Present perfect in self-introduction

Question

Hi. Please tell me if the noted present perfect use in a self-introduction is correct (and perhaps not awkward). I feel it is not wrong grammatically but makes the reader wonder what the sentence's relevance is to the present when he/she get to the part in present perfect, and I think a past tense is better (if the present perfect is not wrong.) Help.

Also, do you think we can put a present perfect sentence like below in a narrative. I think what I am wondering is what I should consider when using a present perfect in a story when the majority of the sentences are in past tenses. I think it might be too broad a question but wish for the best help.

1. I wouldn't go anywhere far when I was young.

2. But when I was in high school, I once took a trip with my parents to Japan.

3. I was a good student both in middle and high school.

4. I once have eaten a large pizza in one sitting. Everyone with me was surprised.

5. Except that pizza-eating exploit, my teenage years were fairly mundane.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Please tell me if the noted present perfect use in a self-introduction is correct (and perhaps not awkward). I feel it is not wrong grammatically but makes the reader wonder what the sentence's relevance is to the present when he/she get to the part in present perfect, and I think a past tense is better (if the present perfect is not wrong.) Help.

Also, do you think we can put a present perfect sentence like below in a narrative. I think what I am wondering is what I should consider when using a present perfect in a story when the majority of the sentences are in past tenses. I think it might be too broad a question but wish for the best help. Generally speaking, if you are narrating events in the past, just use the various Past tenses.

1. I wouldn't go anywhere far when I was young. OK

2. But when I was in high school, I once took a trip with my parents to Japan. OK, but don't get into a habit of starting sentences with 'but'.

3. I was a good student both in middle and high school. OK. I'd put a comma before 'both'.

4. I once have eaten a large pizza in one sitting. Everyone with me was surprised.

No, say 'I once ate'. The use of 'once' stresses that you are talking about an occasion in the past

5. Except for that pizza-eating exploit, my teenage years were fairly mundane.

Clive

Kane159 · Answer

Hi Clive,

could I add the word "though" after "school"?

Like this: When I was in high school though, I once took a trip with my parents to Japan.

Thank you in advance!

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Yes.

Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Hi. Do you think it is OK to put a sentence like below, instead of sentence number 4? I think it is OK since we use a present perfect for sentences below like the one underlined to indicate an activity we partook in in an unspecified time in the past.

1. I wouldn't go anywhere far when I was young.

2. But when I was in high school, I once took a trip with my parents to Japan.

3. I was a good student both in middle and high school.

4. I once have been to Chile for three months, backpacking across the country, from its farthest south to most northern area.

5. Except that incredible feat, there wasn't anything I had done in my teenage years that could stand out as remarkable.

Mister Micawber · Answer

No. It is awkward (and has the wrong verb form). Try this:

I once spent three months backpacking the full length of Chile.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you so much.

Clive wrote:

4. I once have eaten a large pizza in one sitting. Everyone with me was surprised.

No, say 'I once ate'. The use of 'once' stresses that you are talking about an occasion in the past

Do you think this use of "once" (as Clive mentioned above) is what you would consider wrong, when you said it "has the wrong verb form"?

Mister Micawber · Answer

Yes, Clive is right.  There is nothing wrong with 'once', but perfect aspect is wrong there.

Anonymous · Answer

Hi. I think I learned in this forum that a present perfect has (possesses?) present-time point of view. I take that to mean that a present perfect is related to the present either in time or context, and that would make the sentence, "I once have been to Chile for three months, backpacking across the country, from its farthest south to most northern area," incompatible with a narrative-like introduction where, up to a certain point in narration, mostly, if not all, past tenses are used.

Having said that, I think we can also use present tenses to talk about who you are and what you are doing now in a self-introduction, like "I am XX years old" and "My hobbies include mountain climbing." I think if we started the introduction with the previous two sentences, a sentence with a present perfect tense like the one I wrote, "I once have been to Chile for three months, backpacking across the country, from its farthest south to most northern area," would fit in just fine, and there would be nothing incorrect about it.

Likewise this would be correct, I think.

1. I am XX years old.

2. I have many hobbies.

3. My hobbies include mountain climbing.

4. I have been to Chile once, backpacking across the country, from its farthest south to most northern area.

5. I also have eaten a large pizza in one sitting once.

6. I was content with what I was doing when I was young.

7. Except for those two stand-out events, my childhood days were rather mundane.

And of course, as for the sentence in bold letters, I think your suggested (revised) sentence would be better. Anyway, do you think (find) the above sentence in bold letters, which has a present perfect tense, is incorrect? The first three sentences before it are in present tense and I find nothing wrong with having sentences with present perfect tense after them. And sentences with past tenses would be fine, I think, after the sentences with present perfect tense.

Any help from you would be appreciated.

Mister Micawber · Answer

You seem to have learned nothing from Clive's and my teaching. That is too bad.

Present perfect in self-introduction

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