miércoles, 18 de junio de 2008

Simple Perfect (simple and continuous)

We use present perfect simple for:

- Actions and situations taht happened at an unspecified time before the moment of speaking.

e.g. I have seen that film loads of times. (before now)
I've never heard of that pop group before.
She's just turned off the TV. (not long before now)

- Actions and situations that started in the past and still happen, or are still true, at the moment of speaking.

e.g. She has written short stories since she was a child. (she still writes short stories)
I have believed in ghosts ever since that night. (I still believe in ghosts)

Present perfect simple (positive):
I/You/We/They + have+ past participle
He/She + has + past participle

Present perfect simple (negative):
I/You/We/They + haven't/have not + past participle
He/She + hasn't/has not + past participle

Present Perfect simple (question form):
Have + I/you/we/they + past participle...?
Has + he/ she + past participle...?

Time expressions often used with present perfect simple

for (+ period of time) e.g. I have lived in Belgium for three years.
since (+ time when it started) e.g. I have lived in Belgium since 2003.
just e.g. He has just woken up.
already e.g. I've got that CD already. I have already got that CD.
yet (with negatives and questions) e.g. I haven't seen that film yet. Have you seen the new Mel Gibson film yet?
still (with negatives) e.g. I still haven't found my sunglasses.
recently/lately e.g. I've bought a lot of magazines recently.
so far e.g. I've read 100 pages of this book so far.
before e.g. Have you eaten Chinese food before?
ever/never e.g. Have you ever been to Germany?. I've never been to China.


Be careful! We often use present perfect simple with the superlative and with ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc).

e.g. It's the best film I've ever seen. It's the best time I've been to South America.

Carl has been to Mexico. = Carl is not in Mexico now.
Carl has gone to mexico. = Carl is in Mexico or on his way to Mexico now.

We use present perfect continuos for:

- Actions and situations that started in the past and still continue al the moment of speaking.

e.g. She has been working as a journalist for three years.

- Temporary actions and situations in the recent past.

e.g. I've just been readingan interesting article about celebrities.

Present perfect continuous (positive):
I/You/We/They + have + been + -ing form
He/She + has + been + -ing gorm

Present perfect continuous (negative):
I/You/We/They + haven't/have not + been + -ing form
He/She + hasn't/has not + been + -ing form

Present perfect continuous (question form):
Have + I/you/we/they + been + -ing form...?
Has + he/she + been + -ing form...?

Time expressions often used with present perfect continuous

for (+period of time) e.g. I have been living in Belgium for three years.
since (+ time when it started) e.g. I have been living in belgium since 2003.
just e.g. he has just been playing football.
recently/lately e.g. I've been seeing a lot of Karen recently.
all day, all morning, etc e.g. I've been doing my homework all evening. I need a break now.

Be careful! Something there is very little difference in meaning between present perfect simple and present perfect continuous:

e.g. I have lived here for two years now. (= I moved here two years ago.)
I have been living here for two years now. (= I moved here two years ago.)

Sometimes there is a big difference in meaning:

e.g. I've lived in Paris, London and Rome. (= I don't live in Paris now.)
I've been living in Paris for two years now. (= I live in Paris.)



Minaya Aguilar.

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