Level Four
Lesson 44
present perfect tense - negative
To make the present perfect tense negative, add “not” to the helping verb:
have + not = haven’t / has + not = hasn’t
- I have not had any coffee yet this morning. (haven’t had)
- My wife has not had any coffee yet this morning. (hasn’t had)
- We have not had any coffee yet this morning.
- You haven’t done anything yet today.
- The bus has not arrived yet. (hasn’t arrived)
- The mail hasn’t come.
- The stores haven’t opened yet.
- Traffic on the roads have not been a problem so far today. (haven’t been)
It’s common to hear contractions used in the present perfect tense, but it’s also common to hear all words in the verb phrase pronounced separately.
He has not read this book.
- subject = He
- helping verb = has (have)
- negative word = not (This is an adverb.)
- main verb = read
- pronoun = this
- object = book
44a. present perfect tense 
have or has + not + the past participle
To form the negative in the present perfect tense, add “not” to the helping verb, have or has.
singular
I have not seen it.
You have not seen it.
He has not seen it.
She has not seen it.
It has not seen it.
plural
We have not seen it.
You have not seen it.
They have not seen it.
see / saw / seen / seeing
contractions
hasn’t seen / haven’t seen
44a. Examples
- He hasn’t seen a dentist in a while.
- He hasn’t taken care of his teeth very well, and now he has two cavities.
- The dentist hasn’t told him yet that he needs to come back for fillings.
44b. present perfect tense
have or has + never + the past participle
There are two main possible meanings that come from the use of “never” with the present perfect tense: 1) Something has never happened during a person’s life–or not up until now; 2) A person is exaggerating a situation.
- Laura has never been to China. (This is a fact. Not once was she there.)
- Laura has never been so happy. (This could be an exaggeration or a fact It’s hard to measure happiness.)
- This faucet has never worked properly. (This may be an exaggeration or an expression of an opinion.)
- I’ve never had so much fun. (I’m having fun right now. Compared to other fun experiences, this one is the best.)
- She’s never needed help from anyone until now. (Something has changed in a person’s life. Now, things are suddenly different.)
- Lionel has never flown on an airplane. (This is a statement of fact. Perhaps, things will be different in the future.)
44b. Example
- George has never been to New York.
- He has never seen so many people in one place before.
These are statements of fact. These things never happened until now.
- George has never been so happy.
- He has never had so much success.
They may be opinions or a form of exaggeration. Despite the use of the negative, these statements sound positive.
Here’s an exercise for you to try. You may print out the PDF and use it for your class or for self-study.
present perfect tense negative (PDF)
Directions: Make each of the verbs provided negative in the present perfect tense.
1. Marta _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ there very long. (live)
2. I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ any coffee yet this morning. (have)
3. The teacher _ _ _ _ _ _ _ never _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to punish Oscar for misbehavior. (need)
4. Rob and Andrea _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ each each other for very long. (know)
5. The city still _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ this road yet. (fix)
6. Mark _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ his grandparents in years. (visit)
7. It _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ raining in three days. (stop)
8. The girls _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ their vegetables yet. (eat)
9. Charles _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ never _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ so much money in his life. (spend)
10. Today _ _ _ _ _ _ _ not _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a good day. (be)
11. Vera _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ her homework. (do)
12. The judge _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ his mind yet. (make up)
13. Miss Ahmed _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ flowers from her students before. (receive)
14. I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ never _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ about that until now. (think)
15. That stock _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a good investment. (be)
16. Rachel _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in first class before. (fly)
17. We _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ any bad experiences at that school. (have)
18. George _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ his driver’s license test yet. (take)
19. It _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ here ever in my lifetime. (snow)
20. You _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ anything about what happened. (say)
In Lesson Forty-five, you will learn how to form questions in the present perfect tense.