Questions related to the English Perfect Construction, which is sometimes called "the present perfect tense".
Questions tagged [present-perfect]
581 questions
19
votes
5 answers
Have lived vs. Have been living
What is the difference between the followings?
A. I have been living here for 5 years.
B. I have lived here for 5 years.
Am I correct that these two represent the same event, but A emphasizes the continuity of living while B simply states a fact…
ekbass
- 333
15
votes
8 answers
What is the difference between "I've been to China" and "I've gone to China"?
Both are in the present perfect, but one uses the verb 'to go' and the other 'to be'. Is there a rule for this?
Is there any chance that the differences between "I have been" vs. "I have gone", are differences in English dialect (I don't know if…
Istable
- 814
6
votes
2 answers
It will be the first time I have flown to America - why not just present simple?
I have been reading a long discussion about another grammar thing and stumbled upon the following:
It will be the first time I have flown to America.
I wonder why there is present perfect tense and not just present simple?
It will be the first…
SilkEr
- 61
5
votes
6 answers
Using "present perfect" for things that happen in future
Is it grammatical to use "Present Perfect" tense for something that is going to happen in future? As far as I know, the Present Perfect is used to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. Google Chrome however, is showing me…
B Faley
- 4,233
5
votes
4 answers
"Have been + verb-ing" vs. "have + past participle"
What's the difference between the following constructions of present perfect:
I've been waiting for you for seven years.
I've waited for you for seven years.
Googling yields no satisfying results. I also asked a native speaker and the one wasn't…
Gigili
- 5,298
4
votes
3 answers
"Having influence" in perfect tense
I chatted on IRC and stumbled upon such a nice sentence:
On the opposite, Tom has been a good influence on my life since I met him.
For me it means that Tom is an influence, instead of Tom having influence. So I'd rephrase that as:
On the…
liori
- 535
4
votes
2 answers
Present perfect - the action is completed or not completed?
Found here an explanation why the 'present perfect' is called like that and why it's 'perfect'.
For the record: "As to why it's perfect, the term comes from Latin perfectus, "achieved, finished, completed". Which is quite literally what you have…
Alexis
- 43
4
votes
3 answers
Conjunctions and modal verbs
What is the correct version?
They have contacted me and discussed
or
They have contacted me and have discussed
user5040
3
votes
5 answers
Present-Perfect: "hadn't heard" vs. "haven't heard"
Let's say I have just listened to a beautiful song wanted to immediately tell my friend about it. Which sentence should I use?
A. I haven't heard a song this good for a while.
B. I hadn't heard a song this good for a while.
Should I say A because…
ekbass
- 333
3
votes
0 answers
When we express the nearest past, can we use 'present perfect'?
In the various usage of present perfect, I heard that there is a usage of expressing the nearest past like 'I've kicked the dog.'
What percentage we used 'present perfect' to express 'the nearest past' in all usage of present perfect?
박용현
- 809
3
votes
3 answers
Using present perfect continuous without mentioning time period
I am having a problem understanding the meaning of a sentence that uses the present perfect continuous without stating a period of time (how long, since, for, etc). Can the sentence still indicate that the activity is happening from the past until…
esy
- 191
3
votes
2 answers
Meaning of a sentence using the perfect continuous tense
a. They have been throwing papers.
b. They have been throwing papers since the teacher left.
Does the sentence (a) have the same meaning as sentence (b), even though the period of time is not stated in sentence (a)? Or is it that sentence (a) can…
esy
- 191
3
votes
1 answer
"Do you ever do something" vs. "Have you ever done something"
In "Pragmmatic Programmer" by David Hunt and Andy Thomas, there is a sentence:
Do you ever watch old black-and-white war movies?
To my best english grammar knowledge, present perfect tense should be used here:
Have you ever watched…
Piotr Sobczyk
- 133
2
votes
3 answers
The origin of "been to" and "gone to"
Possible Duplicate:
What is the difference between “I've been to China” and “I've gone to China”?
I know the difference between saying "he's gone to the shop" (he's away) and "he's been to the shop" (he's back). The use is clear.
What is not…
2
votes
1 answer
"is head of xyz since" vs "has been [...] since" ? Is "is" ever acceptable?
Isn't it wrong to write "Mrs X is head of $department at $company since 2015" ?
Shouldn't it be "has been head of xyz since 2015"?
I have seen quite a few examples of "is [...] since" in the brochures and websites of certain organisations - but the…
