Present Perfect

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Innocentsa22  #211466  Fri, 31 Mar 06 09:53 PM

I want your help.

one day a question stopped me. it is about the present perfect tense.

I need to know the different types of questions used in present perfect i.e I knew later that we couldn't use "when" in making questions in this tense.

Please help me as I learn English as a second language.

  
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Nef  #211477  Fri, 31 Mar 06 11:14 PM
 Innocentsa22 wrote:

I want your help.

one day a question stopped me. it is about the present perfect tense.

I need to know the different types of questions used in present perfect i.e I knew later that we couldn't use "when" in making questions in this tense.

Please help me as I learn English as a second language.

The present perfect tense is used for 2 main reasons:

1. to express action started in the past and still continuing

2. to express action completed in the recent indefinite past (no particular time given)

Examples:

How long has Karen lived in Canada? (The assumption is that Karen STILL lives in Canada OR did live in Canada until recently.) Karen has lived in Canada for 30 years. Karen has lived in Canada for three weeks. Karen has lived in Canada...

Have they finished yet? (The assumption is that they were doing something and may STILL be doing it OR that they finished recently.) Yes, they have finished. No, they haven't finished. I'm not sure if they have finished...

  
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Goodman  #211486  Sat, 01 Apr 06 12:14 AM

I am not sure exactly what you mean. Is the "i.e." an example of your question in which you can't use "when" in forming persent perfect?  If it's, you are right. Present perfect tense is used to describe something or event that happened in the past which continued on up to now.

If you are eighteen years old and you say to your friend “ I have studied English since I was twelve years old”, you are telling people that you have studied English for six years and still have by the nature of present perfect tense.

Another example: At 2 pm, someone asked you “ have you seen John” and you say” I haven’t seen John since we came out of the meeting around  9 o’clock this morning, you are basically telling him that since the meeting, you have no knowledge of his whereabouts  for at least five hours. 

Does it help?

  
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CalifJim  #211545  Sat, 01 Apr 06 06:37 AM
Actually "when" is not used with the present perfect only when it refers to a specific time in the past.
If you combine "when" with "ever", the restriction does not apply.

When have you ever seen something like that?
When has an elephant ever driven a car?


CJ

  
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Clive  #211551  Sat, 01 Apr 06 06:57 AM

Hi guys,

We don't even need to use 'ever'. Consider this common kind of speaking -

Q: When have you decided to start your driving lessons?

A: (I have decided to start) next week.

Best wishes, Clive

  
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CalifJim  #211554  Sat, 01 Apr 06 07:05 AM
True enough.  When the "when" is part of a subordinate clause (whose verb tense is not also present perfect) it is quite possible.
Note in Clive's example that the time of starting is in question, not the time of deciding (main verb).

This is in contrast to the following.

-- I've decided to buy a new car.
-- Oh, really?  When did you decide that?
  (Not:  When have you decided that?)

CJ

  
Rotter  #211619  Sat, 01 Apr 06 12:53 PM

It seems this questioner is a beginner. You must have corrected some basic mistakes, in first place.


one day a question stopped me. it is about the present perfect tense.

The above way of writing is not good English.

It should be something like the following:

One day a question hovered in my mind  OR  One day a question forced me to think.

It is about the present perfect tense  NOT it is about the present perfect tense.


Our experts ought to correct the simple mistakes; this is my opinion. I maybe wrong.


  
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Diamondrg  #211626  Sat, 01 Apr 06 01:44 PM

 Rotter wrote:

It seems this questioner is a beginner. You must have corrected some basic mistakes, in first place. in the first place

one day a question stopped me. it is about the present perfect tense.


The above way of writing is not good English.

It should be something like the following:

One day a question hovered in my mind  OR  One day a question forced me to think.

It is about the present perfect tense  NOT it is about the present perfect tense.


Our experts ought to correct the simple mistakes; this is my opinion. I maybe wrong. may be

  
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Rotter  #211650  Sat, 01 Apr 06 03:07 PM
Diamondrg

What is wrong with the word 'maybe' in this context?


Instead of writing 'Probably I am wrong' , I wrote ' I maybe wrong'.

I appreciate very much if you point out the flaw here.

Maybe your are correct.  [What is wrong with this sentence?]

There may be different opinion on this. [ What is wrong with this?]

For me, the word 'may' is a model verb whereas 'maybe' is an adverb.

I would agree with you that it should be 'in the first place'. I made a silly mistake.
  
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