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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Confusion with Present perfect + time phreses
When we talk about present perfect, it is always for the recently finished action in past or the finished action in past which has result/connection in present.
Note following example.
Context ----- There is a long queue in this clinic! Have you seen Seema?
----- Yes, She is in Doctor's cabin. She has waited for 2 hours to see the doctor.(Here I am talking about recently finished action - 'She waited for 2 hours to see the Doctor' because before she went to Doctor's cabin she had waited for 2 hours in queue)
That means the underlined sentence doesn't indicate that the action is still continuing. But in many grammar books the meaning of this stand-alone sentence given as "the meaning is same as present perfect continuous" i.e." she is still waiting"
Is my understanding is correct here? If no please explain.
Note following example.
Context ----- There is a long queue in this clinic! Have you seen Seema?
----- Yes, She is in Doctor's cabin. She has waited for 2 hours to see the doctor.(Here I am talking about recently finished action - 'She waited for 2 hours to see the Doctor' because before she went to Doctor's cabin she had waited for 2 hours in queue)
That means the underlined sentence doesn't indicate that the action is still continuing. But in many grammar books the meaning of this stand-alone sentence given as "the meaning is same as present perfect continuous" i.e." she is still waiting"
Is my understanding is correct here? If no please explain.
Top answer
Anonymous it is always for the recently finished action in past or the finished action in past which has result/connection in present. No, not always. Context ----- There is a long queue in this clinic!
- Anonymous it is always for the recently finished action in past or the finished action in past which has result/connection in present.
- No, not always.
- Context ----- There is a long queue in this clinic!
- Have you seen Seema?
- ----- Yes, She is in the d octor's office .
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5 Answers
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Anonymous it is always for the recently finished action in past or the finished action in past which has result/connection in present.No, not always.
Context -----
There is a long queue in this clinic! Have you seen Seema?
----- Yes, She is in the doctor's office. She
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AnonymousWhen we talk about present perfect, it is always for the recently finished action in past or the finished action in past which has result/connection in present.I always hope so. When I talk about the present perfect, I always hope the discussion will be quickly finished and quickly be in the past.
When we use the present perfect, on the oth
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AlpheccaStarsSeema is still in the queue to see the doctor. She has waited there for two hours already.Seema is still in the queue. She has been waiting there patiently for two hours.I wonder! Both the sentences mean the same. But, I can interpret slight difference here.
When I want to stress on the time elapse between past up to time of speaking, I may u
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AlpheccaStarsOr, something that happens frequently:The queue at the clinic is usually very long. Sometimes Seema has waited two hours to see a doctor.I could not understand the meaning here. Could you please explain me more on this.
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The simple past is usually used for a one time event completed in the past. eg.
Seema waited two hours at the clinic yesterday.
Here, it is not a one-time event, but multiple events that are competed in the past at various times.
You will see adverbs such as "often," "frequently," "sometimes," etc.
She has often waited more than two hours at the clinic.
Seema waited two hours at the clinic yesterday.
Here, it is not a one-time event, but multiple events that are competed in the past at various times.
You will see adverbs such as "often," "frequently," "sometimes," etc.
She has often waited more than two hours at the clinic.
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