Transcription
Hello everyone and welcome back to Mr. English channel where learning English is easy and fun. I'm Emily.
Hello Emily. And hello to all our fantastic listeners around the world. It is a beautiful day to speak English.
It really is. Paul, how are you doing?
I am doing very well, thank you. I am a little busy, but I am happy.
Busy is good. It means you are doing important things.
Yes. Or maybe I am just drinking too much coffee and talking too much. Well, talking is our job and we love it.
We do. But Emily, before we start our chat today, we have a small favor to ask our friends listening at home.
Yes, we do. If you enjoy learning with us, please take a second to click the subscribe button and give this episode a big like. It helps us find more wonderful students like you.
And please share this podcast with your friends. Learning together is always more fun.
Exactly. Okay, Emily, you said you have a great topic for us today. I am ready.
I do. Today we are going to talk about your day. our day like I wake up, I eat breakfast.
Close, but not exactly. We often talk about our routines with the present simple. Today, we want to talk about our achievements.
Achievements? That sounds serious.
It's not serious. It is about what you have done. Today we are going to talk about the present perfect tense.
Ooh, the present perfect. I have done she has eaten that tense.
Yes, exactly. Many students feel a little scared of this tense, but it is actually very friendly.
It is. It is perfect for checking your to-do list. That is a great way to think about it, Paul. A to-do list.
So, how do we use it to talk about our day?
Well, imagine it is the afternoon. You want to tell a friend about your morning. You don't just say what happened. You say what is finished.
Ah, I see. So, I don't say I drink coffee. I say I have drunk my coffee.
Yes, I have drunk my coffee. It means the cup is empty. The action is finished but it is important now because now I am awake.
Exactly. The result is here now.
Okay. So the structure is the person plus have or has plus the action verb.
Yes. But be careful the verb changes. We call it the third form or the past participle.
Ah yes the third form. So, eat becomes eaten, see becomes seen, and finish becomes finished. That one is easy.
I like the easy ones. So, Emily, tell me about your day. What have you done today?
H, let me look at my list. Well, I have eaten breakfast.
Good. Breakfast is important. What else?
I have walked my dog Max.
Oh, nice. Max is happy now.
Yes, he is sleeping. So, I have walked the dog and I have prepared this podcast.
Wow, you have done a lot. You have been busy.
I have. Now, listeners, did you hear that? Paul said you have been busy.
Yes. Been is the third form of be.
Exactly. It is very useful. So Paul, what about you? What have you done today?
H let me think. I have cleaned my kitchen.
Good job. A clean kitchen is nice.
Yes. And I have called my mother.
Aw, that is very sweet. Mothers love phone calls.
They do. She talked for a long time.
So you have listened to your mother.
Yes, I have listened very well. And I have written some emails for work.
Written. That is a good word. Write, wrote, written.
Yes, I have written three emails. It feels good to say that. It feels like I finished something. That is the feeling of present perfect. It is the feeling of success. I have done it.
I like that success.
Now Paul, there is a special little word we use a lot with this tense. The word is just j u s t. How do we use it? We use just when the action happened a very short time ago like 1 minute ago.
Ah so if I put down my coffee cup right now click I can say I have just finished my coffee.
Yes. Perfect. I have just finished.
Or if I arrive at the office I open the door. Hello. I have just arrived.
Exactly. It makes the news very fresh.
Just is a cool word. What other words can we use?
Another very popular one is already.
Already. I hear this a lot.
We use already to show that something is finished maybe sooner than we thought or just to confirm it is done. So if I ask you Emily, do you want lunch?
I can say no thank you Paul. I have already eaten.
Ah, I see. You did it in the past. You don't need to do it again.
Right. I have already sent the email. I have already seen that movie.
That is very useful for our listeners. If your boss asks please clean the room, you can say I have already cleaned it and the boss will be very happy.
Yes, already is a power word.
Okay, so we have just and already. Is there a word for when we haven't done something?
Yes, that is the third magic word yet.
Yet. y t.
We use yet for negatives and questions and we usually put it at the very end of the sentence.
At the end. Can you give me an example?
Sure. Imagine my to-do list. I need to go to the supermarket, but I am here with you. So, I haven't gone to the supermarket yet.
I haven't gone to the supermarket yet. I hear it. It's at the end.
Yes. It means not now, but I will do it later.
That is hopeful. I haven't done it yet.
Exactly. And we use it in questions. Paul, have you finished your tea yet?
No, I haven't finished it yet. I have a little bit left.
See, it is very natural conversation.
It is. So we have I have done, I have just done, I have already done and I haven't done yet.
You are a fast learner, Paul.
Thank you. But sometimes I get confused.
Confused? Why?
Sometimes I don't know if I should use past simple or present perfect.
Ah, the big question. I did or I have done.
Yes. Can you help us with that?
Of course. Here is a simple tip. If you say when it happened, use past simple.
If I say the time.
Yes. If you say yesterday, last night, at 8:00 a.m., use past simple.
Okay. So, I ate breakfast at 8:00 a.m.
Perfect. But if the time is not important or if the time is today or now, use present perfect.
I have eaten breakfast.
Yes, because breakfast is in your tummy now. The time doesn't matter. The result matters.
I get it. So, I lost my keys yesterday. Past simple and oh no, I have lost my keys. Present perfect because I don't have them now. It is a problem now.
Exactly. Think about the now. Present perfect connects the past to the now.
That makes it much easier. I don't need to worry about the specific minute, just the result.
Yes. So for talking about your day, it is perfect. You come home from work. Your husband or wife asks, "How was your day?" And I can say it was good. I have finished my report. I have had a good meeting. And I have just arrived home.
That sounds like a wonderful summary of a day.
It does. And it sounds very professional.
It is. Using have you is also a great way to start a conversation.
Like have you seen the news today?
Yes. Or have you had a busy day? Have you tried the new coffee shop?
Ooh, good one. That asks about experience.
Present perfect is everywhere.
It is. And the best way to learn it is to practice. Don't worry about making mistakes.
Yes. If you say I have eat instead of I have eaten, people will understand you.
They will. And then you will learn. Mistakes are how we learn.
I like that. So, Emily, I have a question for you.
What is it?
Have you finished your coffee yet?
Let me check. Yes, I have finished it. It is empty.
Okay, that means we have worked hard.
We have and we have talked about a lot of grammar today. I think our listeners have learned a lot too.
I hope so. Remember, start small. Try to say three things you have done today.
I have studied English. That is number one.
Yes, everyone listening can say that. I have studied English with Mr. English Channel. That is a great sentence.
Paul, look at the time. We have talked for a long time.
Oh my goodness. Time flies when we are having fun.
It does. But before we go, we have a little homework for you.
Homework? But I haven't finished my other homework yet.
This is fun homework. We want you to practice in the comments.
Yes, please leave us a comment below.
Answer this question. What have you done today?
Tell us one or two things. I have played soccer. I have cooked dinner. I have walked to work.
Anything. We love reading your stories and we will try to reply to you.
Yes, we will. And please, if you found this episode helpful, don't forget to subscribe to the Mr. English channel and share it with your family and friends. Maybe you can practice present perfect with them.
That is a great idea. Ask them, "Have you subscribed yet?"
I love it. Have you liked the video yet?
Thank you so much for listening today everyone. You are doing a great job on your English journey.
Yes, keep going. You are amazing. Thank you everyone.
See you in the next episode. Bye for now.
Goodbye. Have a great day.