We
use the present perfect when we are considering something that started
in the past and which we want to connect with the present.
It
may be something that started in the recent past, or it may have
started a long time ago. Look at the following examples:
'I've lived in this small village all my life.' (i.e. up to
the present and probably into the future too.)
'I haven't yet visited the capital city and I've only been
to the provincial capital once.' (i.e. in my entire life)
'But I've just passed my driving test and I've bought a new
car (both in the very recent past) and I intend to travel soon.'
In
the affirmative, we often use the prepositions for or since
with a time phrase and the adverbs just and already.
In
the negative we often combine the present perfect with the adverbs
never and yet. Look at the way they are used in the
following and the preceding examples.
'She's worked as a doctor for the last twenty five years
and has never been ill herself.'
'I've known Tom's sister since we were at school
together.'
'You've already cleaned the house and prepared lunch
and it's only eleven o'clock. Slow down!
Present perfect: interrogative
When we want to ask questions using the present perfect, we often
use the adverbs ever and yet or use the How long...?
construction.
For
the interrogative, we must also remember to invert subject and verb.
Study the following:
'Have you ever tried to swim in the North Sea?' 'No
I never have. It's far too rough.'
li> 'Has the doctor called yet to see mother?' 'Yes, he's just been.'
'Have you finished your homework?' 'No, not yet. I still
have maths to do.'
'How long have you had that coat?' 'Oh, for about two
years now. It's not new.'
'How long have you been in Britain?' 'I've been here
for two weeks already.
Past
simple: affirmative and negative
We
use the past simple when we want to refer to actions which were
completed in the past. It is used with a wide variety of past time
phrases or expressions in reply to the question °Â³ó±ð²Ô….?,
such as; earlier this morning, yesterday, last
week, from April until June last year, in 1999,
during the war, between 1985 and 1988, before we
got married.
The
negative is formed with the auxiliary verb didn't. Study
the following examples:
'I saw Henry at the meeting this morning, but
I didn't see Sue.'
'I bought a lot of language books when I was in
London last week.'
'Over fifteen million people emigrated to the United
States during the 19th century.'
'I didn't have time to finish the article before
I left for work.
Notice that in the past participle in the present perfect, and in
the affirmative in the past simple, regular verbs end in -ed,
but notice also how many common irregular verbs there are in the above
examples. The past simple is the standard tense used to describe actions
which follow each other when telling a story. But in the following
example notice how the present perfect is used:
'I came home late last night. Fred was in the kitchen but he
didn't say anything. He just looked at me as if to say: 'I know
where you have been.' We ate our supper in silence and then we
went to bed.'
Past
simple: interrogative
In
the interrogative, we must always remember to use the auxiliary
verb did with normal inversion. It is always associated with
the When...? question and may be used with a wide variety
of other question forms too. Study the following examples:
It
is early evening in Henry's home in the country.
Henry:
Hello Sheila. I didn't expect to see you here.
Sheila:
Oh,
I've been here for quite a while.
Henry:
When
did you arrive?
Sheila:
Just
after lunch.
Henry:
Did
Patrick pick you up from the station?
Sheila:
No, it was a nice day so I walked.
Henry:
Have
you eaten anything since you've been here?
Sheila:
Yes,
I had afternoon tea with the girls.
Henry:
What
did you think of Penny?
Sheila:
She's
grown up a lot since I last saw her.
Henry:
And how did you find Rebecca?
Sheila:
She didn't join us. I haven't seen her yet.
Now
see if you can write a dialogue combining the past simple and present
perfect.
