Present perfect question
Hi,
I've learned the following:
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"You're smart."
"I've heard that before" / "I've never heard that before" (present perfect OK in both because I might hear it again).
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"John has green eyes".
"I've noticed that before" (ok)
"I've never noticed that before" - here the present perfect is illogical, because it was just pointed out to me, so I've noticed it before AND will never notice that again (it's a one time thing), so use past perfect or simple past.
So far, so good?
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What about:
"What joy! I've never experienced such joy before" - is the present perfect ok here? I think so, because I might experience that kind of joy again.
"I have constant headaches. This has never happened before" (Again I think it's ok -- I may experience them again).
Did I get this right?
Top answer
Yes, both sentences are in the present perfect tense.
- Yes, both sentences are in the present perfect tense.
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I've never experienced such joy before. = I have never experienced such joy before. ("have" is simple present tense; "experienced" is past participle. That's why the sentence is in the present perfect tense.)
This has never happened before. ("has" is simple present tense; "happened" is past participle. Hence, the sentence is in the present perfect tense.)
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