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  • Feb 17, 2023

Present Perfect Conversation Questions (100+ questions)

Updated: Nov 28, 2023

writing prompts present perfect

Watch the video related to this resource , and do the quiz to test your understanding.

This page is intended to be a resource for English learners and teachers . You can practice answering these present perfect discussion questions by yourself or with a partner. You can also write the answers in a notebook, in a digital document, or in the comments section below. To help learners feel more confident and to develop grammatical accuracy, the warm-up questions have some suggested answer beginnings, which make them ideal for beginners. For more challenging questions, move on to the "Let's go!" section.

Recommended levels: intermediate for "Warm-up" questions; mix of intermediate and advanced levels for majority of "Let's go!" questions.

Use a variety of tenses in your answers in addition to the present perfect. It is quite common to expand present perfect answers with the past simple. For example, "Have you ever swum in the ocean?" "Yes, I have. I swam in the Atlantic when I visited my brother last year."

How long have you studied English?

I've studied English for/since...

Have you ever met a famous person?

Yes, I have. / Yes, I have met a famous person. I met _____.

No, I haven't. / No, I've never met a famous person.

How many countries have you visited in your life? Which ones?

I've visited _____ countries in my life. / I haven't traveled outside of [the name of your country].

How much water have you drunk today?

Today, I've drunk _____ bottles/glasses/cups/liters/gallons of water.

Who is the nicest person you have ever met?

_____ is/was the nicest person I've ever met.

How have you been lately?

Lately, I've been...[great. / really good. / well. / tired. / busy. / unmotivated. / etc.]

Whom have you talked to today?

Today, I've talked to...

Have you ever swum in the ocean?

Yes, I have. / Yes, I've swum in the ocean.

No, I haven't. / No, I've never swum in the ocean.

Who has helped you a lot in your life?

_____ has/have helped me a lot in my life.

What have you done this week?

This week, I've...

What is one of the most important things you have learned in your life?

One of the most important things I have learned in my life is to/(that)...

Let's go!

How many times have you checked your phone today?

How many questions have you answered so far?

Has this week been good or bad for you?

Has anything or anyone made you laugh or smile today?

What's the strangest food you've ever eaten?

What's the farthest you've ever been from your home?

Which countries have been in the news lately?

Have you called anyone this week?

What's the biggest wedding you've ever been to?

How long have you known your closest/best friend?

How much exercise have you gotten today?

Has anything (or anyone) inspired or motivated you this week?

Have you tried anything new lately?

Which instruments have you tried playing in your life?

How much time have you spent on social media this week?

How much money have you spent this week?

Have you ever...?

You can ask about people's life experiences by asking them questions with "Have you ever...?" You can also just use "Have you...?", but adding "ever" puts emphasis on your entire life experience. You can answer with "Yes, I have" or "No, I haven't." You can also give a specific past example. For instance: "Have you ever ridden a horse?" "Yes, I have. I rode one when I was a teenager."

Have you ever ridden a horse?

Have you ever jumped out of an airplane?

Have you ever had a pet?

Have you ever been on a rollercoaster?

Have you ever traveled by train?

Have you ever seen a Marvel movie?

Have you ever written a story?

Have you ever tried to help someone but it didn't go the way you planned?

Have you ever bought a new car or a new house?

Have you ever broken up with someone?

Have you ever lived with a roommate?

Have you ever taken private English classes?

Have you ever thought about moving to another country?

Have you ever wondered if humans are truly alone in the universe?

Have you ever had to go to a hospital emergency room?

Have you ever asked for help but no one helped you?

Have you ever been mad at yourself for doing something wrong?

Have you ever been to a concert?

Have you ever been to a live sporting event (a soccer game, a basketball game, etc.)?

Have you ever been in a fight?

Have you ever been to the casino?

Have you ever returned something you bought because it was defective in some way?

Have you ever kissed an animal?

Have you ever been stopped by the police for speeding?

Have you ever been in a play? (A play is a live theatre performance.)

Have you ever gone camping?

Have you ever wished you were someone (or somewhere) else?

Have you heard of...?

One of the most common "Have you ever...?" or "Have you...?" questions is "Have you (ever) heard of...?" This question is asking if you are familiar with someone or something. Sometimes, we give more information after the question is asked, as in the examples below. You can answer the questions with "Yes, I have," or "No, I haven't." Expand on your answer if you have heard of the subjects below.

Have you heard of the artist named Banksy? He does a lot of stuff with graffiti.

Have you heard of Margaret Atwood? She's a Canadian writer.

Have you heard of Metallica? They're a heavy metal band.

Have you heard of BLACKPINK? They're a Korean pop group.

Have you heard of Tina Fey? She's an American actress.

Have you heard of Angel Falls? It's a waterfall in Venezuela.

Have you heard of Dennis Bergkamp? He's a retired Dutch football player.

Have you heard of The Little Prince ? It's a famous children's book written by a French author.

Using the present perfect with unfinished time

You can use the present perfect to talk about unfinished time. For example, someone can say, "What have you done today?" if "today" still isn't finished. You can answer by saying, "Today, I've answered a bunch of emails, I've had breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I've gone to the gym."

Have you eaten today?

What have you done today?

How many messages have you received today?

Where have you gone to this week?

What is something you've done this week that you're proud of?

"I'm proud that I've..."

Who(m) have you talked to today?

How many times have you gone to the bathroom today?

Present perfect with superlative adjectives

Present perfect questions with superlative adjectives are another common way to ask about people's life experiences.

What's the biggest city you have ever been to?

Who's the nicest person you have ever met?

What's the most expensive restaurant you've ever eaten at?

What's the coldest temperature you've ever experienced?

What's the hottest temperature you've ever experienced?

What's the most beautiful place you've ever been to?

What's the longest you've ever been sick?

What's the best book you've ever read?

What's the longest book you've ever read?

Who's the most creative person you know?

What's the longest you have ever slept?

The present perfect at work or school

Here are some common questions you might hear at work or at school. Imagine yourself in these situations and answer the questions as naturally as you can.

Have you seen [someone's name] today?

Have you had time to look at the attachment I sent you?

What have you been up to today? (This means "What have you been doing today?", which is a present perfect continuous question. The present perfect question "What have you been up to?" is typically answered with the present perfect continuous: "I've been + verb+ing")

I haven't seen you all day! Where have you been?

Have you sent that email we talked about?

Have you started your homework?

Have you finished your assignment? / Have you finished your work?

Have you prepared for your presentation? / Have you prepared for the meeting?

Have you had lunch yet?

Have you checked your email yet?

Oh no! What have you done?!

Why haven't you responded to my messages?

Why have you decided to quit? / Why have you decided to drop out of school?

How has your week been so far? Have things been busy?

Why have you ignored me this week? (This question is more commonly asked in the present perfect continuous: "Why have you been ignoring me?")

Finish the sentences

I've always wanted to...

I have decided to...

I've never seen...

I've never been to...

Have you had time to...?

They haven't talked to each other since...

We haven't seen each other in...(6 months / 1 year, etc.)

Have you finished...?

She has prepared for...

Have you told anyone about...?

I've never met...

Want to learn and practice 21 of the most common present perfect questions? Watch this video lesson and do the practice quiz when you're done !

That's it! That wasn't so bad, was it? If you enjoyed this resource and you want to support my work--and if you want to continue improving your English vocabulary and speaking skills--pick up a copy of my book, 300 Practical English Words and Phrases . Thank you and good luck with your studies!

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  • Teaching secondary
  • Intermediate B1

A perfect story

The present perfect is a tense that many students have problems with. Most course books provide only controlled grammar sentences where students choose the correct tense.

writing prompts present perfect

This activity leads students into writing a short story using the past simple, present perfect simple and continuous, but in a more creative way.

  • Tell the students they are going to write a short story.
  • Get the students to read the following questions and decide, with a partner, what the missing words are, but not answer the questions now.
  • Monitor well to check they understand the activity. There are no 'correct' answers, they should use their imagination.
  • What is his / her name?
  • What is __________ about them? (e.g. strange / unusual / nice...)
  • What was their --problem last year?
  • What happened?
  • Why have they become so __________ ?
  • How many __________ have they -__________ ?
  • Who have they been __________ recently?
  • What have they been __________ for the last five years?
  • Now the students, working in pairs still, have to answer the questions. The answers should link the questions together to form the basis of a story.
  • Next ask students to draw their characters. This is fun and brings the character to life. Students can laugh at each other's drawings.
  • Using the notes above, students put the story together. They can add more information if they wish but they should not make it complicated.
  • Students then swap their story with another pair to edit. They read the story and underline any errors they notice, or question any word or phrase they don't understand.
  • The stories are returned to their owners who make changes as necessary depending on the comments that were made by the editing pair.

By slowly guiding them through the stages the end result is their own and usually grammatically correct. Don't forget to ask students to read each others stories, they are sure to be amusing.

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Can't download

I will try but i can't, perfect story, great activity.

great activity. I'll try it with my students. Thank you very much.

Thanks, I feel that this is a interesting activity.

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

See our publications, research and insight

Writing Prompt ~ Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: The present perfect continuous tense is used to talk about an action from the past that has recently stopped or is still continuing. As with other perfect tenses, the words for and since are often used to indicate time. Review the structure and uses of the present perfect continuous tense . Then demonstrate your understanding by writing a script for a short interview between two people. Try to use for and since in your writing.

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11 comments

I love this conversation so much

Thanks a lot

Amanda: ¡Hi Mom! How have you been feeling these days? I didn’t visit you for a long time. Mom: I have been very good because your father bought three airplane tickets to travel to Paris the next week, with you. Amanda: ¡Wow! Its is a big surprise, I don’t believe it. Mom: He has saved a lot of money to give us this present. However, the main reason to do this travel is to share with you much time than we have been sharing since you move out. Amanda: Awww, my dad is so beautiful with us, I love it. Amanda: Mmmm Mom, I have a little problem, I don’t have clothes to go to Paris, all my shirts, skirts and jeans are dirty because I haven’t cleaned them yet. Can you accompany me to clean up in the laundry? Mom: Ok, but Why didn’t you wash the clothes before? Amanda: I’m sorry, but I have been very busy with my university homeworks and I forgot my clothes laundry. Mom: Don’t worry, but you need to be more focus with these little things that are very important. I have been thinking that I could help you these days If you do want. To accompany and give my support in all possible house works that you could have. Amanda: Thanks mom, you’re very special with me but I will try to organize all things that I have. But if you do want, we can prepare our bags to travel to Paris. Mom: Yeah! I love it, because ¡we are travelling to Paris the next week! And we need to prepare all things to carry to this wonderful city.

Job Interview Interviewer: Why do you want this job? Applicant: I have been wanting to be an editor-in-chief since I had completed high school. I have always wanted a 9 to 5 job and when I am getting the opportunity, I would use it all. Interviewer: I have noticed from your resume that you have been working in Montera n’ Co. since 5 years. Why are you resigning from there? Applicant: Due to some professional grudges I have been looking for a job since the time the grudges started as I was unable to stand much. Interviewer: What have you been looking for in a job? Applicant: I have been looking for a knowledgeable job so that I never stop learning.

It is informative

Information

Job Interview Interviewer: Could you introduce your self? Job applicant: Sure, I’m Carlos and I have been programming software since 2004 when I finished the university. I have been working in different roles as software engineer, technical lead and software architect. All my career I have been programming in Java language. Interviewer: Perfect, could you tell me about your architecture career? Job applicant: I have been working as a software architect for 7 years, this period I have been designing many architectures under java platform and I have been managing many development teams. Interviewer: I think while you have been managing a development team you have been faced some conflict at some moment, could you tell me about how you faced those situations. Job applicant: Yes, well, when some things were difficult, like different opinions from a specific decision I have always been trying to put in priority our work as a value for our customer, the products we have been creating are always to give an additional value to an end user, with this in mind is how I have always been trying to resolve some conflict.

Hello samuel i`m very happy in my new house you can visit my on the weekend, in the saturday i my 🎈happy birday🎁 in my hause in case you want to come an we make a pajamada and cook a cake.

Job Interview Interviewer: Where have you been working the recent years? Job applicant: I’ve been working on sales and and public relations for about three years. Interviewer: Since when have you been searching for a new job? Job applicant: I’ve been searching for almost three months Interviewer: I’ve noticed in your curriculum that you are studying business at university ¿Since when have you been studying? Job applicant: I’ve been studyng the Master of Artes since the last year.

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  • English Grammar
  • Present tense

Present perfect

Level: beginner

The present perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a verb.

We use the present perfect:

for something that started in the past and continues in the present :

They 've been married for nearly fifty years. She has lived in Liverpool all her life.
  • when we are talking about our experience up to the present :
I 've seen that film before. I 've played the guitar ever since I was a teenager. He has written three books and he is working on another one.

We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present:

My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had .

and we use never for the negative form :

Have you ever met George? Yes, but I 've never met his wife.

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for something that happened in the past but is important in the present :

I can't get in the house. I 've lost my keys. Teresa isn't at home. I think she has gone shopping.

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have been and have gone

We use have/has been when someone has gone to a place and returned :

A: Where have you been ? B: I 've just been out to the supermarket.
A: Have you ever been to San Francisco? B: No, but I 've been to Los Angeles.

But when someone has not returned , we use have/has gone :

A: Where's Maria? I haven't seen her for weeks. B: She 's gone to Paris for a week. She'll be back tomorrow.  

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Present perfect with time adverbials 

We often use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to the recent past :

Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey. We have just got back from our holidays.

or adverbials which include the present :

Have you ever seen a ghost? Where have you been up to now ? A: Have you finished your homework yet ? B: No, so far I 've only done my history.

After a clause with the present perfect we often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past :

I 've worked here since I left school . I 've been watching that programme every week since it started .

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I have seen that film yesterday . We have just bought a new car last week . When we were children we have been to California.
Have you seen Helen today ? We have bought a new car this week .

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Level: intermediate

Present perfect continuous

The present perfect continuous is formed with have/has been and the -ing form of the verb.

We normally use the present perfect continuous to emphasise that something is still continuing in the present :

She has been living in Liverpool all her life. It 's been raining for hours. I'm tired out. I 've been working all day. They have been staying with us since last week.

We do not normally use the present perfect continuous with stative verbs . We use the present perfect simple instead:

I 've always been liking liked John.

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Present perfect for future

We normally use the present simple  to talk about the future  in clauses with before, after, until,  etc.:

I'll keep looking until I find my book. We'll begin when everyone arrives .

but we can also use the present perfect :

I'll keep looking until I have found my book. We'll begin when everyone has arrived .

Hello, Sir. I wanted to know if the two sentences are correct. 1. Did any of your friends graduate this year? 2. Have any of your friends graduated this year? I think sentence 1 is more correct because the action finished although the time is not over. Personally it's not possible that "graduate" happens again. However, we can use the present perfect to introduce a new piece of information, so I think the present perfect is also correct. Thank you for your time.

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Hello Sokhomkim,

Yes, both sentences are possibly correct. Which one is better depends on when the graduation was, what day it is now and how the speaker views the events or how relevant the graduation might be to the situation the speaker and listener are in. There are many different possibilities.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Thank you so much, Sir. 1. My friends graduated in October. Now it's November. The year is not over yet. Is it correct to say "my friends graduated from high school this year. 2. My friends graduated in December (2023). Now it's Jan 1, 2024. Can I use the phrase "this year"? "My friends graduated from high school this year." A friend of mine told me that "this year" is only used with the present perfect because the time is not over. Your reply is really a big help for me. Thank you for your time.

Yes, 1 is correct.

In the case of 2, if you're thinking of an academic year from September to June, then yes, it's fine to say 'this year'. If you're thinking of the calendar year, then it would be strange to say 'this year'; instead, I'd probably say 'last month'. You could even say 'just' if you take a perspective that last month is relatively recent -- in the grand scheme of most people's lives, one month is not a long time ago.

As you can see, it really depends a lot on how the speaker sees the situation.

What your friend told you about 'this year' and the present perfect is a general rule that teachers often give to students. Many such rules -- like this one -- don't cover the vast field of possible uses of different forms. They are useful, but it's more important to understand the logic behind them, which I can see you are working hard to do. Keep it up!

Is there an option to download the explanations and exercises of this page?

Hello Christine Athens,

We have not created PDFs of these pages, but if the copy is for your own personal use, you are welcome to copy the explanation and exercises into a document.

Hello, could explain why "create" without "s"? "Have you ever watched somebody create a stunning painting?"

Hello viva,

We add -s to regular third-person present forms, so we normally say he (she/it) creates, as you suggest. However, the construction here is watch someone + base form : watch him create . The main verb (which does have -s in the present simple) is 'watch'.

The other sense verbs work in the same way:

watch something happen >  see / hear / listen to / feel / smell something happen

The LearnEnglish Team

Could I use present simple to answer the question with present perfect tense? E.g Why has she left? She is busy dealing with her tasks.

Hi Khangvo2812,

Yes, you can. Even though the answer has a different tense, it still clearly answers the original question.

LearnEnglish

There have been a lot of Vietnamese who thought I was a boy when they first heard my name because my name is very common for boys. Could I combine the tenses like the above?

Yes, sure! It's correctly written and the meaning is clear.

LearnEnglish team

I would like to ask regarding the question you have made in the section "Present perfect continuous 1"

why is the question "Stefan has been looking really sad since he came back from holiday. Do you know what's the matter?" using present perfect continuous? isnt it started since in the past bc there is "since he came back from holiday?" why wasn't it written in present prefect?

Hi ashiecajlenreese,

We can use "since" phrases with the present perfect continuous too (not just the present perfect simple). But the present perfect continuous emphasises that the action continues into the present moment. The present perfect simple can also mean that, but the continuous form emphasises the "still happening now" meaning more. It seems like a really current and immediate concern for the speaker. In comparison, if we say "Stefan has looked really sad since ...", the issue seems less immediate.

Also, it's common to use continuous forms for actions that we consider to be temporary, or not the usual situation, which also seems to be the case here.

I hope that helps to understand it.

Hello, Sir. I wanted to know why the present perfect simple is the correct option. A: I'm very hungry. B: I'm not surprised. You ..... all day. a. haven't been eating b. haven't eaten I think the phrase "all day" is mostly used with the perfect continuous except the stative verbs. Could I use the present perfect continuous in the sentence above? If so, I wanted to know what the difference between them is. Thank you for your time. Best Wishes!

The simple form is best here because you are interested in the result of a situation. Generally, the progressive form focuses on the activity, especially an incomplete or interrupted activity, while the simple form focuses on the result. Here are some examples to clarify:

  • I've read War and Peace > I can tell you about it / I don't want to borrow it / I want to see the film
  • I've been reading War and Peace > my eyes are tired / I haven't read another book / I haven't been out much recently
  • I've cooked dinner > you can have some / I'm ready to go out / I don't want to phone for a pizza
  • I've been cooking dinner > the kitchen is a mess / I'm tired / there's a smell in the house

It's generally more a question of nuance than a black and white rule, of course.

Hi, can you please clarify this? you have mentioned here that present perfect tense can be used when saying something which happened in past but important for now.

Is this sentence correct "I cannot enter my home because I have lost the key yesterday?

I have heard like present perfect tense should not be used when describing an event which happened in definite time in past and simple past tense has to be used instead Please kindly sort this out

advance thanks

Hi zamrasahamed,

Yes, what you said at the end of your message is right. With the present perfect, the past time is not normally given. Both of these sentences are fine:

  • I cannot enter my home because I lost the key yesterday . (past simple)
  • I cannot enter my home because I have lost the key . (present perfect)

In both sentences, "I lost the key yesterday" and "I have lost the key" are clearly important now, since they are the cause of the current situation ("I cannot enter my home"). However, in the first sentence, the word "yesterday" locates the action "lost the key" at a past moment, so the past simple is used. In the second sentence, no time is mentioned, and the use of the present perfect presents the action as relatively recent and connected to the present topic or situation.

It's not usual to use the present perfect with a defined past time moment, e.g.  I cannot enter my home because I have lost the key yesterday , and this may be considered a grammatical mistake.

I hope that helps!

Hello, Could you explain why present perfect is used when we use the time adverbial like for the past three days?

If you say  for the past three days , the meaning is "from three days ago until now". It is a time period that is unfinished at the moment of "now". We use the present perfect to talk about actions in this unfinished time period. 

You may be interested in our Present perfect page (linked) , which has a few more examples and exercises about this. I hope it helps.

Hello example This car has been sold ten times can I say life experience for things ?

Yes, that's fine.

Hello Peter can I use ever for things example Has this car ever been damaged?

Hello again.

Yes, you can use the present perfect to describe things which happen in an unfinished time period (a person's life when they are still alive, an object's history when the object still exists etc). Once the time period is finished (the person dies, for example, or the object no longer exists) you use a past form.

Hello, My friend said"I'm hungry" at 3:00 pm, should I ask him have you had lunch or did you have lunch?

Hello Khangvo2812,

Both are possible. I think 'Have you...' sounds better as you are talking about something with a present result. However, I'm a British English speaker and speakers of other dialects may prefer 'Did you...' In US English, for example, the past simple is common in this kind of context.

I have a question. Are these sentences have the same meaning? Is there any difference?

1. I have not been to Qatar. 2. I have never been to Qatar.

They have a similar meaning, but sentence 2 with "never" is more emphatic. "Never" means "not at any time".

Hello, Is it possible to ask a question about the previous lesson? Thank you.

Hi capelle,

Sure, feel free to post your questions here! We'll try our best to help.

Good Afternoon Sir. I have gone through the entire lesson on present perfect as well as the comments thereunder. Although the lesson is well-prepared with lots of practice exercises, still I have some doubts left in my mind. May I request you to please clear the following doubts:-

1. I have had a headache. Does it mean that "headache started at some unspecified time in the past & continues up to the present moment" i.e. I am still suffering from headache or "headache started at some unspecified time in the past & ended in the past itself" i.e. I am no longer suffering from headache or can it mean both.

2. In the comments section, someone asked "He has been a soldier" and he was told that it means "he was a soldier at some point in time but no longer now". Other person asked "He has been a software Engineer" and he was told it could mean both "He may be a software Engineer now or He may not be". How to interpret the meaning of " He has been a soldier or software engineer or businessman etc."

3. Normally, if a sentence in present perfect is followed by a prepositional phrase (for/since) then it means that the action continues up to the present moment such as He has been married for 30 years (still married) or I have known him for 10 years (still known to me). But It is mentioned in the comment section that "I have waited for 03 hours" means that the action of waiting is completed. How to interpret present perfect tenses with for/since.

Mohit Gupta

Hello Mohit,

It's difficult to respond to these questions without knowing the context for the utterances you're asking about. The context is important because it tells us something about the speaker's perspective and purpose. But I'll make some comments that perhaps are useful.

'I've had a headache' would normally have a time clause with 'since' or 'for' accompanying it. In these cases, I would understand it to mean that the speaker still has the headache at the time of speaking. Perhaps you come home and find your brother laying on the sofa. He's normally very active and so you ask him if he's OK and he says, 'I've had a headache for the past three hours and can't concentrate'.

Regarding 2, I'm afraid I don't have time to go and find the comments you've asked about, but I imagine it was due to the context mentioned in them, or perhaps the context we imagined when responding. In a job interview context, saying 'He has been a soldier/software engineer' could be used to refer to a person's specific past work experience, i.e. to say he has experience in that position, but it could also be used to refer to the job they still currently have. It depends.

Regarding 3, it's difficult for me to imagine a situation when someone would say this. People normally use a present perfect continuous form to talk about waiting that is still in progress, i.e. 'I've been waiting for three hours' is what we'd normally say if we're still waiting at the time of speaking.

I hope this helps.

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello, Could you check this sentence for me? I haven’t met you for a long time. How’s everything going?

Among native speakers, we'd use 'haven't seen' or some other verb instead of 'haven't met', but in international contexts, people use sentences like this all the time and they are fine.

Hello team! I have a question regarding "for and since" can I use them at the beginning of the sentence? For example: Since 2020(,) I have been a teacher. For three years(,)I have been a teacher.

And can be written with commas or without?

Hello AboodKh9,

It's fine to start sentences in this way, and it can be a good way to emphasise how long the action or state has been continuing. No comma is necessary.

Hello sir, Could you explain the difference between these sentences as i am unable to understand the exact difference in the meaning, He has been a soldier. He was a soldier.

He has been brave. He is brave. In the last two sentences ,the state of being brave is continuing till the present so what is the difference?

Hello priyansh030,

If I understand the speaker's intentions correctly, 1a means that the man was a soldier at some point in his life but is not now. It's similar to saying 'I've visited Bangladesh' when you are now in Lahore -- it's a statement about an experience you have had in the course of your lifetime. This sentence shows that this man's life experience includes being a soldier at some point in time. Perhaps another person has said that the man was never a soldier, but this speaker says this sentence to insist that he has experienced being a soldier.

1b simply says that he was a soldier at some point in the past. Like 1a, it shows he is no longer a soldier. Both 1a and 1b could be used to answer many questions, but without knowing more about the situation, it's hard for me to justify using one or the other.

1a and 1b are about a man's work in the past. 2a and 2b are different because they speak about a man's personal qualities. In most cases, we would say 2b because we generally use the present simple to refer to the qualities a person has. It's not explicitly said, but we often assume that these qualities were also true in the past and will be true in the future. Again, without knowing more about the situation, I can't say much more.

2a is much more specific. It could, for example, refer to a recent experience in which a person has behaved in a way that is very brave. It could be that this surprised the speaker, but in any case it refers to a more specific time, a time the context presumably makes clear.

It's quite difficult to explain the differences between verb forms without more context, but I hope this gives you some ideas.

Hello Sir, thanks a lot for the reply. I think i was confused between having a quality from a specific and unspecific point of time in 2a,2b as simple present talks about talks about having a quality from an indefinite point of time.(Past-present-future) Thanks a lot.

Is it grammatically correct "The children play all day long."

Hello User02,

Yes, it is. Well done!

Thank you very much and kindly tell me one more thing,Which is more accurate:"The children play all day long." Or "The children have been playing all day long."

Hello Vijdan Rizvi,

Both are possible but have different meanings.

  • 'The children have been playing all day long' tells us about their activity on a particular day.
  • 'The children play all day long' tells us about how they typically spend their time. It is a general statement about the children's habits, not about a specific day.

Hi, I have a problem. Please consider this

"I have been a software engineer" (I know this is a vague sentence)

if I introduce myself like the above without any complement like "for 10 years, all my life, etc", could it mean :

**for something that started in the PAST and CONTINUES in the present

**when we are talking about our EXPERIENCE up to the present

Or both is possible? Thanks

Hi LitteBlueGreat,

If you say the sentences without any time reference (without 'for' or 'since', for example) then it tells us about your life experience. You can imagine listing achievements in a CV: I have had several jobs. I have been a project manager, I have been a consultant and I have been a software engineer. Note that you may or may not still be any of these things; the sentence by itself does not make this clear.

If you include a time phrase such as 'for ten years' or 'since 2015' then it tells us about something that began in the past and continues into the present.

Hello everyone, I have a question.

According to 'We use present perfect when we are talking about our experience up to the present' and the example ‘I’ve seen that film before.’ If I say ‘I’ve seen that film when I was a child’ does this sentence still correct? The example (When we were children we have been to California.) in ‘We do not use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a finished past time’ shows that we don’t use present perfect with past time adverbials. Does it correct If I say ‘We have been to California before’ instead of ‘When we were children we have been to California’ ? Why can’t we consider the sentence ‘When we were children we have been to California’ as an experience up to present?

Hi Kay0129,

No,  I’ve seen that film when I was a child isn't considered correct. "When I was a child" refers to a finished past time. Other examples of finished past time references are last year  and in 2018 , and these are not usually used with the present perfect.

But it is fine to say  We have been to California before , because "before" refers to a period of time lasting until the present moment (i.e., an unfinished past time). The sentence  When we were children we have been to California isn't an experience up to the present, because "when we were children" is a finished time in the past. It locates the action (going to California) in the past, so it doesn't go with the present perfect.

Does that make sense?

The sentence "I've seen that film when I was a child" is not grammatically correct because the adverbial phrase "when I was a child" refers to a specific finished past time. In this case, the past simple tense should be used instead of the present perfect tense. The correct sentence would be "I saw that film when I was a child."

The sentence "We have been to California before" is grammatically correct because the adverbial "before" is not a specific finished past time, but rather a general reference to a time that occurred before now. This is an acceptable usage of the present perfect tense.

The sentence "When we were children we have been to California" is not grammatically correct because it uses the present perfect tense with an adverbial phrase that refers to a specific finished past time. The sentence implies that the experience of going to California is ongoing, which is not the case. It would be more appropriate to say "When we were children, we went to California."

Hello everyone! According to present perfect, we use it for past actions with a result in present. So, I saw an example here says” Extremists have reached/ seized power in this country. You replied that past simple is more appropriate. But here, there is a result! Now they are running the country. I know that the verbs (reach and seize) occur at a particular moment, but here the focus is on the result that they maybe enact new laws and so on.

Thanks in advance.

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ESLBUZZ

Mastering Present Perfect Tense: Your Ultimate Guide to Perfecting Your English Grammar

By: Author ESLBUZZ

Posted on Last updated: August 21, 2023

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Welcome to our article about the Present Perfect Tense in English grammar! If you’re learning English, you’ve likely encountered this tense before. It’s a common verb tense used to describe actions that began in the past and continue up to the present. In this article, we’ll dive into the details of how to form and use the Present Perfect Tense, as well as provide plenty of examples to help you understand it better.

Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, mastering the Present Perfect Tense is an important step in improving your English grammar skills. So let’s get started!

Present Perfect Tense – Image

Present Perfect Tense

Structure of the Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect Tense is a verb tense used to describe actions or events that happened at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continue to the present. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “have” or “has” followed by the past participle of the verb.

Affirmative Form

The affirmative form of the Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action or event that has occurred at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continues to the present. The structure of the affirmative form is as follows:

Subject + have/has + past participle of the verb

  • I have eaten breakfast already.
  • She has finished her work for the day.

Negative Form

The negative form of the Present Perfect Tense is used to express the absence of an action or event that has occurred at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continues to the present. The structure of the negative form is as follows:

Subject + have/has + not + past participle of the verb

  • I have not seen that movie yet.
  • She has not finished her work for the day.

Interrogative Form

The interrogative form of the Present Perfect Tense is used to ask questions about an action or event that has occurred at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continues to the present. The structure of the interrogative form is as follows:

Have/Has + Subject + past participle of the verb + ?

  • Have you ever been to Paris?
  • Has she finished her work for the day?

Signal Words for the Present Perfect Tense

Signal words are words that indicate which tense to use. For the present perfect tense, some common signal words include:

For example, “Have you ever been to Paris?” or “I have never seen that movie before.”

In conclusion, the Present Perfect Tense is a useful verb tense for describing actions or events that have occurred at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continue to the present. By mastering the structure of the Present Perfect Tense, you can effectively communicate about past events in English.

Usage and examples of The Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is a very common English tense used to describe actions or events that happened in the past but have a connection to the present. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb “have” or “has” followed by the past participle of the main verb. Here are some examples of present perfect tense in action:

  • She has studied English for five years.
  • They have traveled to many countries.
  • We have seen that movie before.

As you can see, the present perfect tense is used to talk about experiences or actions that have happened at an unspecified time in the past, but the effects or results of those actions are still relevant in the present.

In addition to using the present perfect tense to describe past actions with present relevance, it can also be used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into the present. For example:

  • He has lived in New York City since 2010.
  • They have been married for ten years.
  • I have worked at this company for five years.

Note that in these examples, the actions started in the past but are still ongoing in the present.

Another use of the present perfect tense is to describe actions that have happened at an unspecified time in the past, but the speaker is interested in the result of the action. For example:

  • She has written a book.
  • He has painted a picture.
  • They have built a house.

In these cases, the speaker is not concerned with when the action happened, but rather with the fact that the action was completed and has a result in the present.

Overall, the present perfect tense is a versatile and important tense in English grammar. By understanding its uses and practicing with examples and exercises, learners can improve their language skills and communicate more effectively in English.

Common Mistakes in Using the Present Perfect Tense

The Present Perfect tense is a commonly used tense in English grammar, but it can be tricky to use correctly. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when using the Present Perfect tense:

Using the wrong time expressions

The Present Perfect tense often goes with adverbs of indefinite time, such as already, yet, before, ever, just, and never. Using the wrong time expressions can lead to confusion and incorrect usage of the tense. For example, saying “I have seen him yesterday” is incorrect. Instead, you should say “I saw him yesterday.”

Using the Present Perfect for past actions with specific time references

The Present Perfect tense is used to talk about past actions that are related to or continue into the present. It is not used for past actions with specific time references. For example, saying “I have finished my homework yesterday” is incorrect. Instead, you should say “I finished my homework yesterday.”

Using the wrong auxiliary verb

The Present Perfect tense is formed using the auxiliary verbs have or has, depending on the subject. Using the wrong auxiliary verb can lead to incorrect usage of the tense. For example, saying “I has finished my homework” is incorrect. Instead, you should say “I have finished my homework.”

Using the Present Perfect instead of the Simple Past

The Simple Past tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. Using the Present Perfect instead of the Simple Past can lead to confusion and incorrect usage of the tense. For example, saying “I have eaten breakfast this morning” is incorrect. Instead, you should say “I ate breakfast this morning.”

In conclusion, the Present Perfect tense can be tricky to use correctly, but avoiding these common mistakes can help you use it more effectively. Remember to use the correct time expressions, auxiliary verbs, and tense forms. With practice, you can master the Present Perfect tense and use it confidently in your English communication.

Exercises to Practice the Present Perfect Tense

To master the Present Perfect Tense, it is essential to practice it regularly. Here are some exercises that will help you improve your understanding and usage of this tense.

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the following sentences using the Present Perfect Tense of the verbs in brackets:

  • I ___________ (not see) my best friend for two months.
  • She ___________ (already visit) the Eiffel Tower twice.
  • They ___________ (just arrive) from their vacation in Bali.
  • He ___________ (not finish) his homework yet.
  • We ___________ (live) in this city for ten years.

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice

Choose the correct form of the verb to complete the following sentences:

  • I ___________ (have / has) never been to New York City.
  • They ___________ (have / has) eaten sushi before.
  • She ___________ (have / has) studied French for five years.
  • We ___________ (have / has) seen that movie twice.
  • He ___________ (have / has) lost his phone again.

Exercise 3: Writing Exercise

Write five sentences using the Present Perfect Tense. Use the following prompts to help you:

  • I ___________ (never / travel) outside of my country.
  • She ___________ (just / graduate) from university.
  • They ___________ (already / watch) the latest episode of their favorite TV show.
  • He ___________ (not / decide) where to go for his next vacation.
  • We ___________ (have / visit) many countries in Europe.

By practicing these exercises regularly, you will become more comfortable with using the Present Perfect Tense in your daily conversations and writing. Keep practicing and you’ll master this tense in no time!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between present perfect tense and past tense?

The main difference between present perfect tense and past tense is that present perfect tense is used to describe an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continues into the present, while past tense describes an action that happened at a specific time in the past and is now finished.

What is the structure of present perfect tense?

The structure of present perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb (have/has) + past participle verb. For example, “I have eaten breakfast.”

What are some examples of present perfect tense?

Some examples of present perfect tense are: “I have finished my homework,” “She has traveled to many countries,” and “They have seen that movie before.”

What are the rules for using present perfect tense?

Present perfect tense is used to describe an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continues into the present. It is also used to describe an action that has just been completed or to talk about experiences or changes that have happened over a period of time. It is not used to describe a specific action that happened at a specific time in the past.

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the structure of present perfect tense?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

The structure of present perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb (have/has) + past participle verb. For example, \"I have eaten breakfast.\"

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What are the forms of present perfect tense?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

The forms of present perfect tense are affirmative, negative, and interrogative. In affirmative form, we use the subject followed by the auxiliary verb and the past participle of the main verb. In negative form, we use the subject followed by the auxiliary verb \"have/has\" and \"not\" and the past participle of the main verb. In interrogative form, we use the auxiliary verb \"have/has\" before the subject and the past participle of the main verb.

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What are some examples of present perfect tense?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

Some examples of present perfect tense are: \"I have finished my homework,\" \"She has traveled to many countries,\" and \"They have seen that movie before.\"

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do you conjugate verbs in present perfect tense?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

To conjugate verbs in present perfect tense, we use the auxiliary verb \"have/has\" and the past participle of the main verb. For regular verbs, the past participle is formed by adding \"-ed\" to the base form of the verb. For irregular verbs, the past participle form varies and needs to be memorized.

"}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What are the rules for using present perfect tense?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"

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Shyam Patra

Sunday 27th of August 2023

ESL Activities

ESL Games, Activities, Lesson Plans, Jobs & More

in Listening · Reading · Speaking · Writing

ESL Present Perfect Activities and Games

Are you looking for some ESL present perfect games and activities to try out with your students today? Then you’re most definitely in the right place. Keep on reading for our top ten p.p. activities for English learners, along with some present perfect questions and a quick primer on what the present perfect actually is.

esl-present-perfect

Present Perfect Activities and Games

Present Perfect Games and Activities for ESL

Are you ready? Let’s get to our top picks for best present perfect games and activities, along with tips and tricks for how to teach the present perfect.

You may also want to check this out: Present Continuous Games .

#1 ESL Present Perfect Activity: Surveys

I’m ALL about ESL surveys for a wide variety of topics and grammar points in my classroom. They’re awesome for a number of reasons, including the following:

  • Student-centred to the max
  • They cover a wide range of skills
  • Students interact with lots of others
  • They’re useful for sleepy classes
  • You can adapt them easily for any level, grammar point, or vocabulary

One area that fits in very well with surveys is the present perfect and the simple past. The initial question is in the present perfect and then the follow-up is in the simple past, either with a regular or an irregular verb (more irregular verb games here). For example:

“Have you taken a fun vacation before?”

“Yeah, sure, I went to Italy last year?”

“What city did you go to?”

(more Travel and Holiday ESL Activities )

Do you want to find out more about this present perfect activity? Then you’ll need to check it out right here: Surveys for ESL.

You could also consider doing a survey for daily schedules or routines and then switching to the simple past for the follow-up question related to time (more ideas here: telling time activities ).

#2: Error Correction Relay Race

#3: Present Perfect Board Games

I love to play board games in real life, so like to incorporate some into my classes as well. Of course, I make my own to match whatever I’m teaching. In this case, I’d fill up the board with lots of questions using the present perfect.

Do you want to find out more about how you can make your own ESL board games for your students? Then you’ll want to check out this short article right here: How to Make ESL Board Games . Or, you watch this video below:

#4: Is that Sentence Correct?

This is a simple grammar review activity that can also make a quick warm-up at the beginning of class. The way it works is that you write some sentences on the board. Some are correct while others are not. Students have to work with a partner to decide which ones they need to change to make correct.

Of course, you’d use the present perfect for the sentences. It’s also an ideal way to differentiate grammatically between things like the p.p. and the present perfect continuous or simple past.

More details right here: ESL Grammar Review Activity .

#5: Dictation Listening and Writing Activity

#6: Using Timelines to Teach Verb Tenses

It can be a little bit confusing for our students when it comes down to the finer details of present perfect vs present perfect continuous. Or, simple past vs present perfect. There are certainly some important differences, but they can also be quite subtle.

One of the best ways to explain this is to use timelines. Basically, you can show when an activity started and finished, whether that’s in the past, present, or future . Do you want to know more about this? Then you’ll want to check this out:

Timelines for Teaching the Present Perfect .

#7: Running Dictation

I know, I know, it’s a bit of a theme here. I’m sharing all of my favourite, super-versatile ESL activities and games that lend themselves well to just about topic or grammar point. ESL Running dictation is certainly another one of them.

The way I do it to post sentences from a conversation at various points around the classroom. Then one student has to read them, remember them and report back to their partner who writes them down. Once they’ve finished writing down all the sentences, they have to put them in the correct order to make coherent conversation.

Of course, you’d want to choose a conversation that focuses on the present perfect. Look in your textbook for some examples.

39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Grammar Activities and Games: For English Teachers of Teenagers and Adults...

  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Bolen, Jackie (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)

#8: Using Videos for Teaching the Present Perfect

I’m ALL about using videos in my ESL classroom . It brings a bit of excitement to learning that a boring old textbook just doesn’t! The good news is that it’s super easy to find an ESL video on just about any topic or grammar point on YouTube or English Central.

In this case, you’ll want to search for “present perfect ESL” to see what comes up. You should be able to find a video to suit the level and age of your students quite easily. Have a look at this one:

#9 Present Perfect Speaking Activity: The Memory Circle

One of the most versatile activities is this memory circle one. You can use it for just about anything from names to vocabulary to grammar. In this case, you’d want students to make a sentence about something they’re never done.

The first student starts off the game with the sentence, “I’ve never played tennis.” The next student says that first sentence and then adds their own. “She’s never played tennis and I’ve never eaten sushi.” The game continues on until all the students have gone. Or, you can play indefinitely with students sitting down when they make an error and can’t remember something.

More information about this fun present perfect speaking activity right here: Memory Circle ESL Game .

#10: Never Have I Ever…

We’ve probably all played this fun party game with our friends before. The way it works is that each person takes turns saying a statement. For example, “Never have I ever been drunk.” It should be something that they’ve actually never done. If people have done it, they would raise their hand or stand up.

When you play with friends, this game can usually get a bit raunchy. However, it doesn’t have to be like that and you can certainly play it with kids! Here’s an example of a kid friendly never have I ever question. “Never have I ever stayed up all night.”

Do you want to find out more about how you can play this with your ESL students? Then you’ll want to check out all the details right here: Never Have I Ever for English Learners .

#11: Need to Do, But Haven’t Done Yet

Working in pairs, students try to find something that their partner needs to do but hasn’t done yet this week. For example, “Have you taken out the trash yet?” Or, “Have you washed your floor yet?”

#12: Dialogue Substitution 

#13: Storytelling

Divide students into small groups and provide each group with a set of picture cards or prompts. Students take turns using the present perfect tense to tell a story based on the pictures or prompts. Encourage them to create a coherent narrative using the present perfect tense. This activity enhances speaking skills and promotes creativity and storytelling.

#14: Guessing Game

Prepare a set of present perfect tense sentence cards that describe personal experiences or achievements. One student picks a card and reads the sentence aloud, omitting the past participle verb. Other students take turns guessing the missing word to complete the sentence correctly. This activity reinforces sentence structure and encourages students to think critically about the present perfect tense.

#15: Present Perfect Charades

Write a list of present perfect sentences on small cards, each describing an action or experience. Divide the class into teams. One player from each team acts out the sentence without speaking, while their team tries to guess the action or experience using the present perfect tense.

#16: Present Perfect Snakes and Ladders

Adapt the traditional Snakes and Ladders game to focus on the present perfect tense. Each square on the board contains a sentence or prompt in the present perfect. When students land on a square, they must provide a relevant answer or form a sentence using the present perfect tense to progress through the game.

#17: Present Perfect Guess Who

Create a variation of the classic “Guess Who” game by using present perfect questions. Each student is given a picture or description of a person, and they take turns asking yes/no questions in the present perfect to guess the identity of the person. For example, “Have they ever been to Asia?” or “Have they ever eaten sushi?”

#18: Present Perfect Bingo

Create bingo cards with various experiences or actions in the present perfect tense. The teacher calls out sentences or prompts in the present perfect, and students mark the corresponding squares on their bingo cards. The first student to complete a line or full card shouts “Bingo!”

#19: Present Perfect Role-Play

Divide students into pairs or small groups. Each group is given a scenario or situation. Students take turns having conversations using the present perfect tense to talk about their experiences related to the given scenario. Encourage creativity and provide feedback on the accurate use of the present perfect tense.

#20: Present Perfect Story Chain

Begin a story using the present perfect tense. Each student adds a sentence or two to continue the story, using the present perfect to describe actions or experiences. The story continues around the classroom until it reaches a satisfying conclusion.

Present Perfect Questions

Are you looking for some questions in the present perfect? Then you’re certainly in the right place. If you want to get the discussion and conversation ball rolling, here are a few questions that you could start with:

Ask your students if they’ve seen any of your favorite movies or TV shows.

What sports have you played recently?

Where have you traveled?

What’s the most amazing place you’ve ever been to?

What interesting foods have you eaten in your life?

How long have you studied English?

What’s the longest amount of time you’ve been awake for?

Have you ever…

appeared on TV?

eaten something strange?

fallen down the stairs?

forgotten something quite important?

built a snowman?

been swimming in the ocean?

gotten a bad haircut?

played a practical joke on someone?

worked at a job you hated?

esl-present-perfect-activities-games

Present Perfect Tense ESL

Present Perfect Worksheets

If you’re looking for some worksheets to help your students out with the present perfect, then these activities and games won’t really help you out. Not to worry though—here are some of our favourite sources for grammar practice worksheets:

ISL Collective

All Things Grammar

However, the first place I take a look is the textbook that I’m using for the class. It will often have some excellent practice activities, or you can check out the teacher’s resource book or the homework book.

Present Perfect Online Practice

If you’d like some resources to recommend to your students for online grammar practice, then here are our favourite resources:

ESL Games Plus

English Club

British Council

There are a number of common questions that people have about teaching this concept. Here are the answers to some of the most common ones.

What are some common time expressions used with the present perfect tense?

Some common time expressions used with the present perfect tense include “just,” “already,” “yet,” “since,” and “for.”

Can the present perfect tense be used to talk about a specific past time?

No, the present perfect tense is not used to talk about a specific past time. It focuses on the connection between the past and the present.

What is the difference between the present perfect and simple past tenses?

The present perfect tense emphasizes the connection between the past and the present, while the simple past tense focuses on past actions that are completed and not connected to the present.

What are some typical mistakes English learners make when using the present perfect tense?

Some common mistakes include the incorrect formation of the present perfect (e.g., using the wrong auxiliary verb or forgetting the past participle) and incorrect use of time expressions.

How can I help English learners understand the concept of the present perfect tense?

You can help by providing clear explanations, using relevant examples, and offering practice activities that highlight the connection between past events and the present.

What are some effective teaching techniques for the present perfect tense?

Some effective techniques include using real-life examples, engaging students in communicative activities, providing error correction and feedback, and offering opportunities for meaningful practice.

Why is it important for English learners to master the present perfect tense?

Mastering the present perfect tense allows learners to express themselves accurately in various contexts, describe experiences, and understand English texts and conversations that use this tense.

Did you Like these ESL Present Perfect Activities?

101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults (Teaching ESL/EFL to Teenagers and Adults)

  • 145 Pages - 03/10/2016 (Publication Date) - CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (Publisher)

Yes? Thought so! Then the book you’re going to love is this one over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults . The key to interesting, engaging English classes is a wide variety of games and activities. And this is the book that’ll help you get there.

Do you want to know the best part? The book is well-organized into various sections, including review, speaking, writing, warmers, and more. You should be able to find yourself an awesome ESL activity to use in your classes in just a minute or two. If that’s not some ESL gold, then I’m not sure sure what is.

Does it sound like exactly what you need? You can bring the digital copy with you on your phone or tablet to your favourite coffee shop for some lesson planning on the go. Or, keep the physical copy on the bookshelf in your office and use it as a handy reference guide. Yes, it really is that easy.

Head over to Amazon to pick up a copy today:

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Have your Say about these Present Perfect ESL Games and Activities

What did you think about these games and activities to help your students practice the present perfect? Or, do you have another one that you’d like to recommend to us? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

writing prompts present perfect

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook Pinterest TikTok LinkedIn Instagram

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Best-selling author and English teacher Jackie Bolen has been talking ESL activities and games since 2015. The goal is to bring you the best ideas, lesson plans, and activity recommendations for your TEFL classes.

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Speaking Activity and Writing: Bucket Lists using Present Perfect and Simple Past

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WEEKLY WRITING PROMPTS

Join (probably?) the world's largest writing contest. Flex those creative muscles with weekly writing prompts.

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Fabulism with shaelin bishop, write a story about an artist whose work has magical properties..

LIVE – Fantasy

Write a story where your character is travelling a road that has no end.

Write a story where the laws of time and space begin to dissolve., start your story with it raining… anything but rain (e.g. flowers, cutlery, seashells, running shoes)., write a story where a regular household item becomes sentient..

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Set your story at a silent retreat.

Write a story in which an important message is cut off, leaving characters to wonder or puzzle out what was left unsaid., write a story including the line “i can’t say it.”, write a story in which a conversation takes place where the true subject is only implied., start or finish your story with a speaker unable to finish their sentence, perhaps overcome by emotion., subscribe to our prompts newsletter.

Never miss a prompt! Get curated writing inspiration delivered to your inbox each week.

Write a story about two people falling in love via email.

Write a story about a first or last kiss., write about a cynical character who somehow ends up on a blind date., write about a successful marriage proposal, or one that goes horribly wrong., write a love story without using the word “love.”, write about a character who isn’t nostalgic about their past at all, and show readers why., write a story about a grown-up sharing their favorite childhood video game with their child., write a time-travel story where a character from the present finds themselves in the 80s or 90s., write a story about someone finally gaining access into their family’s very old computer., start your story with a character finding a retro piece of tech they don’t recognize., win $250 in our short story competition 🏆.

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

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This week's theme: Fabulism with Shaelin Bishop

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RBE | Short Stories | 2023-02

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Creative Writing Prompts

When the idea to start a weekly newsletter with writing inspiration first came to us, we decided that we wanted to do more than provide people with topics to write about. We wanted to try and help authors form a regular writing habit and also give them a place to proudly display their work. So we started the weekly Creative Writing Prompts newsletter. Since then, Prompts has grown to a community of more than 450,000 authors, complete with its own literary magazine, Prompted .  

Here's how our contest works: every Friday, we send out a newsletter containing five creative writing prompts. Each week, the story ideas center around a different theme. Authors then have one week — until the following Friday — to submit a short story based on one of our prompts. A winner is picked each week to win $250 and is highlighted on our Reedsy Prompts page.

Interested in participating in our short story contest? Sign up here for more information! Or you can check out our full Terms of Use and our FAQ page .

Why we love creative writing prompts

If you've ever sat in front of a computer or notebook and felt the urge to start creating worlds, characters, and storylines — all the while finding yourself unable to do so — then you've met the author's age-old foe: writer's block. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the time but not the words to be creative. Enter our directory! If you're ready to kick writer's block to the curb and finally get started on your short story or novel, these unique story ideas might just be your ticket.

This list of 1800+ creative writing prompts has been created by the Reedsy team to help you develop a rock-solid writing routine. As all aspiring authors know, this is the #1 challenge — and solution! — for reaching your literary goals. Feel free to filter through different genres, which include...

Dramatic — If you want to make people laugh and cry within the same story, this might be your genre.

Funny — Whether satire or slapstick, this is an opportunity to write with your funny bone.

Romance — One of the most popular commercial genres out there. Check out these story ideas out if you love writing about love.

Fantasy — The beauty of this genre is that the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

Dystopian – Explore the shadowy side of human nature and contemporary technology in dark speculative fiction.

Mystery — From whodunnits to cozy mysteries, it's time to bring out your inner detective.

Thriller and Suspense — There's nothing like a page-turner that elicits a gasp of surprise at the end.

High School — Encourage teens to let their imaginations run free.

Want to submit your own story ideas to help inspire fellow writers? Send them to us here.

After you find the perfect story idea

Finding inspiration is just one piece of the puzzle. Next, you need to refine your craft skills — and then display them to the world. We've worked hard to create resources that help you do just that! Check them out:

  • How to Write a Short Story That Gets Published — a free, ten-day course by Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who runs a book editing company in Brooklyn.
  • Best Literary Magazines of 2023 — a directory of 100+ reputable magazines that accept unsolicited submissions.
  • Writing Contests in 2023 — the finest contests of 2021 for fiction and non-fiction authors of short stories, poetry, essays, and more.

Beyond creative writing prompts: how to build a writing routine

While writing prompts are a great tactic to spark your creative sessions, a writer generally needs a couple more tools in their toolbelt when it comes to developing a rock-solid writing routine . To that end, here are a few more additional tips for incorporating your craft into your everyday life.

  • NNWT. Or, as book coach Kevin Johns calls it , “Non-Negotiable Writing Time.” This time should be scheduled into your routine, whether that’s once a day or once a week. Treat it as a serious commitment, and don’t schedule anything else during your NNWT unless it’s absolutely necessary.
  • Set word count goals. And make them realistic! Don’t start out with lofty goals you’re unlikely to achieve. Give some thought to how many words you think you can write a week, and start there. If you find you’re hitting your weekly or daily goals easily, keep upping the stakes as your craft time becomes more ingrained in your routine.
  • Talk to friends and family about the project you’re working on. Doing so means that those close to you are likely to check in about the status of your piece — which in turn keeps you more accountable.

Arm yourself against writer’s block. Writer’s block will inevitably come, no matter how much story ideas initially inspire you. So it’s best to be prepared with tips and tricks you can use to keep yourself on track before the block hits. You can find 20 solid tips here — including how to establish a relationship with your inner critic and apps that can help you defeat procrastination or lack of motivation.

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Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

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Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

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High School Writing Prompts ⭢

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Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

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Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

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Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

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Writing Prompt ~ Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Chief : Thanks for applying for the vacant position as a resident here. How long have you been applying for a job like this?

Resident : Thank you for choosing me as a suitable candidate for the job. I really appreciate this interview opportunity. I've been applying for this job for nearly two years. 

Chief :  I can tell from your resume that you've worked in several hospitals, and you're board certified in surgery and a capable doctor. How long have you been working as a surgeon?

Resident : I've been working as a surgeon for five years. It will be such an honour to work here under you - I've been focusing on this hospital and you since I graduated from the med school. 

Chief : That's music to my ears . In fact, we're looking for someone like you for a long time. Welcome to join us. 

Resident : Thank you so much for the wonderful interview. It's a dream come true - I've been dreaming of being a surgeon here since my first day as a resident. You really made my day , Chief. I can't wait to work here. 

-- resident : doctor in a hospital

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I'll check it out - thanks for bringing it to my attention.

writing prompts present perfect

I wrote one but couldn't post it, may be server problem.

Thanks for the comment. You could write one like this. 

writing prompts present perfect

Nice interview, good candidate... thanks for the idiom, Expector, I'll try to make one :)

Thanks for being the first to comment on this blog. Yes, you can say that again. When we say we learn something here, it may mean we learn something about other fields, not only English. 

Thanks for the explanation of "music to my ear", and for reading and commenting on this blog. 

Good question. It should be " an honour/honor" since the 'h' isn't pronounced. Thanks for pointing out the typo. 

Nice work! You just rewrite the dialogue - a  perfect revision. You could try to write a new one using the present perfect progressive tense, which can be so fun. Thanks!

writing prompts present perfect

Lady Anne : I've been a member of this club for five years. It will be such an honour if I can work here under you - I've been focusing on this site and you since I came here. 

Doc Smith : That's  music to my ear . In fact, we're looking for someone like you for a long time. Welcome to join us. 

Lady Anne : Thank you so much for the wonderful statement. It's a dream come true - I've been dreaming of being here and working with you since my first day as a member. You really  made my day , Doc, I can't wait to work here. 

___________

Doc, what a nice conversation!  Thanks for enlightening me with this word "resident".  Before, the only way I know how to use this word was when I saw the film "Resident Evil".  I thought it was an evil word, lol. ( Just joking, Doc )

Thanks Doc.  You are always good in writing dialogues.

writing prompts present perfect

Thanks for sharing. Blogs are not just for socializing with others but it can also give us useful information like this. 

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 105 creative writing prompts to try out.

General Education

feature_creativewritingprompts

The most common advice out there for being a writer is, "if you want to write, write." While this is true (and good advice), it's not always that easy, particularly if you're not writing regularly.

Whether you're looking for help getting started on your next project, or just want to spend 20 minutes being creative, writing prompts are great ways to rev up your imagination. Read on for our list of over 100 creative writing prompts!

feature image credit: r. nial bradshaw /Flickr

10 Short Writing Prompts

If you're looking for a quick boost to get yourself going, these 10 short writing prompts will do the trick.

#1 : Write a scene starting with a regular family ritual that goes awry.

#2 : Describe exactly what you see/smell/hear/etc, right now. Include objects, people, and anything else in your immediate environment.

#3 : Suggest eight possible ways to get a ping pong ball out of a vertical pipe.

#4 : A shoe falls out of the sky. Justify why.

#5 : If your brain were a tangible, physical place, what would it be like?

#6 : Begin your writing with the phrase, "The stage was set."

#7 : You have been asked to write a history of "The Summer of [this past year]." Your publisher wants a table of contents. What events will you submit?

#8 : Write a sympathetic story from the point of view of the "bad guy." (Think fractured fairy tales like Wicked or The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! , although the story doesn't have to be a fairy tale.)

#9 : Look at everyday objects in a new way and write about the stories one of these objects contains.

#10 : One person meets a stranger on a mode of transportation. Write the story that ensues.

body_modeoftransportation

11 Writing Prompts for Kids

Any of these prompts can be used by writers of any age, but we chose the following 11 prompts as ones that would be particularly fun for kids to write about. (Most of them I used myself as a young writer, so I can vouch for their working!)

#1 : Include something falling in your writing.

#2 : Write a short poem (or story) with the title, "We don't know when it will be fixed."

#3 : Write from the perspective of someone of a different gender than you.

#4 : Write a dumb internet quiz.

#5 : Finish this thought: "A perfect day in my imagination begins like this:"

#6 : Write a character's inner monologue (what they are thinking as they go about their day).

#7 : Think of a character. Write a paragraph each about:

  • An important childhood experience that character had.
  • The character's living situation.
  • Two hobbies or things the character likes to do.
  • The room where the character sleeps.
  • An ambition of the character.
  • Two physical characteristics of the character.
  • What happens when a second person and this character meet.
  • Two important defining personal traits of this character.

#8 : Start a story with a quote from a song.

#9 : Begin a story with, "It was the summer of ______ when ______"

#10 : Pretend everyday objects have no names. Think about what you would name them based on what they do, what you can use them for, and what they look like.

#11 : Start a story with the phrases "My grandparents are/were," "My parents are/were," or "My mother/father/parent is/was."

body_mygrandfatherwasprompt

15 Cool Writing Prompts

#1 : List five issues that you're passionate about. Write about them from the opposite point of view (or from the perspective of a character with the opposite point of view).

#2 : Walk around and write down a phrase you hear (or read). Make a story out of it.

#3 : Write using no adjectives or adverbs.

#4 : Write a character's inner dialogue between different aspects of a character's self (rather than an inner monologue).

#5 : Write a true story from your past that involves light or darkness in some way.

#6 : "Saying goodbye awakens us to the true nature of things." Write something in which someone has to say goodbye and has a realization.

#7 : Begin by writing the end of the story.

#8 : Write a recipe for an intangible thing.

#9 : Write a horror story about an ordinary situation (e.g., buying groceries, going to the bank, listening to music).

#10 : Write a story from within a bubble.

#11 : Write down 2-3 short character descriptions and then write the characters in conversation with one another.

#12 : Write a story in second person.

#13 : Write a story that keeps contradicting itself.

#14 : Write about a character with at least three big problems.

#15 : Write something that takes place on a Friday, the 13th (of any month).

body_somethingfridaythe13thprompt

15 Funny Writing Prompts

#1 : Write a story which starts with someone eating a pickle and potato sandwich.

#2 : Write a short script where the plot has to do with evil dolls trying to take over something.

#3 : Write about writers' block.

#4 : List five election issues that would be ridiculous to includes as part of your election platform (e.g. outlawing mechanical pencils and clicky pens, mandating every person over the age of 30 must own an emergency last rites kit). Choose one of the ridiculous issues and write a speech in favor of it.

#5 : Write a children's story that is insanely inappropriate but can't use graphic language, curses, or violence.

#6 : List five careers. Write about someone with one of those careers who wants to quit it.

#7 : Write down a list of murder methods. Choose one at random from the list to use in a story.

#8 : Write a romance story in which the hero must have a last name corresponding with a physical characteristic (e.g. Jacques Hairyback or Flora Dimple).

#9 : Come up with 10 different ways to:

  • order a pizza
  • congratulate someone on a job well done
  • return to the store something that's broken

#10 : Search for "random Renaissance painting" (or any other inspirational image search text you can think of) on any online internet image search engine. Picking one image, write half a page each of:

  • Statements about this image (e.g. "I meant bring me the BREAD of John the Baptist").
  • Questions about this image (e.g. "How many of those cherubs look like their necks are broken?").
  • Explanations of this image (e.g. "The painter ran out of blue paint halfway through and had to improvise for the color of the sky").
  • Commands said by people in this image or about this image (e.g. "Stop telling me to smile!" or "Bring me some gasoline!").

#11 : Write starting with a word that sounds like "chute" (e.g. "chute," "shoot," "shooed").

#12 : Write about a character named X "The [article of clothing]" Y (e.g. Julie "The Yellow Darted Skirt" Whyte) or simply referred to by their clothing (e.g. "the man in the brown suit" or "the woman in black").

#13 : Write down a paragraph each describing two wildly different settings. Write a story involving both settings.

#14 : Think of a fictional holiday based around some natural event (e.g. the Earth being at its farthest point from the sun, in memory of a volcanic eruption, that time a cloud looked like a rabbit riding a bicycle). Write about how this holiday is celebrated.

#15 : Write a "Just-So" type story about a fictional creature (e.g. "how the dragon got its firebreath" or "how the mudkip got its cheek gills").

body_justsostory

54 Other Writing Prompt Ideas

#1 : Borrow a character from some other form of media (or create your own). Write from that character's perspective.

#2 : Write for and against a non-consequential controversy (e.g., salt vs. pepper, Mac vs. PC, best kind of door).

#3 : Choose an ancestor or a person from the past to write about or to.

#4 : Write a pirate story with a twist.

#5 : Have a character talk about another character and their feelings about that other character.

#6 : Pick a season and think about an event in your life that occurred in that season. Write a creative nonfiction piece about that event and that season.

#7 : Think of something very complicated and long. Write a page about it using short sentences.

#8 : Write a story as a dream.

#9 : Describe around a food without ever directly naming it.

#10 : Write a monologue (one character, talking to the audience/reader) (*not* an inner monologue).

#11 : Begin a story with the phrase, "It only took five seconds to..."

#12 : List five strong emotions. Choosing one, write about a character experiencing that emotion, but only use the character's actions to convey how they are feeling (no outright statements).

#13 : Write a chapter of the memoir of your life.

#14 : Look through the (physical) things you're currently carrying with you or wearing. Write about the memories or emotions tied with each of them.

#15 : Go be in nature. Write drawing your story from your surroundings (both physical, social, and mental/emotional).

body_writinginnature

#16 : Write from the perspective of a bubble (or bubble-like creature).

#17 : A person is jogging along an asphalt road. Write a story.

#18 : Title your story (or poem, or play, etc) "Anti-_____". Fill in the blank and write the story.

#19 : Write something that must include an animal, a mineral, and a vegetable.

#20 : Begin your writing with the phrase, "6 weeks later..."

#21 : List 5-10 office jobs. Pick one of them and describe a person working in that job as if you were a commentator on an Olympic sporting event.

#22 : Practice your poetic imagery: overwrite a description of a character's breakfast routine.

#23 : Write about a character (or group of characters) trying to convince another character to try something they're scared of.

#24 : Keep an eye out in your environment for examples of greengrocer's apostrophes and rogue quotation marks. Pick an example and write about what the misplaced punctuation implies (e.g., we have the "best" meat or we have the best "meat" ).

#25 : Fill in the blank with the first word that comes to mind: "_______ Riot!" Write a newspaper-style article describing the events that that took place.

#26 : Write from the point of view of your most-loved possession. What does it think of you?

#27 : Think of five common sayings (e.g., "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"). Write a horror story whose plot is one of those common sayings.

#28 : Write a scene in which two characters are finally hashing out a long-standing misunderstanding or disagreement.

#29 : You start receiving text messages from an unknown number. Tell the story of what happens next.

#30 : Write one character bragging to another about the story behind their new tattoo.

#31 : Superheroes save the world...but they also leave a lot of destruction in their wake. Write about a normal person in a superhero's world.

#32 : Sometimes, family is who we are related to; sometimes, family is a group of people we gather around ourselves. Write a story about (some of) a character's found family and relatives meeting for the first time.

#33 : Write a story that begins in the middle of the plot's action ( en media res ).

#34 : Everyone says you can never have too much of a good thing. Write a story where that isn't true.

#35 : What do ghosts do when they're not creating mischief? Write about the secret lives of ghosts.

body_secretlivesofghosts

#36 : Every year, you dread the last week of April. Write a story about why.

#37 : Write a story about what it would be like to have an animal sidekick in real life.

#38 : Heists don't just have to be black-clad thieves stealing into vaults to steal rare art or money. Write about a group of people (adults or children) who commit a heist for something of seemingly little monetary value.

#39 : "Life is like a chooseable-path adventure, except you don't get to see what would have happened if you chose differently." Think of a choice you've made and write about a world where you made a different choice.

#40 : Write a story about a secret room.

#41 : You find a message in a bottle with very specific directions. Write a story about the adventure you embark upon.

#42 : "You'll always be okay as long as you know where your _______ is." Fill in the blank and write a story (either fictional or from your life) illustrating this statement.

#43 : Forcing people into prolonged proximity can change and deepen relationships. Write about characters on a road trip together.

#44 : In music, sonata form includes three main parts: exposition, development, and recapitulation. Write a short story that follows this format.

#45 : Begin writing with a character saying, "I'm afraid this simply can't wait."

#46 : Write a story with a happy ending (either happily-ever-after or happy-for-now).

#47 : Write about a character before and after a tragedy in that character's life.

#48 : Choose an object or concept you encounter in everyday life (e.g. tables, the feeling of hot or cold, oxygen) and write an infomercial about it.

#49 : "Life is a series of quests, whether important or mundane." Write about a quest you've gone on (or would like to go on, or will have to go on).

#50 : List 10 different ways to learn. Choose one (or more) and write a story where a character learns something using that one (or more) method.

#51 : You've been called to the principal's office for bad behavior. You know what you did. Explain and justify yourself.

#52 : A character discovers their sibling owns a cursed object. Write about what happens next.

#53 : Write a character description by writing a list of items that would be on a scavenger hunt about them.

#54 : The slogan for a product or service you're advertising is, "Kid-tested, _____." Fill in the blank and write the copy for a radio or podcast advertisement for your product.

body_kidtestedwritingprompt

How to Use Creative Writing Prompts

There's no wrong way to use a creative writing prompt (unless it's to harass and hurt someone)—the point of them is to get you writing and your imagination flowing.

To help you get the most out of these writing prompts, however, we've come up with the six tips below. Try them out!

#1: DON'T Limit Yourself to Prose

Unless you're writing for a particular assignment, there's no reason everything you write in response to a writing prompt has to be prose fiction . Instead of writing your response to a prompt as a story, try writing a poem, nonfiction essay, play, screenplay, or some other format entirely.

#2: DON'T Edit as You Write

The purposes of writing prompts is to get you writing, typos and weird grammar and all. Editing comes later, once you've finished writing and have some space from it to come back to what you wrote.

It's OK to fix things that will make it difficult to read what you've written (e.g., a weird autocorrect that changes the meaning of a sentence), but don't worry too much about typos or perfect grammar when you're writing; those are easy enough to fix in edits . You also can always insert asterisks or a short note as you're writing to remind yourself to go back to fix something (for instance, if as you're writing it seems like you want to move around the order of your paragraphs or insert something earlier).

#3: DO Interpret the Prompt Broadly

The point of using a writing prompt is not to write something that best exemplifies the prompt, but something that sparks your own creativity. Again, unless you're writing in response to an assignment with specific directions, feel free to interpret writing prompts as broadly or as narrowly as you want.

For instance, if your prompt is to write a story that begins with "The stage was set," you could write about anything from someone preparing to put a plan into motion to a literal theatre stage constructed out of pieces of old sets (or something else entirely).

If you're using a writing prompt, it doesn't have to be the first sentence of your story or poem, either; you can also use the prompt as a goal to work towards in your writing.

#4: DO Try Switching Up Your Writing Methods

If it's a possibility for you, see if you write differently in different media. Do you write the same kind of stories by hand as you would typing at a computer? What about if you dictate a story and then transcribe it? Or text it to a friend? Varying the method you use to write can affect the stories you're able to tell.

For example, you may find that it's easier for you to tell stories about your life to a voice recorder than to try to write out a personal essay. Or maybe you have trouble writing poetry, but can easily text yourself or a friend a poem. You might even find you like a writing method you've not tried before better than what you've been doing!

body_switchwritingmethods

#5: DO Mix and Match Prompt Ideas

If you need more inspiration, feel free to combine multiple prompts (but don't overwhelm yourself with too much to write about).

You can also try switching genres from what might be suggested in the prompt. For instance, try writing a prompt that seems funny in a serious and sad way, or finding the humor in something that otherwise seems humorless. The categories we've organized the prompts into are by no means limiters on what you're allowed to write about.

#6: DO Try to Write Regularly

The more regularly you write, the easier it will be to write (with or without writing prompts).

For some people, this means writing daily; for others, it means setting aside time to write each weekend or each month. Set yourself an achievable goal (write 2x a week, write 1000 words a month) and stick to it. You can always start small and then ramp your wordcount or frequency up.

If you do better when you have something outside yourself prompting to write, you may also want to try something like morning pages , which encourages you to write at least 750 words every day, in any format (story, diary entry, social media postings, etc).

body_planouttimetowrite

What's Next?

Thinking about attending college or grad school for creative writing? Our articles on whether or not you should major in creative writing and the best creative writing programs are there for you! Plus, if you're a high schooler, you should check out these top writing contests .

Creative writing doesn't necessarily have to be fiction. Check out these three examples of narrative writing and our tips for how to write your own narrative stories and essays .

Just as writing prompts can help give form to amorphous creative energy, using specific writing structures or devices can be great starting points for your next story. Read through our discussion of the top 20 poetic devices to know and see if you can work at least one new one into your next writing session.

Still looking for more writing ideas? Try repurposing our 100+ easy drawing ideas for characters, settings, or plot points in your writing.

Laura graduated magna cum laude from Wellesley College with a BA in Music and Psychology, and earned a Master's degree in Composition from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. She scored 99 percentile scores on the SAT and GRE and loves advising students on how to excel in high school.

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17 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level

5 blue balls riding on 5 randomly arranged curved black tubes against a bright green backdrop

ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other tools like them are making artificial intelligence available to the masses. We can now get all sorts of responses back on almost any topic imaginable. These chatbots can compose sonnets, write code, get philosophical, and automate tasks.

However, while you can just type anything you like into ChatGPT and get it to understand you. There are ways of getting more interesting and useful results out of the bot. This "prompt engineering" is becoming a specialized skill of its own.

Sometimes all it takes is the addition of a few more words or an extra line of instruction and you can get ChatGPT responses that are a level above what everyone else is seeing—and we've included several examples below.

While there's lots you can do with the free version of ChatGPT, a few of these prompts require a paid ChatGPT Plus subscription —where that's the case, we've noted it in the tip.

ChatGPT can give you responses in the form of a table if you ask. This is particularly helpful for getting information or creative ideas. For example, you could tabulate meal ideas and ingredients, or game ideas and equipment, or the days of the week and how they're said in a few different languages.

Using follow-up prompts and natural language, you can have ChatGPT make changes to the tables it has drawn and even produce the tables in a standard format that can be understood by another program (such as Microsoft Excel).

If you provide ChatGPT with a typed list of information, it can respond in a variety of ways. Maybe you want it to create anagrams from a list of names, or sort a list of products into alphabetical order, or turn all the items in a list into upper case. If needed, you can then click the copy icon (the small clipboard) at the end of an answer to have the processed text sent to the system clipboard.

Screenshot of ChatGPT

Get ChatGPT to respond as your favorite author.

With some careful prompting, you can get ChatGPT out of its rather dull, matter-of-fact, default tone and into something much more interesting—such as the style of your favorite author, perhaps.

You could go for the searing simplicity of an Ernest Hemingway or Raymond Carver story, the lyrical rhythm of a Shakespearean play, or the density of a Dickens novel. The resulting prose won't come close to the genius of the actual authors themselves, but it's another way of getting more creative with the output you generate.

ChatGPT can really impress when it's given restrictions to work within, so don't be shy when it comes to telling the bot to limit its responses to a certain number of words or a certain number of paragraphs.

It could be everything from condensing the information in four paragraphs down into one, or even asking for answers with words of seven characters or fewer (just to keep it simple). If ChatGPT doesn't follow your responses properly, you can correct it, and it'll try again.

Another way of tweaking the way ChatGPT responds is to tell it who the intended audience is for its output. You might have seen WIRED's videos in which complex subjects are explained to people with different levels of understanding. This works in a similar way.

For example, you can tell ChatGPT that you are speaking to a bunch of 10-year-olds or to an audience of business entrepreneurs and it will respond accordingly. It works well for generating multiple outputs along the same theme.

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Screenshot of ChatGPT

Tell ChatGPT the audience it's writing for.

ChatGPT is a very capable prompt engineer itself. If you ask it to come up with creative and effective inputs for artificial intelligence engines such as Dall-E and Midjourney , you'll get text you can then input into other AI tools you're playing around with. You're even able to ask for tips with prompts for ChatGPT itself.

When it comes to generating prompts, the more detailed and specific you are about what you're looking for the better: You can get the chatbot to extend and add more detail to your sentences, you can get it to role-play as a prompt generator for a specific AI tool, and you can tell it to refine its answers as you add more and more information.

While ChatGPT is based around text, you can get it to produce pictures of a sort by asking for ASCII art. That's the art made up of characters and symbols rather than colors. The results won't win you any prizes, but it's pretty fun to play around with.

The usual ChatGPT rules apply, in that the more specific you are in your prompt the better, and you can get the bot to add new elements and take elements away as you go. Remember the limitations of the ASCII art format though—this isn't a full-blown image editor.

Screenshot of ChatGPT

A ChatGPT Plus subscription comes with image generation.

If you use ChatGPT Plus , it's got the DALL-E image generator right inside it, so you can ask for any kind of photo, drawing, or illustration you like. As with text, try to be as explicit as possible about what it is you want to see, and how it's shown; do you want something that looks like a watercolor painting, or like it was taken by a DSLR camera? You can have some real fun with this: Put Columbo in a cyberpunk setting, or see how Jurassic Park would look in the Victorian era. The possibilities are almost endless.

You don't have to do all the typing yourself when it comes to ChatGPT. Copy and paste is your friend, and there's no problem with pasting in text from other sources. While the input limit tops out at around 4,000 words, you can easily split the text you're sending the bot into several sections and get it to remember what you've previously sent.

Perhaps one of the best ways of using this approach is to get ChatGPT to simplify text that you don't understand—the explanation of a difficult scientific concept, for instance. You can also get it to translate text into different languages, write it in a more engaging or fluid style, and so on.

If you want to go exploring, ask ChatGPT to create a text-based choose-your-own adventure game. You can specify the theme and the setting of the adventure, as well as any other ground rules to put in place. When we tried this out, we found ourselves wandering through a spooky castle, with something sinister apparently hiding in the shadows.

Screenshot of ChatGPT

ChatGPT is able to create text-based games for you to play.

Another way to improve the responses you get from ChatGPT is to give it some data to work with before you ask your question. For instance, you could give it a list of book summaries together with their genre, then ask it to apply the correct genre label to a new summary. Another option would be to tell ChatGPT about activities you enjoy and then get a new suggestion.

There's no magic combination of words you have to use here. Just use natural language as always, and ChatGPT will understand what you're getting at. Specify that you're providing examples at the start of your prompt, then tell the bot that you want a response with those examples in mind.

You can ask ChatGPT for feedback on any of your own writing, from the emails you're sending to friends, to the short story you're submitting to a competition, to the prompts you're typing into the AI bot. Ask for pointers on spelling, grammar, tone, readability, or anything else you want to scrutinize.

ChatGPT cleared the above paragraph as being clear and effective, but said it could use a call to action at the end. Try this prompt today!

Screenshot of ChatGPT

Get ChatGPT to give you feedback on your own writing.

In the same way that ChatGPT can mimic the style of certain authors that it knows about, it can also play a role: a frustrated salesman, an excitable teenager (you'll most likely get a lot of emoji and abbreviations back), or the iconic western film star John Wayne.

There are countless roles you can play around with. These prompts might not score highly in terms of practical applications, but they're definitely a useful insight into the potential of these AI chatbots.

You can type queries into ChatGPT that you might otherwise type into Google, looking for answers: Think "how much should I budget for a day of sightseeing in London?" or "what are the best ways to prepare for a job interview?" for example. Almost anything will get a response of some sort—though as always, don't take AI responses as being 100 percent accurate 100 percent of the time.

If you're using the paid ChatGPT Plus tool, it will actually search the web (with Bing) and provide link references for the answers it gives. If you're using the free version of ChatGPT, it'll mine the data its been trained on for answers, so they might be a little out of date or less reliable.

Your answers can be seriously improved if you give ChatGPT some ingredients to work with before asking for a response. They could be literal ingredients—suggest a dish from what's left in the fridge—or they could be anything else.

So don't just ask for a murder mystery scenario. Also list out the characters who are going to appear. Don't just ask for ideas of where to go in a city; specify the city you're going to, the types of places you want to see, and the people you'll have with you.

Your prompts don't always have to get ChatGPT to generate something from scratch: You can start it off with something, and then let the AI finish it off. The model will take clues from what you've already written and build on it.

This can come in handy for everything from coding a website to composing a poem—and you can then get ChatGPT to go back and refine its answer as well.

You've no doubt noticed how online arguments have tended toward the binary in recent years, so get ChatGPT to help add some gray between the black and the white. It's able to argue both sides of an argument if you ask it to, including both pros and cons.

From politics and philosophy to sports and the arts, ChatGPT is able to sit on the fence quite impressively—not in a vague way, but in a way that can help you understand tricky issues from multiple perspectives.

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IMAGES

  1. Present Perfect Image Prompt

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  2. Present Perfect Tense: Definition, Examples, & Rules» OnlyMyEnglish

    writing prompts present perfect

  3. Present Perfect Tense Examples

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  4. English grammar worksheets present perfect tense

    writing prompts present perfect

  5. Present perfect speaking prompts for ESL by Mme R's English Resources

    writing prompts present perfect

  6. Monster High- Present Perfect Writing Prompt

    writing prompts present perfect

VIDEO

  1. Present Perfect Tense

COMMENTS

  1. Writing Tenses: Tense-Specific ESL Writing Prompts and Topics for

    The present tense, in these cases, includes the simple present ("She always forgets something") and the present continuous ("I am coming "), as well as the trickier present perfect ("We have seen The Matrix far too many times") and present perfect continuous ("She has been singing since her second glass of wine").

  2. 8 Perfect Activities for Practicing the Present Perfect

    1 Great Accomplishments What are some of the things your students have already accomplished at this time in their lives? Ask your students to share two or three things they have done that they are most proud of, and have them do it in front of the class. Allow the rest of the class to ask questions of each classmate after the presentation.

  3. Present Perfect Conversation Questions (100+ questions)

    Updated: Nov 28, 2023 Watch the video related to this resource, and do the quiz to test your understanding. This page is intended to be a resource for English learners and teachers. You can practice answering these present perfect discussion questions by yourself or with a partner.

  4. Present Perfect ESL Activities Games Worksheets

    Next, students complete present perfect questions with suitable question words from Exercise A and write a response to each question. Students then practice writing present perfect Wh questions using prompts. After that, students write present perfect Wh questions corresponding to the underlined information in responses. Finally, students ask ...

  5. A perfect story

    This activity leads students into writing a short story using the past simple, present perfect simple and continuous, but in a more creative way. Procedure Tell the students they are going to write a short story.

  6. 4 Present perfect tenses, Creative writing prompt, Writing P…

    All-time ozlemmunire present perfect perfect tense - have - has - 40 sentences positive- negative - question answer forms - yes - no questions - yet - just - already - never - for - since usages and writing t... 4582 uses kifissia Creative Writing: What Have You Done? #4 A2 Level #4 Practice with the present perfect affirmative and negative.

  7. Writing Prompts

    Belief Writing Prompt ~ Present Perfect Continuous Tense Writing Prompt ~ Abbreviations Writing Prompt ~ Subjunctive Mood Writing Prompt ~ Collocations with Save Writing Prompt ~ Collocations with Do Writing Prompt ~ British Vs. American Spelling Writing Prompt ~ Collocations with Get Writing Prompt ~ Directions Writing Prompt ~ Future Goals

  8. Writing Prompt ~ Present Perfect Continuous Tense

    Writing Prompt: The present perfect continuous tense is used to talk about an action from the past that has recently stopped or is still continuing. As with other perfect tenses, the words for and since are often used to indicate time. Review the structure and uses of the present perfect continuous tense.

  9. Present perfect

    Level: beginner The present perfect is formed from the present tense of the verb have and the past participle of a verb. We use the present perfect: for something that started in the past and continues in the present: They've been married for nearly fifty years. She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

  10. Mastering Present Perfect Tense: Your Ultimate Guide to ...

    The affirmative form of the Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action or event that has occurred at an unspecified time in the past or that began in the past and continues to the present. The structure of the affirmative form is as follows: Subject + have/has + past participle of the verb. Examples:

  11. 10 Present perfect simple tense, Creative writing prompt, Wr…

    This is a beginners writing activity to the present perfect. Please review all the vocabulary and explain the grammar before handing out the worksheet. After the students finish the worksheet, ask for volunteers to present their answers. 36 uses. A selection of English ESL present perfect simple tense printables with creative writing prompt ...

  12. Teaching the present perfect

    Write the following prompts on the board and have the students work individually to make present perfect sentences. Tell them that at least two should be negative. My friend / Circus I / zoo They / practicing / Chinese He / Star Wars / yet? You / ice hockey? When finished, correct as a group and elicit both the positive and negative solutions.

  13. PDF Present Perfect

    To get you started, here are the ideas that Aliona Fernandez used ... 14 PRESENT PERFECT Describing Past Events in Relation to the Present • Use the present perfect ... Personal Essay / Writing Sample: 27423_14_unit14_p230-243 pp3.qxd 10/25/06 1:01 PM Page 231. 232 UNIT 14

  14. Creative Writing: The Most Exciting…: English ESL worksheets pdf & doc

    100 0 1/1 Let's do English ESL creative writing prompt. Another activity for the A2 My Writings booklet. This time practice with the present perfect and the past simple.…

  15. Monster High- Present Perfect Writing Prompt

    1 2 3 4 5 rated by 4 teachers by Koriandr Present Perfect, Creative Writing Prompts | Views: 13,920 | Level: Elementary, Pre-Intermediate | 4 out of 5, rated by 4 teachers | Found a mistake? This is a simple writing prompt for children to practice present perfect.

  16. ESL Present Perfect Activities and Games

    Create bingo cards with various experiences or actions in the present perfect tense. The teacher calls out sentences or prompts in the present perfect, and students mark the corresponding squares on their bingo cards. The first student to complete a line or full card shouts "Bingo!".

  17. Speaking Activity and Writing: Bucket Lists using Present Perfect and

    I use this worksheet to help student practice the difference between the present perfect and simple past. Activity 1: Speaking Activity. I cut up part 1 and 2, and just pass out 1. a) First I talk about the idiom and go over my bucket list. I then have students write their own. b) Next I model a speaking activity and have them ask me questions ...

  18. PDF 1 Writing about the Present

    6 Unit 1 Writing about the Present common Uses 7 1.8 Using Present Perfect The present perfect is used to write about past events that are still relevant now. It is used: 1. to write about an event that happened in the past and continues until now • Use since with a specific date or time. Use for with a period of time.

  19. 1800+ Creative Writing Prompts To Inspire You Right Now

    Here's how our contest works: every Friday, we send out a newsletter containing five creative writing prompts. Each week, the story ideas center around a different theme. Authors then have one week — until the following Friday — to submit a short story based on one of our prompts. A winner is picked each week to win $250 and is highlighted ...

  20. Present Perfect Simple + Time adverb…: English ESL powerpoints

    Present Perfect Simple + Time adverbials: Already, just, ever, yet, never. Wario. 2725. 28. 4. 0. 1/10. Let's do English ESL creative writing prompt. A very clear and useful powerpoint including examples to explain the Present Perfect Simple + Time adverbials: alr….

  21. PDF Strategies for Essay Writing

    prompt, they often find that it answers many of their questions. When you read the assignment prompt, you should do the following: • Look for action verbs. Verbs like analyze, compare, discuss, explain, make an argument, propose a solution, trace, or research can help you understand what you're being asked to do with an assignment.

  22. Writing Prompt ~ Present Perfect Continuous Tense

    Writing Prompt ~ Present Perfect Continuous TenseChief: Thanks for applying for the vacant position as a resident here. ... You could try to write a new one using the present perfect progressive tense, which can be so fun. Thanks! Lady Anne April 26, 2015 21:20. Lady Anne: I've been a member of this club for five years. It will be such an ...

  23. Creative Writing: What Have You Done? #4 A2 Level #4

    40 0 1/1 Let's do English ESL creative writing prompt. Practice with the present perfect affirmative and negative. List things you have done in your life and things you…

  24. 105 Creative Writing Prompts to Try Out

    15 Cool Writing Prompts. #1: List five issues that you're passionate about. Write about them from the opposite point of view (or from the perspective of a character with the opposite point of view). #2: Walk around and write down a phrase you hear (or read). Make a story out of it. #3: Write using no adjectives or adverbs.

  25. 17 Tips to Take Your ChatGPT Prompts to the Next Level

    You can ask ChatGPT for feedback on any of your own writing, from the emails you're sending to friends, to the short story you're submitting to a competition, to the prompts you're typing into the ...