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

Re: Present Perfect Vs Past Perfect

CalifJim — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:58:19 GMT

nands_krish
As far as I know in both tenses are used when an action begins in the past but continues into the present / holds relevance in the present.

No.

Present perfect only is "used when an action begins in the past but continues into the present / holds relevance in the present".

Past perfect is used when an action began in the past but continued to another point in the past / held relevance at that point in the past.

Past perfect is the backshift of the past. It is also the backshift of the present perfect.

John said, "I saw that movie last week".

John said that he had seen that movie last week.

John said, "I've seen that movie several times".

John said that he had seen that movie several times.

Re: Present Perfect Vs Past Perfect

Clive — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:16:25 GMT

Hi,

Could someone help me understand the difference between Present Perfect and Past Perfect ? As far as I know in both tenses are used when an action begins in the past but continues into the present / holds relevance in the present.

You'll find a lot of discussion on the Forum about these Perfect tenses, if you use 'Search'. However, here are a couple of simple comments for you to begin by considering.

As you know, use Present Perfect when an action has some relevance to the present.
eg I have passed my driver's test, so I'd like to borrow your car.

Use Past Perfect when an action has some relevance to a later point in the past.
eg He had an accident last Thursday. He had passed his driver's test.

eg Tom came home at 7pm. Mary cooked dinner. She cooked it after 7pm.
eg Tom came home at 7pm. Mary had cooked dinner. She cooked it before 7pm.

Best wishes, Clive

Present Perfect Vs Past Perfect

nands_krish — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:58:04 GMT

Hi,

Could someone help me understand the difference between Present Perfect and Past Perfect ? As far as I know in both tenses are used when an action begins in the past but continues into the present / holds relevance in the present.

Thanks...
N

Re: How to remember tenses?

Goodman — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:25:45 GMT

Huygen,

By reading your post, something tells me that your English level should be beyond the question you just asked, and able to categorize the tenses already.

There are 3 basic tenses: Simple past â present â future

There are past progressive- present progressive- future progressive.

Then there past perfect- present perfect âfuture perfect which is not commonly used.

I am curious, may be I am missing something. Why do you have to memorize the tenses?

We should be able use it according to the sense of time.

You are walking â you are doing something at this minute. So itâs present progressive

I walk 2 miles everyday after work. Simple present, used to reflect a routine.

They were watching TV when you called last night.- Simple past progressive.

The perfect tenses are more complex and you may have to do some reading and studying on your own.

Here is something which may be helpful: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html

Re: General Enquiries: Present & Past Perfect tense usage

Mister Micawber — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:06:43 GMT

.
1) we form the Present Perfect tense with "has/have"
+ the past participle. It is used to show:
a) actions that have been completed recently.-- Yes, that is one use

2) we form the Past Perfect Tense with "had"
+ the past participle. It is used to show
a) an action that was completed some time ago-- No; it is used to clarify or emphasize the chronology of two non-simultaneous past events.

Is the abovementioned contrast correct?-- No.

2) we use the Present Perfect tense with ever, never, for and since for an action
which happened from a period or point of time in the past till now.-- Generally, yes

a) I have never been to Maldives before.
(would be alright if i omit or add before) Yes.

b)what if this person just landed on the airport of maldives and told his
friends, "I am so excited! I have never been to maldives before."
In this case, is the above sentence correct? Yes
I have never been to Maldives before. is both used but has different meaning.-- Your 3 sentences are identical in verb form.

c)if i were to use it in the Past perfect tense, which is past in the past form.
can i say, I had never been to Maldives before until a month ago when I when there with my friends. -- Yes

d)To add on to the above example, when people say i had never been/seen/eaten and etc. at that point of time, they already had been/seen/eaten? No
Just that they are illustrating the examples in past forms, E.g. I had never seen such a demure lady in my life before, however i saw one last month.-- It is used to clarify or emphasize the chronology of two non-simultaneous past events.

3) I found this example and sentence in my grammar book.

a)(Function as the past form of the present perfect) - The Chong brothers had never cheated anyone in their lives before.(why present perfect is not used here)-- "Before --- (event)" is in the past.

b)Is it wrong to use present perfect here? - The Chong brothers have never cheated anyone in their lives before. No

Also, found this example in the post here.

c)Jane wanted to stop by his office because she had never met Richard (CEO) in person.
past perfect tense is used here because this is not relating to the present situation but instead relating to a event that has happened before? is it?-- It is used to clarify or emphasize the chronology of two non-simultaneous past events.

d)if we want to use present perfect tense because up till now, is it a fact that Jane still have not met Richard in person.
Can we say, Jane has never met Richard (CEO) in person. Yes

4) Never and before.
whenever there's never and before in a sentence, is it a must to use past instead of present tense. No
i never ate this before. i never been to this place before.
i have never eaten this before. i have never been to this place before.
I will never see him again

General Enquiries: Present & Past Perfect tense usage

dave_amateur — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:26:29 GMT

Hi Mentors, Tutors and Native English Speakers/writers

Can i say:
1) we form the Present Perfect tense with "has/have"                                          2) we form the Past Perfect Tense with "had"
   + the past participle. It is used to show:                                                             + the past participle. It is used to show

a) actions that have been completed recently.                                                    a) an action that was completed some time ago
    E.g. Tom has eaten the noodles.                                                                      E.g. Tom had eaten the noodles.
           He has gone to Beijing.                                                                                    He had gone to Beijing.

Is the abovementioned contrast correct? Yes/No

2) we use the Present Perfect tense with ever, never, for and since for an action
which happened from a period or point of time in the past till now.

a) I have never been to Maldives before.
(would be alright if i omit or add before) Yes/No. It sounds the same meaning to me.

b)what if this person just landed on the airport of maldives and told his
friends, "I am so excited! I have never been to maldives before."
In this case, is the above sentence correct? Yes/No I have never been to Maldives before. is both used but has different meaning.

c)if i were to use it in the Past perfect tense, which is past in the past form.
can i say, I had never been to Maldives before Yes/No  until a month ago when I when there with my friends.

d)To add on to the above example, when people say i had never been/seen/eaten and etc. at that point of time, they already had been/seen/eaten? Yes/No
Just that they are illustrating the examples in past forms, E.g. I had never seen such a demure lady in my life before, however i saw one last month.

3) I found this example and sentence in my grammar book.

a)(Function as the past form of the present perfect)    - The Chong brothers had never cheated anyone in their lives before.(why present perfect is not used here)

b)Is it wrong to use present perfect here? - The Chong brothers have never cheated anyone in their lives before. Yes/No

Also, found this example in the post here.

c)Jane wanted to stop by his office because she had never met Richard (CEO) in person.
past perfect tense is used here because this is not relating to the present situation but instead relating to a event that has happened before? is it?Yes/No

d)if we want to use present perfect tense because up till now, is it a fact that Jane still have not met Richard in person.
Can we say, Jane has never met Richard (CEO) in person.   Yes/No

4) Never and before.
whenever there's never and before in a sentence, is it a must to use past instead of present tense. Yes/No
i never ate this before. i never been to this place before.
i have never eaten this before. i have never been to this place before.

Thank you in advance. awaiting the replies.
for clarity to other learners like me too, pls reply using 1a) 2) a b c d 3a) b and 4) for easy reference and understanding.
appreciate & with lovess!!

chossing correct tense/tense consistency

MaxMaximus — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:08:59 GMT

Greetings,

I have a pretty big favour to ask.

I've been struggling with this topic for quite awhile now.It goes without saying that my English "leaves something to be desired".

Having in mind the subtle differences that occur from using particular tenses, I have often wondered how the authors of following exercises expect anyone to choose the correct form, without providing sound and unambiguous references.

I've uploaded 2 exercises that I stumbled upon :

1. http://rapidshare.com/files/138835945/HP.txt.html
and
2.http://rapidshare.com/files/138835946/redundancy.txt.html

I have converted them into .txt files to ease moderators' job.

They present the essence of my inability to comprehend and do right.

First text:
1. First sentence, adverb "always" stands before the verb (author did not bother to put it in the brackets (always/be)). If she is dead (we don't know that until we have finished reading) or if she is not "a fighter" anymore (we are clueless about that either), - we could use Past Simple. Of course, Present Perfect is more likely choice, but the position of adverb puzzles.

2."But, prior to..." - Past Continuous or Past Perfect?

3.The sentence : "it (be)__ slow to notice..".I'm not sure whether Past Simple or Past Perfect should be used here.There is no strong reference whether this "slow noticing" occurred prior to her arrival or about the time when she came on board.

4."Those three years are not over..". The starting point is present time, but, that has nothing to do with the moment when she realized how things stand, which I know nothing about.Even the Present Simple is possible if she keeps realizing everyday that things are harder than she expected.For the rest of the paragraph I'm not certain whether Present Perfect should be used.

5."Above all,.." - from Present Simple (finds, is trying, is going to embark)...to Present Perfect (has found, has tried/has been trying, has embarked)...The tenses chosen in these sentences determine the tenses of the last paragraph in the text.

Second text:
1. First sentence: we could use Future Simple as well as Present Simple for the verb "have to"?

2. "Although no business or industry..". If there was a recent survey - do interviewed subjects still claim what they have said - or the use of Past Tense is obligatory? The word "any" is used in interrogative or negative sentences - but here, no question is being asked nor it is possible to be negative. Instead, "some" should have been used, I think.

3. "Those who have..." - Present Continuous or Present Simple? Former is more likely choice although the latter is possible also.

4. "In the past.." - as far as I know this presents the "indefinite moment in time". The Present Perfect could be used - but the position of adverb "always" confuses, again.

I would be more than grateful to anyone who can shed some light on these issues.
If I could reach to any other decent credible source I wouldn't ask for help in this way.

Thanks in advance,
Georgie.

Re: fit(s), saw

Newguest — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:38:10 GMT

Avangi
1. Which is the subject so you need the singular verb, fits. But we would not use "to" in this case.

2. Either one works.

So it should be: Which of these words fits this rule???

I thought that when you say: It was the first time.. then you have to use "the past perfect tense" and when you say: it's the first time.. then you have to use "the present perfect tense"???

Thank you

Re: Conditional Sentence

CalifJim — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 06:26:19 GMT

eagerness
the day after it actually happened

Then it's wouldn't.

Though some variation is possible in the right situation, the typical groups of tenses that go together in the same sentence are:

Present perfect - Present - Future of the Present (will) - Most modal verbs, including can, may, must, should

Past Perfect - Past - Future of the Past (would) - could, should, might

Re: 4 sentences

sunny_adam — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:29:49 GMT

1, No you would not say that unless it was backed up with a reason. You would say
    I don't like him anymore or I stopped liking him because.....
2, No not correct also. The question sounds rhetorical and intraverted. you could say.
    Do you know why i don't like him anymore? but I cannot think of a context on which you would use such a question.
3, This one is mostly accurate but in reality you would say:
    Now he's going to be taking his driving test for the 7th time.
4, This one is good. I take it this is supposed to be in the past tense? if it was the present perfect it should be written. I didn't expect you to arrive so early.