Search results for 'tag:Conversations tag:Present perfect' matching tags 'Conversations' and 'Present perfect'

Re: taking out the windows of the car

Goodman — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:46:40 GMT

Hi Ant222,

My English skill is not in the âgrammarianâ class but I will give it my best attempt to explain it. It may not may not be agreeable with the experts.

In many instances during casual conversations, we can bet by with simple past tense and no one will flag you for errors. However, to be grammatically correct, the right tense should be followed and observed consistently. Besides using present perfect to connect events from the past to present, sometimes, we will see past reference combined into a present perfect structure. i.e.

John seems to have forgotten who helped him 2 years ago when his lost his job. This is perfectly legal.

General simple present statement with timeless reference.

I have never seen movies as bad as this one!

I have tried many times to quit smoking but failed.

With time reference, past to present:

Jane has changed 3 jobs since the beginning of this year.

She hasnât made any car payment for the past 6 months.

If you already understood the above, just disregard my post.

Re: Please, help me with this question

Clive — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:08:10 GMT

Hi,

An explanation, please. Present Perfect tense means past time related to present time and one of its uses is: an action that happened at an indefinite time in the past, e.g.: I have travelled to Athens. But in the sentence: I have read a magazine * today ,how to explain that we don't use the Simple Past, but the Present Perfect tense here? Because the action of reading a magazine happened today, time is definite!

In this sentence, the speaker is thinking of 'today' as an indefinite period. eg If he is speaking at 9pm, we dom't know at what definite time he read the magazine. Here's an example of a common kind of conversation.

Father: Have you done your homework today?

Son: Yes, I have.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: I can't understand why is the correct form...

miriam — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:27:17 GMT

Hello.

First of all, I'd say "Penny has climbed before" rather than "Penny has been climbing before". "Before" suggests an action that is not taking place at the moment of speaking, but the present perfect continuous suggests the opposite.

Anyway, in the case of the question starting with "when", if you ask such a question you expect the answer to be a somewhat specific point in time. The answer to when can't refer to just any time.

We know that Penny has climbed mountains previous to our conversation. now you wish to know more details, such as when exactly she DID that. The present perfect won't allow for an answer with a clear specification to past time.

The answers to the question may vary, and unless you're told "I don't know", you'll be given a point in time, some reference to past time, such as "when she was a child", "last month", "in 2005", "just before her sister's birthday", "three weeks ago", "yesterday", "the winter after she graduated", etc.

It is also possible to get an answer that uses the present perfect, even if the question is still "When was that?": "She's climbed this same mountain every winter since she was 16", "She's climbed so many times that I've lost count", etc.

The question, regardless of the answer you may receive, is still asked using the simple past, since (again) you're asking for a specific point in time.

Miriam

Re: What is the difference? Present Progressive VS Present Perfect Progressive.

CalifJim — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:08:55 GMT

She is eating dinner for one hour. / She has been eating dinner for one hour.

He is watching TV all day. / He has been watching TV all day.

It is raining outside. / It has been raining outside.

What are you talking about? / What have you been talking about?

You can't specify a period of time (as shown above in red) with the present progressive. You can with the present perfect progressive. So two of your eight examples are incorrect grammatically.

Other than that, the difference is the time at which the action occurs.

The present progressive says the action is occurring at the time you say the sentence. For example, suppose it is now 6 o'clock, and you say:

She is eating dinner. (Now, as I speak, at 6 o'clock, I see that she is eating dinner.)

It is raining. (Now, as I speak, at 6 o'clock, I see that it is raining.)

The present perfect progressive says the action started happening before the time you say the sentence and continues up to the time of your saying it. Maybe the action stops just before you say the sentence and maybe the action continues as you say the sentence, or even continues after you say the sentence, but the main idea is that it starts before you say the sentence. Again, suppose it is 6 o'clock.

He has been watching TV. (Now, as I speak, at 6 o'clock, I see that he has been watching TV from 3 o'clock until now. - or from 1 o'clock until now - or from 2:30 until now. -- The amount of time is not specified.)

He has been watching TV for two hours. ( Now, as I speak, at 6 o'clock, I see that he has been watching TV from 4 o'clock until now. -- The amount of time is specified in this case.)

It has been raining. (Now, as I speak, at 6 o'clock, I see that it has been raining from 3 o'clock until now. - or from 1 o'clock until now - or from 2:30 until now. -- The amount of time is not specified.)

It has been raining for a half hour. ( Now, as I speak, at 6 o'clock, I see that it has been raining from 5:30 until now. -- The amount of time is specified in this case.)

What have you been talking about? (Now, as I ask, at 6 o'clock, I ask the topic(s) of conversation during previous time up to the moment I ask.)

_________

Another way the present perfect progressive can work, if no amount of time is specified, is that the action occurred in the past and continued for some time and then stopped, but there is evidence at the time of speaking that the action did occur.

It has been raining, but it is not raining now. (I know because I can see now that the streets are wet.)

The children have been playing ball in the family room, but they are not playing ball there now. (I know because the ball is there, and it should be in the garage. I know because there is a mark on the wall where the ball probably hit the wall. I know because I can see the lamp overturned and broken on the floor.)

This last pattern often occurs with must to show that the speaker has reached a logical conclusion from the evidence before him.

It must have been raining, because the streets are wet.

The children must have been playing ball in the family room, because the lamp is broken.

Re: What the difference (Present Perfect Progressive/Past Progressive)?

beaverbeaver — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:07:44 GMT

when it comes to day to day conversation, none of that really matters anymore .. how we express ourselves decides what people see from us. what do you think?

Re: perfect vs past help

Grammar Geek — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:03:39 GMT

The use of the present perfect says that things are still happening. If you use the second, you are saying that they are no longer happening. Or making them final, in some way.

So perhaps... since we last met, I met someone new, we got married, we had a child... these things are completed actions.

It could fit in with a conversation between John and Mary, former lovers who haven't seen each other in a few years.

Mary: John, it's nice to see you again.

John: Nice? It's only nice? Mary, it's wonderful to see you again!

Mary: Well, that's kind of you to say.

John: Nice? Kind? Mary, what's happend to you since we last met? You used to be so full of life, so passionate!

Mary: John, a lot has happened to me. MANY things happened since we last met. I'm married now. I'm a mother. My husband and son are my life now, not you. I had to make a new life for myself since you left me for that tramp. So don't come by here now, expecting me to be overjoyed to see you. Things happened after you left me, things that were good for me. YOU are not good for me. I lied when I said it was nice to see you. Now go away!

(Philip, I hadn't written a silly example in a while, and you used to like them )

Re: What's the last movie you've seen?

Goodman — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:15:54 GMT

"Zip " is the same as "shut up", or "say mo more". It is probably classified as "urban English".

Angry, nah! I just keep nagging until you guys are all driven crazy.

I am not sure what you mean by: <<However: Â«I have seen this movie and I liked itÂ» Â«I have been to Paris but I didn't see him thereÂ»

Are you agreeing or disagreeing with the structures ?

_{There are plenty of instances where present perfect and simple past can co-exist, but not in the same frame of sentence structure. i.e. âwhen was the last time you have visited Disneylandâ? (wrong)}

_{If my English knowledge is correct, the following is a valid sentence. Not only it contains present prefect and past, it has a present reference as well.}

_{I have been to Disneyland with my family many times but I canât remember which year the last visit was.}

_{This kind of mixed tense scenario happens a lot in day-to-day conversations.}

_{I really donât think people pick on the correctness much except English fanatics, like us!}

Re: to have met

Clive — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:07:30 GMT

Hi,

I assume that you are talking about what to say when you are saying goodbye to someone, ie atthe end of a conversation.

Can I say I'm pleased that I met you instead of I'm pleased to have met you? Both are OK.

Which is more common? Much more common than either is 'It was nice to meet you', 'It was nice meeting you'. Please note that these are only said at the end of our first meeting with someone. If I see you again tomorrow, and then say 'goodbye', I wouldn't say this again. I'd say 'It was nice to see you (again)'

Is the past simple (I met) in the first example OK or should I have used the past perfect (I have met)? (<<< this is present perfect) See my comments above.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Appointment

Buddhaheart — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 17:12:22 GMT

Here we would probably say "I have a four o'clock appointment with the hairdresser." or "I got a four o'clock appointment with the hairdresser." Itâs informal to use âgotâ alone. âGotâ could mean âmadeâ or âbookedâ as in "I've made (booked) a four o'clock appointment with the hairdresser." It the present perfect of âhave gotâ.

I think â've gotâ is fine in everyday conversation. Itâs less formal in written English.

Re: present perfect tense and past perfect tense.... different usage??

CalifJim — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:28:57 GMT

The implication is that these isolated cases are on an imaginary list of things that are relevant to the current conversation. You can think of the present perfect as a kind of "diary tense". If you say, "The use of the cane has resulted in physical injury", you mean that the occurrence of such an incident is written down somewhere (in an imaginary diary). When it happened is not important. So, if knowing that it has happened (that it is 'recorded somewhere') is important in the conversation, you use the present perfect tense. If you just want to say that it happened, use the simple past.

CJ