Year 3 English: The present perfect: have or has
Part of the Year 3 English tense and paragraphs chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The present perfect: have or has
The present perfect is made with have or has and a past participle. The past participle is the verb form that goes after the helper word. For example: I have eaten and Sam has built.
| Subject | Helper word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I, we, you, they | have | We have finished our lunch. |
| he, she, it, or a name | has | Sam has built a den. |
| Verb | Past form | Past participle (after have or has) |
|---|---|---|
| walk | walked | walked (the same as the past form) |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| go | went | gone |
| see | saw | seen |
| write | wrote | written |
| take | took | taken |
Key ideas
- The present perfect is have or has with the past participle.
- Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.
- For many regular verbs the past participle is the same as the past form: walked, played.
- Irregular verbs have a different past participle, which has to be learned: eaten, gone, seen, written.
- After have or has, use the past participle, not the past form: have eaten, not have ate.
Method. Use have or has, then the past participle of the verb.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us who has done it.Sam
- Choose have or has. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.has
- Add the past participle. For this verb the past participle is the same as the past form, so it ends in -ed.built
- Write the answer. Sam has built a den in the woods.
Check. Read it aloud: Sam has built a den in the woods. ✓
Watch out. The past participle goes after have or has. Do not use the past form.
Method. Choose have or has to match the subject.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us which helper word to use.We
- Choose the helper word. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.have
- Check the participle. The past participle eaten comes after the helper word.have eaten
- Write the answer. have
Check. We have eaten our lunch. ✓
Watch out. Names and he, she and it take has.
Method. Choose have or has to match the subject.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us which helper word to use.Sam
- Choose the helper word. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.has
- Check the participle. The past participle written comes after the helper word.has written
- Write the answer. has
Check. Sam has written a story about a dragon. ✓
Watch out. Names and he, she and it take has.
Watch out
Watch out: do not write has went or have ate. Went and ate are past forms. After has or have, the verb is the past participle: gone and eaten.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask: which helper word goes with this subject? I, we, you and they take have. He, she, it and names take has. Then ask your child to say the past participle. For a verb your child does not know, look it up together.
Exercise 6B Practice: have or has with the past participle
Method. Choose have or has to match the subject.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us which helper word to use.We
- Choose the helper word. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.have
- Check the participle. The past participle walked comes after the helper word.have walked
- Write the answer. have
Check. We have walked to the park. ✓
Watch out. Names and he, she and it take has.
Method. Choose have or has to match the subject.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us which helper word to use.Ali
- Choose the helper word. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.has
- Check the participle. The past participle drunk comes after the helper word.has drunk
- Write the answer. has
Check. Ali has drunk his juice. ✓
Watch out. Names and he, she and it take has.
Method. Choose have or has to match the subject.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us which helper word to use.You
- Choose the helper word. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.have
- Check the participle. The past participle seen comes after the helper word.have seen
- Write the answer. have
Check. You have seen the new film. ✓
Watch out. Names and he, she and it take has.
Method. The past participle is the form used after have or has.
- Find the past form. The past form of give is gave.gave
- Check the past participle. The past participle is different from the past form, so it has to be learned.given
- Write the answer. given
Check. Say it with have: I have given. ✓
Watch out. Do not use the past form after have or has.
Method. The past participle is the form used after have or has.
- Find the past form. The past form of walk is walked.walked
- Check the past participle. For this verb the past participle is the same as the past form, so it ends in -ed.walked
- Write the answer. walked
Check. Say it with have: I have walked. ✓
Watch out. Do not use the past form after have or has.
Method. The past participle is the form used after have or has.
- Find the past form. The past form of swim is swam.swam
- Check the past participle. The past participle is different from the past form, so it has to be learned.swum
- Write the answer. swum
Check. Say it with have: I have swum. ✓
Watch out. Do not use the past form after have or has.
Method. Use have or has, then the past participle of the verb.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us who has done it.They
- Choose have or has. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.have
- Add the past participle. For this verb the past participle is the same as the past form, so it ends in -ed.painted
- Write the answer. They have painted the fence green.
Check. Read it aloud: They have painted the fence green. ✓
Watch out. The past participle goes after have or has. Do not use the past form.
Method. Use have or has, then the past participle of the verb.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us who has done it.Ruby
- Choose have or has. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.has
- Add the past participle. For this verb the past participle is the same as the past form, so it ends in -ed.won
- Write the answer. Ruby has won the race.
Check. Read it aloud: Ruby has won the race. ✓
Watch out. The past participle goes after have or has. Do not use the past form.
Method. Use have or has, then the past participle of the verb.
- Find the subject. The subject tells us who has done it.Mia and Ali
- Choose have or has. Use has with he, she, it and names. Use have with I, we, you and they.have
- Add the past participle. The past participle is different from the past form, so it has to be learned.taken
- Write the answer. Mia and Ali have taken a photo of the castle.
Check. Read it aloud: Mia and Ali have taken a photo of the castle. ✓
Watch out. The past participle goes after have or has. Do not use the past form.
Method. Use the past participle after have or has.
- Find the mistake. After have, the verb must be the past participle, not the past form.have ate
- Replace the past form with the past participle. The past participle is different from the past form, so it has to be learned.have eaten
- Write the sentence. The rest of the sentence stays the same.I have eaten my tea.
- Write the answer. I have eaten my tea.
Check. Read it aloud: I have eaten my tea. ✓
Watch out. Write eaten, not ate, after have.
Method. After has, the verb must be the past participle.
- Find the verb after has. Went is the past form. After has, we need the past participle.went
- Find the past participle of go. The past participle of go is gone.gone
- Write the sentence. The subject and the rest of the sentence stay the same.Ben has gone home.
- Write the answer. Ben has gone home.
Check. Read it aloud: Ben has gone home. ✓
Watch out. Also accept: Ben has gone home, because went cannot come after has.