Now with Present Perfect?

Question

Can we use the present perfect tense with the word now? I would really appreciate your inputs.

After what you have explained, now I have learned its usage.
(in the sense that "After what you have explained, now I know its usage.)

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

Your sentence isn't natural, and most similar sentences don't seem very natural to me either. The only passable examples of this usage that I can think of right now are exclamations such as "Oh no, now I've messed it up", "Now you've got it!", etc.

It's common for the present perfect to follow "now" when the sense is "now (that)" -- as in "Now (that) I've figured it out, I'll explain it to you" -- but this is structurally different from your example.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Perhaps in AmE it is more frequent, as it seems natural enough to me-- in many cases when an action is just completed.

Now I've learnt it; now I've achieved my goal; now I've finished the project, etc.

Mr Wordy · Answer

Mister Micawber
Perhaps in AmE it is more frequent, as it seems natural enough to me-- in many cases when an action is just completed.

Now I've learnt it; now I've achieved my goal; now I've finished the project, etc.

No, you're quite right ... these seem OK in BrE too. I think for some reason I wrongly dismissed many of these as being of the "Now (that)" variety, whereas they don't need to be: they could be standalone statements.

BillJ · Answer

AnonymousCan we use the present perfect tense with the word now? I would really appreciate your inputs.

After what you have explained, now I have learned its usage.

(in the sense that "After what you have explained, now I know its usage.)

Most certainly you can, though your particular example is not idiomatic and therefore a little odd-sounding. This is probably due to the relationship between 'after' in the first clause, and 'now' being positioned at the beginning of the second. You could improve it by moving 'now' to the middle of the verb phrase:

After what you have explained, I have now learned its usage.

That would be fine, at least in British English. Alternatively, you could recast it like these without changing the meaning too much:

Thanks to your explanation, I have now learned its usage.

Thanks to you having explained it, I have now learned its usage.

BillJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks, Mister Micawber, Mr. Wordy and BillJ, to your explanations.  This is clear to me now. Cheers. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Anonymous · Answer

Dear Bill

The present perfect is indeed a present tense and can therefore be used in combination with "now". All present tenses have a clear link with now.

Simple presents do not have a point of reference on the timeline: the simple present is these days; the simple past has no link with now and neither does the simple future

Continuous tenses have a point of reference on the timeline: the action takes place around a point of reference. If the point of reference is now, we have to use the present continuous tense; if the point if reference is not related with now and in the past, we must use the past continuous tense; if the point of reference is not related with now and in the future, we must use the future continuous tense.

Perfect tenses also have a point of reference on the timeline: the action takes place in a period up to that point of reference. Cf above, the point of reference may be now (your question answered), in the past or in the future.

Perfect continuous tenses are in periods up to a point of reference in either the present, the past or the future and likely to continue after that point of reference.

I hope this makes it all a bit clearer to you. It most definitely helps my students. Good luck to you!

Alice

Anonymous · Answer

Bustagut999: We use the Present Perfect to refer to an action that started in the past but has a result in the present. With that in mind it is acceptable use the word 'now' before and after it.

Now with Present Perfect?

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