6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations
When talking about the past in English, do you sometimes feel uncertain about which tense you should use?
Maybe after telling a story or explaining a past experience, you find yourself unsure if the verb tense you used was correct or not.
Well, you’re not alone!
For most English learners, it’s a challenge to speak correctly and confidently when talking about the past. This is because different points in the past determine the type of past tense which should be used, resulting in a long list of rules.
As well as this, past tenses in English can be very different to past tenses in other languages.
The two most commonly used tenses for speaking about the past are the past simple and present perfect tense.
In this article, I focus on the present perfect tense. I show you 6 different business situations when you can use the present perfect tense, together with examples.
I also teach you a 3 step process to start using the present perfect correctly and naturally.
A Quick Recap: The Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect is formed with the present tense of “have” and the “past participle” of the verb you want to use. For example:
“Have you been to Italy?”
“I have recently started jogging in the morning.”
6 Ways to Use the Present Perfect Tense in Business Situations
Situation 1: Talking about Profits, Sales Results, and Work Experience.
We use the present perfect to talk about unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present.
In this case, you will find yourself using the present perfect when answering “how long” questions, and describing sales/costs/profits/revenues for a particular period until the present moment.
Examples:
I’ve worked here for five years.
Profits have increased by 10% since Mark has been the Brand Manager.
Sales have bounced back this month.
How long have you worked in the banking sector for?
Situation 2: Talking about Business Trips and Company Phases.
We use the present perfect to talk about past experiences without saying when something happened in the past.
Examples:
Our company has been through some tough periods. Fortunately today, though, we’re thriving.
I’ve already been to Tokyo on business and I love the city and its’ people.
*Note: If you say when something happened in the past, use the past simple. For example, “I went to Tokyo on business in 2015.”
Situation 3: Talking about Recent Changes to Plans.
We use the present perfect to talk about a finished action (when something has recently happened) with a result in the present.
In this case, the second clause in the sentence often begins with “so” and then describes the result of the past action.
Examples:
Unfortunately, David has missed his connecting flight, so he can’t be here with us today.
I’ve lost the file with my presentation slides, so I’ll have to do them all again.
Situation 4: Talking about Clients and Sales.
We use the present perfect with unfinished time words or expressions. Typical unfinished time words and expressions include, “this week”, “this month”, “today.”
Examples:
I’ve visited three of our major clients this week.
How many units have we sold this month?
*Note: When you use past time words, such as, “yesterday”, “last week”, “last year”, you must use the past simple tense. For example, “Last month we sold 10,000 units.”
Situation 5: Talking about Durations of Job Positions and Lengths of Time with a Relation to the Present.
We use the present perfect to describe an unfinished action with ‘Since’ and ‘For’.
We use ‘since’ with a fixed time in the past (2015, 5th May, last year), and we use ‘for’ with a period of time (5 hours, six months, ten years,).
Examples:
We’ve been located here since 1990.
She’s been the HR Director since January.
I’ve known the client for 3 years.
He’s been the CEO for 6 months.
Situation 6: Talking about Recent News and Business Updates.
We use the present perfect to talk about something that happened recently.
Often used with “just “,”yet”, “already”, “recently.”
Examples:
The CEO has just quit.
I’ve already had my assessment with HR.
Have you got the sell-out results back yet?
Our stock price has surged recently.
How to Speak with the Present Perfect (and Grammar in General) in a Natural Way
For native speakers, using the present perfect (and any other grammar structure) comes naturally. In other words, we don’t think about grammar rules when we speak English.
In fact, most native speakers have never heard of the present perfect. So how do they use it correctly if they have never even heard of it, you may ask?
Well, the answer to that is: because it feels right.
This is what I mean by speaking with the present perfect in a natural way. You use it because it feels right.
And this is the goal English learners should be trying to achieve.
You don’t want to be thinking about rules when you’re having a conversation in English.
Having said that, though, rules are important in the first stages of the learning process for non-natives.
Once you understand the rules, you need as much input as you can get, which means lots of listening, reading and having conversations.
Then you need lots of practice and repetition, and eventually, the grammar will start to feel more natural.
Take Action: A 3 Step Process to Using the Present Perfect Correctly and Naturally.
Step 1: Learn the rules.
Understand the differences between simple past and present perfect usage. I suggest keeping a good grammar book as a reference for grammar rules.
Step 2: Customize.
Write down sentences with the present perfect for situations when you typically use English. For example, maybe you have to present sales figures in English. For this, you will use unfinished time expressions, like, “this month,” “this quarter,” “this year.”
So write sentences such as, “This month we have sold five thousand units.”
Step 3: Produce.
Now that you have a list of personalized sentences using the present perfect, say them aloud and repeat until you feel comfortable saying them. To get to the “it feels right” stage, you need lots of repetition.
And ideally, you should have a coach to correct you and give you feedback so that you don’t fall into any bad habits.
If you follow these three steps, you will feel much more confident using the present perfect in real-life situations.
