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VictorAl Posted 16 years ago
Linguistics Studies

About the present perfect...

So i know that the present perfect is used to describe something that happened in the past but its still going on.I've been reading and i belive its commonly used to talk about your experiences and i'm pretty confused about what an "experience" would be

If i say "I've heard tom sing" means that i'm talking about my experience of hearing tom sing ?

what if i say "I heard tom sing"? whats the difference between both ?

and how do i write this sentence"I heard/have heard that tom wanted to go to China"

TYVM
  

Top answer

Present perfect connects a past action to the present; it needn't still be going on. When you read the definition that it 'reflects experiences' , this means that we often use the form to state something we have experienced as opposed to something we haven't experienced ('Have you been skiiing? '), but this is just one of many uses of the form.

— Mister Micawber

  • Present perfect connects a past action to the present; it needn't still be going on.
  • When you read the definition that it 'reflects experiences' , this means that we often use the form to state something we have experienced as opposed to something we haven't experienced ('Have you been skiiing?
  • '), but this is just one of many uses of the form.
  • I've heard Tom sing -- I have had that experience at an unspecified time in the past OR I have heard him recently.
  • This form carries extra information, related in some way to Now, which does not exist in the simple past form I heard Tom sing -- A simple statement of a past event.
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358 Answers
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Present perfect connects a past action to the present; it needn't still be going on. When you read the definition that it 'reflects experiences' , this means that we often use the form to state something we have experienced as opposed to something we haven't experienced ('Have you been skiiing? Yes, I have.'), but this is just one of many uses of the form.

I've heard Tom sing --
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VictorAlSo i know that the present perfect is used to describe something that happened in the past but its still going on.I've been reading and i belive its commonly used to talk about your experiences and i'm pretty confused about what an "experience" would beIf i say "I've heard tom sing" means that i'm talking about my experience of hearing tom sing ?what if i say "I
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Hello Mister Micawber! I have something to consult regarding the sense of these sentences:

I have gone to New York.

I have gone to the bank.

I have been to New York.

I have been to the bank.

Actually i have already posted this but i want your opinion.

Thank you!
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Non-native speakers often confuse these.

'Be' expresses the experience.
'Go' expresses the action.

I have gone to New York.-- I'm not here; I've left for New York and am there or en route.

I have been to New York. -- I'm here; I have visited New York before.
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VictorAlSo i know that the present perfect is used to describe something that happened in the past but its still going on.
Present Perfect is "used to describe something that... is still going on" only by those who want to justify the word "Present" in the name of this tense, which got there by one of the hugest errors in the history of world languages. "Prese
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I wouldn't be so adamant, Rhino. It is a matter of how you view the 'continuing action'. If I say I have eaten 7 hotdogs so far in the Hotdog Eating Contest, I will certainly continue eating them.
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Mister MicawberI wouldn't be so adamant, Rhino. It is a matter of how you view the 'continuing action'. If I say I have eaten 7 hotdogs so far in the Hotdog Eating Contest, I will certainly continue eating them.
Why? The sentence does not give this information. Of course, after having confessed so, you have all the liberty to go on with your process which ma
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You are too bound up in theory and are ignoring the reality of language use. I can only repeat: It is a matter of how you view the 'continuing action'.
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Mister MicawberYou are too bound up in theory and are ignoring the reality of language use.  I can only repeat:  It is a matter of how you view the 'continuing action'.
Continuing action is viewed throughout the world equally and banally - as imperfect aspect.

The "phenomenon" of English language is that its "common usage" maintains the state of war
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rinocerontePerfect Continuous tense here
I am so interested in your nomenclature of tenses. Could you label the verbs in the following sentences according to tense? I was trained using the traditional and common 12-tense paradigm of the verb. I don't know how things are labeled in your system, so please share it with us.

1. I do my homew
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