Present perfect
የአሁን ፍጹም ጊዜ (present perfect)
I have worked. It connects the past with now: experiences, things that started in the past and are still true, and past actions with a result now.
The form
have / has + past participle. For regular verbs, the participle is the same as the past (worked, lived). Irregular verbs have their own participle (go → gone, see → seen, eat → eaten); see irregular-verbs. In speech, have and has are almost always short: I've, she's (she's = she has here, not she is).
In Amharic
have / has + past participle። ለመደበኛ ግሦች participle ከያለፈው ጋር አንድ ነው (worked, lived)። ኢመደበኛ ግሦች የራሳቸው participle አላቸው (go → gone, see → seen, eat → eaten)፤ irregular-verbs የሚለውን ገጽ ይመልከቱ። በንግግር have እና has ሁልጊዜ ማለት ይቻላል ያጥራሉ፦ I've, she's (እዚህ she's = she has እንጂ she is አይደለም)።
| I / you / we / they | he / she / it | |
|---|---|---|
| + | I've (have) finished. | She's (has) finished. |
| − | I haven't finished. | She hasn't finished. |
| ? | Have you finished? | Has she finished? |
| short answers | Yes, I have. / No, I haven't. | Yes, she has. / No, she hasn't. |
- Short answers use have / has, not did: Have you eaten? — Yes, I have.
- been to = went and came back; gone to = went and is still there.
- I've lost my bus pass.
- She hasn't called back yet.
- Have you ever been to San Francisco?
- My brother has gone to Addis for a month.
When to use it
On a timeline, the present perfect is a line from the past that reaches now. Three main uses: (1) Life experience, no time given: I've worked in a restaurant. Have you ever driven in snow? (2) Something that started in the past and is still true: I've lived here for six years / since 2020. (3) A past action with a result now: I've lost my keys (so I can't get in). Amharic often says ሄጄ አውቃለሁ for (1) and uses the present for (2): ከ2020 ጀምሮ እዚህ እኖራለሁ. English needs the present perfect for both.
In Amharic
በጊዜ መስመር ላይ የአሁን ፍጹም ከበፊት ተነሥቶ አሁን የሚደርስ መስመር ነው። ሦስት ዋና አጠቃቀሞች፦ (1) የሕይወት ልምድ፣ ጊዜ ሳይጠቀስ፦ I've worked in a restaurant። Have you ever driven in snow? (2) በፊት ጀምሮ አሁንም እውነት የሆነ፦ I've lived here for six years / since 2020። (3) ውጤቱ አሁን ያለ ያለፈ ድርጊት፦ I've lost my keys (ስለዚህ መግባት አልችልም)። አማርኛ ለ(1) ብዙ ጊዜ "ሄጄ አውቃለሁ" ይላል፤ ለ(2) የአሁኑን ይጠቀማል፦ "ከ2020 ጀምሮ እዚህ እኖራለሁ"። እንግሊዝኛ ለሁለቱም የአሁን ፍጹምን ይፈልጋል።
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ever / never | at any time / at no time in your life | Have you ever tried sushi? I've never tried it. |
| just | a very short time ago | I've just got home. |
| already | sooner than expected | She's already paid the bill. |
| yet | until now (questions, negatives; at the end) | Has the package arrived yet? It hasn't come yet. |
| for / since | length of time / starting point | for three years / since 2021 |
- for + a length of time (for two weeks); since + a starting point (since Monday, since I was a child).
- Never use the present perfect with a finished time: yesterday, last year, in 2019, ago.
- We've known the Tesfaye family since we came to Vegas.
- I've just sent you the address.
- Has the doctor seen your results yet?
- I've applied for five jobs this month.
- She's never been late to work.
Present perfect or past simple?
This is the most common tense problem. Ask: do I say WHEN, and is that time finished? If yes, use the past simple: I went to New York in 2022. If no time is given, or the time is not finished (today, this week, ever), use the present perfect: I've been to New York twice. A conversation often starts in the present perfect and moves to the past simple for the details: Have you ever been to Chicago? — Yes, I went last winter. It was freezing.
In Amharic
ይህ በጣም የተለመደው የጊዜ ችግር ነው። ይጠይቁ፦ መቼ እንደሆነ እጠቅሳለሁ? ያ ጊዜስ አልፏል? አዎ ከሆነ ያለፈ ቀላልን ይጠቀሙ፦ I went to New York in 2022። ጊዜ ካልተጠቀሰ ወይም ጊዜው ካላለቀ (today, this week, ever) የአሁን ፍጹምን ይጠቀሙ፦ I've been to New York twice። ውይይት ብዙ ጊዜ በአሁን ፍጹም ይጀምርና ለዝርዝሩ ወደ ያለፈ ቀላል ይሄዳል፦ Have you ever been to Chicago? — Yes, I went last winter። It was freezing።
| Present perfect (no time / until now) | Past simple (finished time) |
|---|---|
| I've lived here for five years. (I still do.) | I lived in Atlanta for five years. (Not now.) |
| Have you seen my keys? | Did you see the game last night? |
| She's had three jobs this year. | She had three jobs last year. |
- When…? questions take the past simple: When did you arrive? (not When have you arrived?)
- I've worked at three hotels. I started at the Bellagio in 2017.
- Have you eaten? — Yes, I had lunch at twelve.
- He's lost his wallet. He lost it on the bus this morning.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I saw him yesterday. | yesterday is finished time: past simple. | |
| I've lived here since 2018. | Still true now with since: present perfect. | |
| Have you ever been to Texas? | After have, use the past participle (been/gone), not the past. | |
| I've never seen snow. | never already makes it negative; don't add not. | |
| She has gone home. | has + past participle: gone, not the past form went. | |
| When did you come to the US? | When…? asks about a finished time: past simple. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
I ___ my wallet. Can you lend me five dollars?
She ___ (work) here since 2021. (short form or two words)
We ___ to the Grand Canyon last summer.
I've known her ___ ten years.
Has the mail come ___? (one word: until now)
Past participle of “eat”: ___
Have you ever been to Canada? — No, I ___.
My sister isn't here. She's ___ to the store.
Which is correct?
I've ___ finished. I finished one minute ago. (one word)
Correct it: “I never have seen snow.” → I've ___ seen snow. (one word)