Sentences starting with "I have..." | Present perfect

Sentences starting with "I have..." typically fall into three categories: possession, experience, and obligation.

Possession: These sentences indicate ownership or possession of something.

Example: "I have a car."

Experience: These sentences express past actions or experiences.

Example: "I have visited Paris."

Obligation: These sentences convey duties or responsibilities.

Example: "I have to finish my homework."

Present perfect

A: "Your hair is wet. Did you just take a shower?"

B: "Yes, I did. I'm drying my hair now."

A: "Ah, I see. Have you dried your hair completely?"

B: "Yes, I have. It's dry now."

She has dried her hair. (=her hair is dry now)

The present perfect tense is used to indicate actions or events that started in the past and have relevance to the present moment. It's formed using the auxiliary verb "have" (or "has" for third-person singular subjects) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Structure:

Subject + have/has + past participle

Usage:

To describe an action that started in the past and continues into the present.

Ex: I have lived in this city for five years. (Action started in the past and continues to the present.)

To describe an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past.

Ex: She has visited Europe several times. (Unspecified time in the past.)

To indicate an action that has just been completed or has relevance to the present.

Ex: They have just finished their meal. (Action completed recently with relevance to the present.)

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"I have done" typically falls under the category of expressing completed actions or experiences in the past. It is often used in conjunction with a specific verb to indicate an action that has been finished.

Example:

"I have done my homework."

This sentence indicates that the action of completing homework has already been done in the past.

"I've already" is used to indicate that an action has been completed before a certain point in time, emphasizing that it was done earlier than expected or anticipated.

Example:

"I've already finished my work."

This sentence implies that the speaker completed their work earlier than expected or before a particular time.

"I've just" is used to indicate that an action was completed very recently, often implying that it occurred only a short time before the current moment.

Example:

"I've just finished eating dinner."

This sentence suggests that the speaker finished eating dinner very recently, possibly just a few moments before speaking.

"I haven't ... yet" is used to convey that an action has not been completed up to the present moment, but there is an expectation or intention that it will be done in the future.

Example:

"I haven't finished reading the book yet."

This sentence indicates that the action of finishing reading the book has not happened up to now, but there is an implication that the speaker plans to do so in the future.