:

(a) we drop a mute -E;

E.g. to live – lived

to die – died

(b) we change a final -Y preceded by a consonant into -I;

E.g. to study – studied

to carry – carried

BUT a final -Y preceded by a vowel remains unchanged.

E.g. to play – played

to enjoy – enjoyed

(c) we double a final consonant in a stressed syllable:

• in monosyllabic verbs after a short vowel;

  E.g. to nod – nodded	BUT to need – needed
  to hop – hopped	to hope – hoped

• in polysyllabic verbs if it has no diphthong.

E.g. to per´mit – permitted	BUT to ´visit – visited
to re´fer – referred	to ´offer – offered
to pre´fer – preferred	to a´ppear – appeared

In British English we double a final -L after a short (stressed or unstressed) vowel.

E.g. to ful´fil (BrE)/ful´fill (AmE) – fulfilled	BUT to a´ppeal – appealed
to ´travel – travelling (BrE)/traveled (AmE)	to con´ceal – concealed

(d) we change a final -C into -CK;

E.g. to panic – panicked

In informal English we can also use short affirmative forms.

Full affirmative forms	Short affirmative forms
I (we, you, they) have worked. He (she, it) has worked.	I (we, you, they)’ve worked. He (she, it)’s worked.

2. In negative sentences we place the negative particle NOT after the auxiliary verb TO HAVE (have/has). In informal English we use short negative forms.

E.g. I have not/haven’t/’ve not written the letter yet.

She has not/hasn’t/’s not translated the text yet.

Full negative forms	Short negative forms
I (we, you, they) have not worked. He (she, it) has not worked.	I (we, you, they) haven’t worked. He (she, it) hasn’t worked.

3. In interrogative sentences (questions) we place the auxiliary verb TO HAVE (have/has) before the subject.

E.g. Have I written the letter?

Has she translated the text?

4. In negative-interrogative sentences (negative questions) we place the auxiliary verb TO HAVE (have/has) before the subject and the negative particle NOT after the subject. In informal English we place short negative forms before the subject.

E.g. Have I not/Haven’t I written the letter?

Has she not/Hasn’t she translated the text?

Full negative-interrogative forms	Short negative-interrogative forms
Have I (we, you, they) not worked? Has he (she, it) not worked?	Haven’t I (we, you, they) worked? Hasn’t he (she, it) worked?