Verbs have tenses which show whether an action has taken place in the present, in the past, or will happen in the future.

The present perfect tense is composed of a helping verb (has or have) and the past participle of the verb.

The past participle is the same as the past tense of regular verbs. Irregular verbs have a different past tense and past participle - rode, ridden.

We use the present perfect tense to talk about experiences or actions which took place in the past. However, the time of the action is not important.

• She has waited for you.

• I have been abroad two times.

This tense also expresses an action that began in the past and continues to the present. Words like for and since signal this.

• The brothers have played with the school orchestra for two years now.

• My family has lived in the city since 1985.

The helping word has is used for singular nouns or pronouns (except for I and you), while have is used for plural nouns or pronouns.