The present perfect tells us about something that happened before but which also has an impact on the present.
| Pigen har spist. | The girl has eaten. |
| Jeg har boet i Danmark i 6 år. | I have lived in Denmark for 6 years. |
To form the present tense you use the verbs har or er, and add -et or -t to the base form of the verb. The basic form of the verb with this ending is called the pastparticiple. The form can be used almost like an adjective and is used also in the passive (see 1.7 The passive form).
| Pigen har spist. | The girl has eaten. |
| Det er begyndt at regne. | It has started to rain. |
| Jeg har boet 5 år i Danmark. | I have lived 5 years in Denmark. |
Comparison:
In English the present perfect is formed by using have/has and a past participle. The past participle and past tense are identical if the verb is regular.