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Zil Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The present perfect and current relevance
I may have sent a similar post under Anomynous, but can’t find it lately. So this time I’ve signed up my account and send the question again. Here it goes.
I’ve always had problem with the present perfect tense. It’s funny I am using it right now. But Whenever using it, I always have doubts about using it correctly. I may just type down all I have in mind.
1. Correct me if I’m wrong, I think the present perfect tense has two usages, “relevance with the current situation” and “continuity of a past action to the present”. My main problem is the “current relevance”.
1.1“Relevance”
Relevance could mean many things. For example, a past action explains the current situation; the effect of a past action still holds today. Some people think these two are the same, but you know what I mean...Can I just perceive the “current relevance” as “general relevance” without specifying what is the relevance every time I use the present perfect tense?
1.2 “Current situation in journalist reports”
Initially, I think of “current situation” as very general. As long as a past action is relevant to the present, I could use the present perfect without being specific about the current situation(i.e. the present context). Journalists often use present perfect to mention events and describe them in the simple past. I would say such usage is just because the news has some general social relevance. But having read some CalifJim (great teacher, btw) posts, I find that CJ has specified the current situation in some of the news reports. I mean it is totally reasonable to have specific situations in our daily conversations when we use the present perfect, like the classic “I’ve broken my leg” could be relevant to a context of not showing up for football practice, or showing up in the hospital. Therefore, I’d like to know if journalists are really having specific current situations in mind when they use the present perfect tense.
I’ve always had problem with the present perfect tense. It’s funny I am using it right now. But Whenever using it, I always have doubts about using it correctly. I may just type down all I have in mind.
1. Correct me if I’m wrong, I think the present perfect tense has two usages, “relevance with the current situation” and “continuity of a past action to the present”. My main problem is the “current relevance”.
1.1“Relevance”
Relevance could mean many things. For example, a past action explains the current situation; the effect of a past action still holds today. Some people think these two are the same, but you know what I mean...Can I just perceive the “current relevance” as “general relevance” without specifying what is the relevance every time I use the present perfect tense?
1.2 “Current situation in journalist reports”
Initially, I think of “current situation” as very general. As long as a past action is relevant to the present, I could use the present perfect without being specific about the current situation(i.e. the present context). Journalists often use present perfect to mention events and describe them in the simple past. I would say such usage is just because the news has some general social relevance. But having read some CalifJim (great teacher, btw) posts, I find that CJ has specified the current situation in some of the news reports. I mean it is totally reasonable to have specific situations in our daily conversations when we use the present perfect, like the classic “I’ve broken my leg” could be relevant to a context of not showing up for football practice, or showing up in the hospital. Therefore, I’d like to know if journalists are really having specific current situations in mind when they use the present perfect tense.
Top answer
I don't see the relevance of what you're saying to the present perfect tense. " This has nothing to do with relevance with the current situation or continuity of a past action in the present. The speaker is simply informing the listener that he has a broken leg, which he broke quite recently.
- I don't see the relevance of what you're saying to the present perfect tense.
- " This has nothing to do with relevance with the current situation or continuity of a past action in the present.
- The speaker is simply informing the listener that he has a broken leg, which he broke quite recently.
- As for the time frame, this can mean, for example, that the speaker has just fallen down and broken his leg, that is, the event occurred within the last minute.
- Or it can mean that the speaker broke his leg very recently, say, within the last few hours.
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1 Answers
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I don't see the relevance of what you're saying to the present perfect tense. Take, for example, the sentence, "I've broken my leg." This has nothing to do with relevance with the current situation or continuity of a past action in the present. The speaker is simply informing the listener that he has a broken leg, which he broke quite recently.
As for the time frame, this can mean, f
As for the time frame, this can mean, f
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