Hey there! This is TOP episode 253. Top 5 Mistakes You Make with the Present Perfect (And How to Fix Them!)
Are you tired of lacking confidence when speaking English? Does it block you from achieving your true goals? This podcast is the place for you. This is Teacher Ola Podcast. My name’s Ola Mierniczak and I empower English learners to become confident speakers. The key to fluency is in your pocket. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar and improve your pronunciation. Enjoy your journey to fluency!
Hello and welcome! Thank you for showing up! Present perfect tense!! Wow! That’s a big big topic! You need to understand that the present perfect is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to speak English with fluency with ease. Absolutely essential. What are you talking about Ola? Isn’t present simple essential? Isn’t present continuous essential? Oh, sure they are! Tenses are generally a rather useful part of the English language. Yet, somehow many of us skip present perfect. So I’m here today to remind you: don’t avoid present perfect, you NEED it. It’s IN that group of the most essential tenses to use on a daily basis.
But USING present perfect tense is not the topic of our today’s class. Today we’re going to look at the top 5 mistakes you make with present perfect. However! Using present perfect in natural everyday conversations, as well as in business conversations is of such importance I decided to organise a free live event “Present Perfect Masterclass”. Have you signed up yet? If not: go to teacherola.com/webinar. I’m going to show you how to USE the present perfect tense in real life conversations! I organise such webinars when I open enrollment to my SIOL (Say It Out Loud) programme. Yes! Next week, on the 31 July you can enrol on the best course I’ve ever created! Even if you are NOT willing to join SIOL in this edition, show up at the Masterclass because you NEED this knowledge. You need present perfect to express yourself in English. I guarantee that.
Now. Let’s get cracking, let’s see the list of top 5 mistakes you make with present perfect.
Mistake number one: not using it!
Not using present perfect. I know why you keep avoiding present perfect. It’s not about your confidence or knowledge. Polish speakers often stick to the past simple because it feels safer and more familiar. There’s nothing similar to present perfect in Polish. It seems that past simple or present simple tick the right boxes.
I used to think the same way. But later I discovered how useful present perfect is and now I believe the polish language should have present perfect tense. It’s so useful!
It’s used for experiences, changes over time, and things that happened at an unspecified time. We’ll discuss details during the Present Perfect Masterclass, but just for now let me show you an example:
I was in London.
I have been to London.
Both sentences translate into ‘Byłam w Londynie’. Yet they are so different, right? Don’t make this mistake, don’t avoid present perfect. Choose to enjoy how it differs from past simple.
It’s a small change that makes your English sound more natural and fluent. Using the present perfect can really show your grasp of English. Listen to these two example sentences:
I have never tried sushi before.
She has visited that museum several times.
Mistake number two. Wrong pronunciation of irregular verbs
Look. Pronunciation can be tricky, especially with all those irregular verbs. It’s easy to trip over words like “eaten,” “driven,” or “swum.” I know you know the spelling. Sing sang sung, drink drank drunk. But saying it out loud is another story. It’s important to practise these verbs regularly. Practice saying them out loud. Ask chat gpt to create a list of most common irregular verbs plus example sentences. Read them out loud. If you’re not sure how to pronounce the verbs check it in any online dictionary or simply youtube them. Regular practice will make these tricky verbs feel like second nature. I have recorded episodes with irregular verbs training, so I recommend them as well. These are episodes 180 and 152. Now listen to two sentences with irregular verbs:
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.
I’ve never written an article.
Mistake number three. Using present perfect with specific time reference
Imagine you’re telling a friend about a movie you watched. You wouldn’t say, “I have watched the movie yesterday.” The present perfect tense doesn’t play well with specific time expressions like “yesterday” or “last year.” It doesn’t play with them at all. But this is a second level kind of mistake. At first we don’t use present perfect at all, and then we start to feel confident with its structure with irregular verbs and we begin to overuse it! Yesterday I have visited my granny. Wrong. Instead, you should say, I visited my granny yesterday. Save the present perfect for times when you’re talking about experiences or actions without specifying when they happened. For example:
I have seen that movie.
I’ve been to Paris.
Mistake number four. For and since
“For” and “since” might seem like small words, but they can cause big headaches. Here’s a simple trick: use “for” when you’re talking about a duration of time, like “for two years.” Use “since” when you’re talking about a specific point in time, like “since 2018.” So, you’d say, “I have lived here for two years,” because ‘two years’ is a period of time and “I have lived here since 2018.”, because 2018 is a point on a timeline. Since Tuesday, since July, since I remember, since I was born. It’s like the difference between how long and when. ‘How long’ is expressed with ‘for’, whereas ‘when’ is represented by ‘since’.
How long? For two years. Two years is a period of time.
When? Since July. July is a point in time.
She has worked here for five months.
He has known her since they were children.
The last mistake for today, mistake number five. Been vs. Gone
This one can be a bit confusing. Think of “been” as the word you use when someone has visited a place and come back. For example, “I have been to Paris” means I went to Paris and now I’m back. On the other hand, “gone” is used when someone is still at that place. So if your friend is still at the store, you’d say, “She has gone to the store.” It’s all about whether the person has returned or not. You might say, “They have been to the new restaurant,” indicating they’ve returned, or “He has gone to the bank,” showing he’s still there. Once again:
They have been to the new restaurant.
He has gone to the bank.
Time to practise! Listen and repeat the sentences out loud.
I have never tried sushi before.
She has visited that museum several times.
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.
I’ve never written an article.
I have seen that movie.
I’ve been to Paris.
She has worked here for five months.
He has known her since they were children.
They have been to the new restaurant.
He has gone to the bank.
Here you have it. Top five mistakes you make with the present perfect tense. I hope you drew some conclusions, I hope you’ll focus on using present perfect tense with confidence! By focusing on these common mistakes and understanding how to fix them, you’ll be on your way to mastering the present perfect tense in no time. Keep practising, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes – it’s all part of the learning process!
Don’t forget about the Worksheet. Download it from teacherola.com/253 or check your inbox, if you’ve subscribed to my newsletter you have the Worksheet in your inbox.
Also! See you next Wednesday at 8 pm at the webinar!! I hope you booked your spot! It’s a free event and you gotta be there. Trust me there’s zero chance of being a fluent speaker of English unless you USE present perfect. Go to teacherola.com/webinar. It costs 0 money. I share my knowledge on webinars for free. See you there! 31 July and the first of August. Ok! I’ll be back next week with another episode. Don’t forget to… stay fearless, say it out loud and take care! I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you were listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now.