Further Functions of the Present Perfect

Been & Gone

These are the participles of be and go but Been can also act as the participle of go as well. When they are both used in this way they have slightly different meanings: 

Been : To go somewhere and then return

I have been to London

(I have visited London, but I then returned)

Gone: To go somewhere and not return

She has gone to Mexico

 (She left to go to Mexico and has not returned)

Ever & Never

Ever (adverb) is used in present perfect questions to express the idea of all time before now.

Ever is positioned between the subject and and the participle.

Have you ever seen Star Wars?

Never (adverb) is used in present perfect positive sentences to express the idea of "at no time before now"

I have never seen Star Wars

We do not use Never in a negative sentence as we do not use double negatives in English

I have not never seen Star Wars

We can use EVER & NEVER to emphasise these concepts as follows:

NEVER in questions to emphasise you do not believe the answer you have previously received

EVER in negative sentences to emphasise your previous answer.

Have you ever seen Star Wars?

No, I have not seen Star Wars

I don't believe you, you must have seen Star Wars!

No, I have never seen Star Wars!

What?! Have you NEVER seen Star Wars?

No, I haven't EVER seen Star Wars!

These structures are emphatic becuase we do not use them very often. So when you hear them or use them, they retain their emphatic power!

For & Since

When we add these words to a Present Perfect sentence it gives us extra information about the experience. For tells us the duration of an expereince, Since is a reference to the moment an experience begins.

For: I have lived in Zaragoza for ten years (duration)

Since: I have lived in Zaragoza since 2008 (Moment an experience started)

Already & Yet

Already (as an adverb) is used in positive, negative and interrogative structures to express the idea that the activity has finished before we expected.

The game has already finished

Already in a present perfect sentence is placed between the auxiliary and the participle. 

Yet (as an adverb) is used in negative and interrogative structures to express the idea that the activity has not happened, but we expect it to happen soon

Has he asked you to marry him yet?

No, he hasn't. Not yet. 

Still & Just

Still (as an adverb) is used in a negative present perfect sentence to indicate something has not happened but we had epxected it to happen earlier

The game still hasn't finished

Still is positioned between the subject and the auxiliary verb

Just (as an adverb) is used to indicate an action/experience has been recently completed. 

Just is positioned between the auxiliary verb and the participle. 

The game has just finished!