Have been/were

Question

Whats the difference between "you have been a college students" and "you were a college students"

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

a student, not a students.

The Present Perfect indicates a strong significance to the present situation.
eg You have been a college student. You should know the answer to this question.

The Simple Past focuses more on the past event.

Please say 'please' when you ask us for help.

Thank you,
Clive

Italia · Answer

I always say please in my topics just this one I didn't write please.....also you should know I really appreciate your help but I didn't get the difference.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Consider these practical and simple examples.

I cooked dinner. Just tells you about a past event. Maybe it was 10 minutes ago. Maybe it was 10 years ago.

I have cooked dinner. Sounds like it is on the table. Come and eat!

Clive

Canadian45 · Answer

CliveHi
The Present Perfect indicates a strong significance to the present situation. not necessarily more so than simple past does, unless present perfect is arbitrarily defined as such

eg You have been a college student. sounds odd to me You should know the answer to this question.

The Simple Past focuses more on the past event. But sometimes the past event is very significant to the present situation.

Italia · Answer

Ok I got this one...But the first one there's been in the sentence.

Italia · Answer

Canadian 45 : can u tell me the difference

Canadian45 · Answer

CliveHi,Consider these practical and simple examples.I cooked dinner. Just tells you about a past event. Maybe it was 10 minutes ago. Maybe it was 10 years ago. extremely unlikely

Canadian45 · Answer

ItaliaCanadian 45 : can u tell me the difference

Sorry, I have to leave now. I'll try to give you more of my opinion on this tomorrow.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Maybe it was 10 minutes ago. Maybe it was 10 years ago. extremely unlikely

I find that extreme examples are often a good way to make a point quickly and clearly.

Clive

Canadian45 · Answer

You have been a college student. You were a college student.
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This is a complicated topic; I'll try to throw some light on it.

1) Whether a person uses present perfect tense or simple past tense, the very fact that the statement is made indicates that the statement is (considered to be) relevant to the present conversation or situation. So both tenses are correct and relevant to the present and have the same meaning.

2) Speakers of British English are generally very fond of using present perfect tense in sentences like the ones in your first post. Speakers of American English are more likely to use simple past tense than British speakers are, but speakers of American English use both tenses to express the same meaning.

3) Some speakers of British English have an extreme bias against simple past tense in sentences like yours, and claim that 'only present perfect tense is correct' in such sentences. But that radical stance is wrong. Those British speakers have just arbitrarily decided in their own minds that simple past tense is incapable of showing relevance to the present. So they would say that only the first sentence is correct when (relevance)(significance) to the present is an issue. Of course I strongly disagree with that view.

4) Which sentence is correct?
a) My stomach hurts. I ate too much.
b) My stomach hurts. I have eaten too much.

Of course both are correct, even though some will say that only b) is correct. They both mean the same thing, which is that 'my stomach hurts because I ate too much'. If you use sentence a), no one will think that your stomach hurts because you ate too much years, months, weeks or even days ago.

5) There is 'a time' that present perfect and simple past tenses have different meanings,so only one can be correct. And which one is correct depends on your intended meaning.

a) I have studied music for six years. This one means that I am still studying music; it descirbes a current situation.
b) I studied music for six years. This one means that I am no longer studying music; it describes a past situation.

6) Now I am making a guess, and perhaps others will have opinions about my guess. My guess is that because of the different meanings of the two tenses in 5a), some people feel that in situations of 'current relevance' only present perfect is correct. But I hope I have put a significant dent in that belief. Simple past tense is just as correct. North American speakers, including me, use present perfect tense every day, as it is one of the correct choices. But it is not the only correct choice in sentences like yours.

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