Present perfect and past!

Question

Hello. I need some help here!I have a sentence that i don't quite understand.I'll lend it to you when I've finished it.At the latter part, 'when I've finished it',can't I just say 'when i fished it'?Why is there a have+p.p form? Does it has to be that way? or is it okay to use a simple past form?What's the difference between the present perfect and the past in that sentence?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

mkhoneyI'll lend it to you when I've finished it.

can't I just say 'when i fished it'?

The simple past can't describe something which hasn't happened yet.

Avangi · Answer

I'll lend it to you when I've finished it.

can't I just say 'when i fished it'?

Sorry, mk, I got interrupted.

Welcome to English Forums! Thanks for joining us! [<:o)]

I'm afraid I'm in over my head here. Someone else will give you a better answer.

You can use simple present.
When I see your memo, I'll be able to give you an answer. (The main clause is simple future.)
When I finish with it, you may have it. (The main clause is simple present, I think.) ?

The lexical meaning of "to finish" really makes the perfect tense unnecessary.
When I have finished with it, you may have it.
I'll lend it to you when I finish it.

If the subordinate clause uses the past tense, you're stuck with it for the main clause:
When I saw you memo, I was shocked.
When I finished it, I gave it to him.
When I had finished it, I gave it to him.

I'm afraid "when" clauses have some tricks I haven't thought much about.

Anyway, you don't need to use the perfect tense. The simple tense works fine.
Perhaps that was really your question and you wrote "fished" instead of "finish" by mistake.
I took it for simple past tense, which will not work.

Gravedigger · Answer

" you don't need to use the perfect tense"

I think sometimes we can use the perfect tense if two things do not happen together. The present perfect shows that one thing will be complete before the other.

e.g. When I have finished with this book, I can lend it to you. (= First I'll finish with it and after that I can lend it to you)

Avangi · Answer

Hi, digger,
I didn't mean to say that the perfect tense shouldn't be used.

My feeble point was that the verb "to finish," by it's very meaning, indicates completion. So the simple present will get the job done in thiscase, if the author so chooses.

Best regards, - A.

Mkhoney · Answer

Thank you so much!

And from the sentence you just replied,
The simple past can't describe something which hasn't happened yet.
I thought it always has to be THAT after a word ends with -thing.
Is there a special rule for your which? Or is it okay to use it either way?
Could you please check it for me? Thank you!

CalifJim · Answer

mkhoneyThe simple past can't describe something which hasn't happened yet.
I thought it always has to be THAT after a word ends with -thing.

It doesn't have to be that. It can be which.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

mkhoneyI'll lend it to you when I've finished it.

Here are the patterns to use:

... WILL ..., WHEN ... [present]
... WILL ..., WHEN ... [present perfect]

"won't" can substitute for "will". "once", "after" and other conjunctions of time can substitute for "when".

I'll lend it to you when I finish it. [Not finished.]

I'll lend it to you when I've finished it.

You'll change your mind after you see it. [Not saw.]

You'll change you mind after you've seen it.

We won't talk about that until they arrive. [Not arrived.]
We won't talk about that until they have arrived.

The two in each pair are almost equivalent. The second in each pair emphasizes that the action in the subordinate clause is complete before the action in the main clause occurs.

CJ

Present perfect and past!

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions