Present Perfect Tense The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English. How do we make the Present Perfect Tense? The structure of the present perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb + main verb have past participle Here are some examples of the present perfect tense: subject auxiliary verb main verb + I have seen ET. + You have eaten mine. - She has not been to Rome. - We have not played football. ? Have you finished? ? Have they done it? Contractions with the present perfect tense When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write. I have I've You have You've He has She has It has John has The car has He's She's It's John's The car's We have We've They have They've Here are some examples: I've finished my work. John's seen ET. They've gone home.