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1. The present perfect tell us about the past and the present.

2. we use thepresent perfect for a state which has gone on up to the present.

3. we use the present perfect for actions in a period up to present .

4. over a period of time up to now.

all sentence i copy in the book name (oxford grammer) but I'm not understant thoes.

please explain that for me and give me example for thoes to easy to understand.

please step by step to be understand

Alia

Broken Heart · Accepted Answer

hi

please some one replay my thoes question .

I'm waiting .

Thank

Guest · Answer

Hi,

I'm getting worried I am posting too much, but as you sound desperate, I will try to answer.

I think the easiest way is to take some practical examples.

Suppose I tell you: "I HAVE BEEN reading."

It tells you about the past (what I was doing up until now, i.e. "reading"). It tells you about the present (that I'm not reading now).

It covers my actions in the period leading up to the present. If you ask me: "What HAVE you BEEN doing (up 'til now)?", I reply: "I HAVE BEEN reading" (present perfect).

Or, to use an example of a state, rather than an action, I might say something like: "I HAVE BEEN ill." You know at once that I'm not ill any more, but that I have been, in the recent past (the period leading up to the present time).

Your grammar book seems to be making things unnecessarily complicated. Points 2, 3, and 4 all seem to me to be different variations of the same thing.

I hope the examples help a bit more than the textbook explanation.

TM

Guest · Answer

Hi gangsters,

Regarding the PRESENT PERFECT, the answer to how you use it is simple. The time is not known or unimportant. EX. "I HAVE SEEN that movie." When? I didn't say. Why? Why ask why? I didn't know or didn't want the listener to know, because the time was unimportant. The only thing that was important was the action of seeing the movie.

About "I HAVE BEEN READING." This verb tense is call the PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS or PROGRESSIVE. I started reading sometime in the past and have continued up until NOW, the PRESENT, so that means I'm still reading. Will I continue? Maybe, maybe not. This verb tense is not concerned about that.

TM, please have your facts correct the next time you give advice. You're not a bad person. As a private teacher, I'm just tired of fixing all the damage that ill-informed "teachers" have done to students.

Andrew Hinkle

P.S. When I some one says, "I saw that movie yesterday," the verb "saw" is a good choice because it is converstational, not correct. The verb "watch" is less conversational but correct.

CalifJim · Answer

"I'm just tired of fixing all the damage that ill-informed "teachers" have done to students."

This air of superiority is not really too clever, Andrew. It will only alienate the students. Our policy here is to answer the question of the original poster, not to demean the answers of others. The original poster is usually smart enough to work out which answers are most valuable for him and which are just sincere but misguided attempts to help.

You are welcome to the forum, but please make an effort to "cool it" with regard to criticism of other members' attempts to help.

Thanks for your cooperation!

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