http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aAffirmative+sentences+tag%3aPresent+perfect&tag=Affirmative+sentences,Present+perfect&orTags=0Search results for 'tag:Affirmative sentences tag:Present perfect' matching tags 'Affirmative sentences' and 'Present perfect'en-USCSMOD (Build: 3191.21962)http://www.englishforums.com/English/PresentPerfectContinuousNegative-Sentences/crbzc/post.htm#167418Wed, 07 Dec 2005 23:43:37 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:167418CalifJim<table width="85%"><tr><td class="quoteTable"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="100%" valign="top" class="txt4">My grammar book says "present perfect continous is usual in negative sentences with all verbs"</td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE><br> <img src="/emoticons/emotion-7.gif" alt="Tongue Tied [:S]" /><br> <br> This seems a little peculiar as a general principle stated 'out of the blue'.&nbsp; Were the authors trying to draw a contrast with the use of the present perfect in affirmative sentences <i>with only certain kinds of verbs</i>?&nbsp; If so, I'd be interested to know what sorts of verbs they might have been talking about.<br> <br> CJ<br>http://www.englishforums.com/English/PerfectTenseGuestManikandan/kkv/post.htm#3064Thu, 31 Jul 2003 14:13:19 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:3064WoodwardHi Manikandan, <br /> <br />The Perfect Tense is a very large topic, though I'll try to explain some of the basic rules to you about the Present Perfect. (I did the Past Perfect in a recent post) <br /> <br />The Perfect tense consists of HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE <br />and it is used in the following cases: <br /> <br />1. An action that happened at an unspecified time. (we don't say when the action happened) <br />- I HAVE BEEN to Italy. <br />(I don't say exactly when I went. Perhaps it was last month or 5 years ago.) <br />If we specify the time, we use the present tense <br />- I WENT to Italy LAST WEEK. <br /> <br />2. An action that has recently happened: <br />- The baby HAS just GONE to sleep. <br />(Note that we have JUST in there which means recently, a short time ago) <br /> <br />3. An action that started in the past and continues up to the present. It is often used with "for" or "since" in these cases. <br />- SHE HAS LIVED in Malta all her life. <br />- THEY HAVE KNOWN each other SINCE 2001. <br />- HE HAS BEEN the President FOR 2 years now. <br /> <br />4. An action that happened repeatedly before now: <br />- I have won many competitions. <br />- He HAS FAILED his exam three times (because he didn't study or know about this Forum) <br /> <br />This is only the Perfect Tense in affirmative sentences.....I haven't even started with questions and the other tenses....that is for another time. <br /> <br />I hope this helped a little.