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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Help on present perfect use

I asked a similar question before in this forum in a post named "Present perfect in practice" a few days ago as part of multiple questions in it but didn't receive a reply. Please allow me to ask this question again (in a made-up context). I think, from what I have been taught, we use the present perfect tense when the content has a strong tie(perhaps just a tie - any (normal) tie?) to the present or talking (or writing) about something happened recently. But I also have been taught that we use a present perfect tense when the time something happened isn't exact or not important. I think the present perfect use in the last response by B (see the part in bold letters) isn't related to the present or happened recently (just his trip to China has occurred recently, but (as noted before) - I think - his trips to other countries aren't related to the present nor happened recently. Also, I am not sure but I think the underlined present perfect use is correct (justified) since the subject matter is about him - the new guy in school. Help.

Also could we use the last response by B (in bold letters) in sort of a recomendation for a job, after talking about your view on his qualifications for the job he is applying?

Is the underlined past perfect tense correct?

(two people who are close talking to each other on the phone)

A: Hi. Do you know anything about a new guy in school?

B:Not much, but I know a little. I think he grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, and his father is a doctor and his mother is a housewife.

A: What else do you know about him? Please tell me.

B: I think he has been to many countries. In fact, I think I heard him saying he has been to China recently.
  

Top answer

Hi Anon, I will first try to address this question: Anonymous I think he has been to many countries. In fact, I think I heard him saying he has been to China recently. This is a present perfect context formed by the helping verb "has" in conjunction with "been" which is the past participle of "be" .

— Dimsumexpress

  • Hi Anon, I will first try to address this question: Anonymous I think he has been to many countries.
  • In fact, I think I heard him saying he has been to China recently.
  • This is a present perfect context formed by the helping verb "has" in conjunction with "been" which is the past participle of "be" .
  • We can use 'has / have been" it to describe something without the use of time marker, just like your sentence which did not tell the reader when he visited these countries, but we learned from this context that at the time this statement is made to a point in past time, he had traveled to these countries.
  • There are other usages: He has been sick with the flu = his flu symptoms began sometimes back and he has been feeling weak and feverish (for an undescribed amount of time).
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3 Answers
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Hi Anon,
I will first try to address this question:
AnonymousI think he has been to many countries. In fact, I think I heard him saying he has been to China recently.
He Has been to - is another way of saying, he has visited many countries and the last one was China.This is a present perfe
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Thank you for your help.
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AnonymousA: Hi. Do you know anything about a the new guy in school?
B:Not much, but I know a little. I think he grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, and his father is a doctor and his mother is a housewife.
A: What else do you know about him? Please tell me.
B: I think he has been to many countries. In
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