Present perfect: typical errors

We don’t use since with periods of time:

• I*’ve*** lived here for most of my life.
• Not: … since most of my life.

We don’t use the present simple or the present continuous when we talk about ‘time up to now’. We use the present perfect:

• They*’ve*** known each other since January.
• Not: They know each other since January.
• Not: They’re knowing each other since January.

We usually use the present perfect simple with the first time when we’re talking about an immediate, continuing or recent event:

• Was that the first time you*’ve*** played that song?
• Not: Was that the first time you play that song?

See also

• Ever
• Never or not … ever?