Sujet de la discussion : MedeSpace.Net :: Learn English : Present Perfect

Publié par Administrateur le 30-10-2011 11:38
#1

The present perfect tense has a number of uses.

1 We use it to talk about experience.

I’ve worked in 6 different countries.
Have you ever been to Australia?
She’s won many awards for her books.
When these things happened is not important – the focus is on the action/state, not when it happened.

NB If we say when we had the experience, we must use the past simple.

I’ve visited Russia several times.
BUT I visited Russia for the first time in 1992.
We can never use the present perfect with a time in the past.

I have been to Spain in 2002.
2 We also use the present perfect to talk about things that are unfinished – unfinished states and unfinished time periods.

I’ve known him since I was 11. (unfinished state)
I met him when I was 11. I still know him now. The present perfect is acting as a bridge between the past and the present.

I’ve had this watch for almost thirty years.
We’ve lived here since I was a boy.
She’s been to the cinema three times this week. (unfinished time period)
This week isn’t finished yet – she may go to the cinema again.

We’ve already had two holidays this year.
I’ve eaten too much today.
3 A third use of the present perfect is to show the present result of a past action

I’ve lost my keys.
He lost his keys some time in the past but the result – he can’t get into his house – is in the present.

John’s broken his leg and he can’t go on holiday.
A storm has blown down the telephone lines. We’re stuck here!

Edité par Administrateur le 30-10-2011 11:40