The use of has/have in a sentence changes the tense of the verb. 1. Two men pleaded guilty to the massacre charges. -- This sentence is in simple past form. This shows that the action has occurred in the past. 2. Two men have

The present perfect seems to have a greater sense of immediacy than the simple past, and is therefore more fun to read and sells more papers. The simple past could refer to something that happened ten thousand years ago.

Did + past participle (told) isn't possible so it could be: The simple past: What did she tell you? The present perfect: What has she told you? (if the action has taken place just now!) The past perfect: What had she told you?

3) All the class is going to be punished, because someone has written an offensive anonymous essay. You know, I am not even sure that Present Perfect is necessary in this sentence :P. Isn't it optional in AmE and BrE? I used it on purpose,

I might be wrong, but I'm afraid "Who has completed all the exercises" might be ok, and "Who has demolished such a beautiful cemetary" might not. I see that in Jim's and Amy's examples there always seems to be an

However, we usually prefer as simple past tense when we identify the person, thing, or circumstances responsible for a present situation (because we are focusing on the past cause, not the present result). That would explain my aversion to the use

Who has let the cat in? (= look at the mess the cat has done ..) Who let the cat in? ( who was the person responsible ..) I think this explanation seems a little iffy in my opinion. If you walk into your kitchen and saw a

I'm going to quote some stuff that can be found in Swan's Practical English Usage, which is often considered to be the most complete ESL grammar book available. This should apply to BrE, I guess. Here are some short paragraphs written by

If a situation calls for present perfect, regardless whether it's in Britain or in the US, the same grammar rules still applies. I was told there is this difference: American: I just saw your sister / I've just seen your sister. British:

Teachers, please help me with another present perfect question. Watching a drama I heard an actress say, "I think you have made the right choice." and am wondering why the present perfect tense was used here. I guess the simple past