Construction of the present perfect tense in past time:
have + asked
has + asked
The present perfect is used if the time of the activity is indefinite.
I’ve bought a new car.
Look what I’ve done.
He has gone out.
She has spent all my money.
The present perfect tense indicates a completed activity, in a period of time that has not ended yet. That time period can be words as: today, this morning, this afternoon, this evening, this week, this month, this year, this summer, this winter, this spring, this autumn … etc.
Examples
Have you seen me this afternoon ?
Have you going to Australia this summer?
We haven’t done much this morning.
It hasn’t been very dry this summer.
When adverbials such as today, this week, this month, etc. there are certain cases when the past tense must be used:
If the period indicated by these adverbial is already over:
Example of the present perfect tense
Did you go to do shop this morning ? David asked me when he come home at 5 p.m
I didn’t see David this morning, said Mary in the evening.
If some adverbial indicates that the action took place in some past moment or part of the period in progress:
Examples
She was at work at 9 o’clock this morning..
Later in the day we were enjoying in a glass of beer.
The present perfect tense indicates completed activities in the immediate past:
Examples
We’ve just met them.
Have they just arrived ?
I’ve just seen him.
David just gone out.
*this adverb “just” usually precedes the past participle when the present perfect is used in this function.
The present perfect tense denotes what has happened once or more, within the speaker’s lif, but the time is neither definite not mentioned. Such use is very frequent in interrogative sentences.
Examples
Have you heard the latest news ?
Hove you done your running for today ?
He has been in Australia twice.
All his life he has been a hard-working man.
