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Andrei Sebastian Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

The usage of present perfect's "FOR" in the past

Hi! It's the first time I have ever opened a subject here, so I'm really hoping I won't do anything wrong.

I'm not a native English speaker, but still, I love English and I do hundreds of efforts everyday to get my aknowledge level higher and higher.

My today's question is about the usage of the present perfect simple's signal word "for" when used in the past. I'm used to adding past perfect's "had" before present perfect simple signal words when I talk about something which happened in the past. "I had already/I hadn't....yet" etc.

But I've heard that "for" can only be used with pp's "had" if it has happened before something else. Couldn't I say "I had walked for 5 minutes", without adding any other action which has happened afterwards?

I know it might sound weird, but I've got my own way of learning English, which is not really usual.

I really hope you've got the idea about what I want you guys to explain me, have a great day!

  

Top answer

Hello Andrei, and welcome. Your question is difficult to follow. The present perfect and past perfect are not the same.

— Teechr

  • Hello Andrei, and welcome.
  • Your question is difficult to follow.
  • The present perfect and past perfect are not the same.
  • Before we get into the use of "for" with those tenses, do you actually know the difference between them?
  • Specifically, do you know when we typically use the past perfect?
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2 Answers
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Hello Andrei, and welcome.

Your question is difficult to follow. The present perfect and past perfect are not the same.

Before we get into the use of "for" with those tenses, do you actually know the difference between them? Specifically, do you know when we typically use the past perfect?

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Andrei SebastianCouldn't I say "I had walked for 5 minutes", without adding any other action which has happened afterwards?

In fact, it's a bit more usual to say "I had been walking for five minutes", but this doesn't fundamentally affect your question about past perfect. "I had been walking for five minutes" means five minutes leading up to some point or e

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