present perfect

Question

Hi to all the beloved members of the forum,
Being a non-native speaker of English language, I am always confused about the correct usage of English tenses. although I have been learning English for the past one year, still I'm facing problems in choosing the correct tense.
My today's question is - What meaning does the following sentence convey ?

1). where have you been ? (does this imply that the person expected has come or is he/ she still away ?)

Also, what would be the difference in the meanings if I said
"Where were you ?" OR "Where are you ?" in place of
"Where have you been ?"

Dear members, I have read many threads regarding the
usage of PRESENT PERFECT tense, esp. replies by Califjim, Regards, disumexpress, Mister Micawber, BUT STILL at times, I find myself confused about exactly in what situations we should use the PRESENT PERFECT tense.

I would be very grateful If someone tried to help me.

Fivejedjon · Accepted Answer

Anonymous1). where have you been ? (does this imply that the person expected has come or is he/ she still away ?)

The speaker is wishing to know the whereabouts of the person addressed in the recent past-time period extending up to the present moment. The person addressed may have been far away, or may simply have just returned from spending time in another room in the same house. Only context will make this clear.

AnonymousAlso, what would be the difference in the meanings if I said"Where were you ?" OR "Where are you ?" in place of"Where have you been ?"

'Where were you?' can only, in British English, be asking about a past time, almost certainly known to both the speaker and the person addressed. There may be contexts in which both 'where were you?' and 'where have you been?' are possible, but it is safer to assume the difference I suggested.

'Where are you?' is a question we would normally ask only in a phone call or some form of written correspondence. If the person is with us, then we know where they are.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Anonymous I have read many threads regarding the usage of PRESENT PERFECT tense, esp. replies by Califjim, Regards, disumexpress, Mister Micawber, BUT STILL at times, I find myself confused about exactly in what situations we should use the PRESENT PERFECT tense. I would be very grateful If someone tried to help me.

I'll try.
Note: This response is about British English usage.

Traditional lists of ways of using the present perfect include:

An action begun in the past and continuing through the present:

My flat mate has lived in Prague since 1998.

An action begun in the past continuing up to the present, but not beyond:

Hello, Neil. I haven’t seen you for ages.

A past action occurring within a time period considered still to be continuing:

Peter has called me four times today.

An action occurring at an unspecified past time that has current relevanc:e

I’ve already eaten.

Actions occurring in the very recent past (often with just):

The Bensons have just arrived.

Future time and conditional clauses:

We can leave when Paul has finished.

I think there is a simpler explanation that covers all these: We use the Present Perfect when we look back from one point in to a situation that began at a previous time and is connected in some way to the time from which we are looking.

In these first four examples above, we clearly have situations, living, not-seeing, calling and eating that began prior to the time of retrospection - the present moment. It is equally clear that the situations are connected to the time of retrospection. In [1] – [3] the time period extends from the past to that time. In [4], the connection is that I, at the time of retrospection, am not hungry. This, or some similar present consequence of a past situation, will be clear from the context. Whether the situation continues up to, or through, the time of retrospection will be clear from the context.

In [5] the situation is, in the speaker’s mind, so close to the present that this closeness, vividness is the connection. However, the fact is that the situation however recent, actualised in the past, and speakers can choose to distance it in time - 5a. The Bensons just arrived.

Speakers of BrE tend to view such recent past situations retrospectively [5]; AmE speakers tend to distance them [5a]. The same is true when already, yet, recently and expressions of present time periods such as today, this morning, etc are used.

In [6], the time of retrospection, the time of our leaving is future and the actualisation of the future situation looked back on is before that time. Depending on the situations foreseen, there may be little difference in the length of time between the finishing and the leaving in [6] and in [6a]: 6a. We will leave when Paul finishes.

However, in [6], the speaker has chosen to see the leaving as actualising at the end of a time period, however short, after the finishing. In [6a], the situations could be seen as actualising at the same time.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much sir for your help and I think I have got your explanation well.
But the real problem, I think, with me is that at times I get confused when i have to make a choice
between the PRESENT PERFECT and PAST SIMPLE. This Particularly happens in the middle of a
conversation(when I am having a conversation with someone) and i pause and start thinking about WHICH
TENSE I SHOULD USE "present perfect" or past simple" .

This forum has really been very helpful. And i wish to learn more and more form here. Anyway thanks to fivejedjon again for his/her great reply.

Fivejedjon · Answer

Sorry. I have no idea where these

things came from. They were supposed to be refernce to question numbers.

Grammarfreak · Answer

Hi,
As far as using simple past ( where were you ?) or present perfect ( where have you been?) is concerned, the choice really comes from the speaker's perspective. Here I have two scenarios for illustration, hope that help you see the difference.
1) You school has organized a field trip and everyone was instructed to meet at the school parking lot to be picked up by chartered buses at 7:00 am sharp. At 7:01, everybody was accounted for on the buses, except for you. At 7:03, the buses started to roll as you finally showed up; running out of breath. You teacher should ask you: " where have you been? ; we are about to leave without you!". Eve though the time span in this example was only a few minutes, the explanation can apply to any past time to present.

2) When I arrived the school parking lot at 7:05, the buses had already left. The next day, my teacher asked me: " where were you (yesterday at 7 am) ?", we waited for you til 7:03.

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks to you, grammarfreak. Now I think I've understood the difference between "where have you been ?" and
"where were you ?". Now I know when I should say/use one and when I should say/ use the other.
I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION and I hope I'm not bothering you much.

My question is - should we use the PRESENT PERFECT or the SIMPLE PAST if someone
asks me the question "where have you been ?"

can we use both(present perfect and simple past) ? if yes then what will be the difference in the
meanings ?

Grammarfreak · Answer

Again, it really depends on the context(s). You can say that ( where have you been? ) to a college buddy whom you ran into on the street but haven't seen since the date of graduation. The present prefect is the only appropriate tense, you won't say " where were you".

AnonymousMy question is - should we use the PRESENT PERFECT or the SIMPLE PAST if someone asks me the question "where have you been ?"

I think we all learned from grade school that when a question was asked with a specific tense and modal, we should answer respectively the same. For example, do you like animals? Yes I do, or no I don't.
In conversations, I don't see a problem answering your hypothetical question in simple past " I was in the garage ....", or follow the traditional grammar rule: " I have been in the garage working on my car all morning....".

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousMy question is - should we use the PRESENT PERFECT or the SIMPLE PAST if someone asks me the question "where have you been ?"

As always, it depends on the speaker's persepective. We tend to respond to questions in the same tense, if appropriate, but there is no obligation to do so. When I hear that question, I can respond, "I have been in the bathroom" (that was the reason for my absence, an absence which lasted up to the present moment) or "I was in the bathroom" (until 60 seconds ago, at which time I began to walk back here).

CalifJim · Answer

fivejedjonSorry. I have no idea where these things came from. They were supposed to be refernce to question numbers.

Some parenthesized letters and words will be "iconized" by the system software. To avoid this, place a space before the letter or word in parentheses, thus: ( d) or ( d ).

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousBut the real problem, I think, with me is that at times I get confused when i have to make a choicebetween the PRESENT PERFECT and PAST SIMPLE. This Particularly happens in the middle of a conversation(when I am having a conversation with someone) and i pause and start thinking about WHICHTENSE I SHOULD USE "present perfect" or past simple" .

In my experience I find that learners more frequently choose the present perfect incorrectly than they choose the past incorrectly, so if you have to guess, my advice is always to choose the past. That way you are more likely to be right more often than not.

You can almost memorize the cases where the present perfect is used in an idiomatic formula, and use the present perfect for those. Then use the past for everything else whenever you are in doubt.

CJ

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