This great U2 song is filled with the present perfect tense. Listen and follow along with the lyrics then check out the examples below:

LYRICS

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you

I have run I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing fingertips
It burned like fire
This burning desire
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was one empty night
I was cold as a stone
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

I believe when the Kingdom comes
Then all the colors will bleed into one
Bleed into one
But yes I’m still running.
You broke the bonds
You loosened the chains
You carried the cross
Of my shame
Of my shame
You know I believed it
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for

LEARN WITH THESE LYRICS

Examples of present perfect tense:

I have found / I have run / I have crawled / I have scaled

Structure – (Subject) I, you, he + Have/Has + past participle

It is used for an action which started in the past and continues until now. More specifically, in this song, we see the present perfect used in the indefinite past. The indefinite past is used to communicate that you did something in the past but when it happened is not important. If you use a time reference with this tense, it has to be a time that hasn’t finished. For example: This week, this month, this year.

This tense is also often used when the action is very recent. In these situations we would use time references like, recently or lately.

It’s your turn. Sing along with the lyrics.

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Credits: Remy – http://u2start.com/photos/view/26987