 WesternAmerican wrote: |
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I got another question though:
I've told him many times, but he never listens. <---Present Perfect
I had told him many times, but he never listened. <---Past Perfect
Does it make sense? In the first sentnece, I told him something, but he never listens...that is in the present, he chooses to not accept what I tell him.
The latter sentnece, I told him a couple of times, but he never listened. What I tried to express here is that he chose another way and we parted ways; Or that he has simply died.
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Hello WA,
Yes, that's it. So:
1. I've told Bob many times [not to go out with girls who wear green lipstick], but he never listens.
— the situation is still open: he still goes out with girls who wear green lipstick; I still tell him it's a bad idea.
2. I had told Bob many times [not to go out with girls who wear green lipstick], but he never listened.
— for some reason, the situation is closed. Perhaps we are no longer friends; perhaps his last girlfriend (who did indeed wear green lipstick) suffocated him with a enormous fluffy panda while he slept; perhaps I am telling Bob's story in a book.
There are some other uses of the present perfect, but they have this in common: the speaker wants to express a link between the past and the present.
All the best,
MrP