present perfect

noun

a perfective tense used to express action completed in the present

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`I have finished' is an example of the present perfect

• Syn: ↑present perfect tense

• Hypernyms: ↑perfective, ↑perfective tense, ↑perfect, ↑perfect tense

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I. adjective

Etymology: present (IV) + perfect, adjective

: of, relating to, or constituting a verb tense that is traditionally formed in English with have and that expresses action or state completed at the time of speaking

II. noun

1. : the present perfect tense of a language

2. : a verb form in the present perfect tense

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1. (in English) the tense form consisting of the present tense of have with a past participle and noting that the action of the verb was completed prior to the present, as I have finished.

2. a tense of similar construction found in certain other languages.

3. a form in this tense.

[1570-80]

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present perfect,

1. the verb tense used to show that an event was completed at the time of speaking. In “I have cleaned the yard,” have cleaned is the present perfect of clean.

2. a verb form or phrase in such a tense.

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noun

the present perfect

grammar : a verb tense that is used to refer to an action that began in the past and is completed at the time of speaking

◇ The present perfect in English is formed with “has” and “have” and the past participle of a verb, as in “He has left,” and “They have found what they were looking for.”

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the ˌpresent ˈperfect [present perfect] noun singular (grammar)

the form of a verb that expresses an action done in a time period up to the present, formed in English with the present tense of have and the past participle of the verb, as in I have eaten