Two questions

Question

1. Why is "He bought something" a correct sentence? cause I have learned that if there is no time-indicator in the sentence that it as to be "He has bought something".

2. What is the difference between

- He has worked here for 10 years
- He has been working here for 10 years

Thanks in advance!

Kooyeen · Accepted Answer

Hi, and welcome to EnglishForward.

You seem to be interested in the difference between the past simple and the present perfect. You might want to try our search function, which is in the top right corner (Search). There are several threads about this... In fact, it's possibly the most asked question!

He has bought something yesterday. You probably learned that this is not a good sentence, and you should say "He bought something yesterday". But if there is no reference to the past, you can use either the present perfect, or the simple past, it depends. See the following example.
He has bought something. He bought something. These are both correct. If you are thinking of something that happened in the past, no matter if a few minutes ago or years ago, you should tend to use the simple past, "he bought". If you are thinking of something that happened in a time window that starts some time back in the past and ends "now", and you don't want to just think of that event as an isolated event, but you want to emphasize it's somehow related to the present situation (="now"), then you should tend to use the present perfect, "he has bought".

Sometimes both are possible, because you might prefer one instead of the other depending on what you have in mind and what you want to emphasize. Sometimes there is not much difference.

I know it's a tough topic, but don't give up!

Yankee · Answer

Hi Goofie and welcome to EnglishForward!

Goofie1. Why is "He bought something" a correct sentence? cause I have learned that if there is no time-indicator in the sentence that it as to be "He has bought something".

The rule you have learned is incorrect. There does not have to be a specific time reference in a sentence in order to use the simple past tense. A time reference often exists in the broader context, for example.

Goofie2. What is the difference between
- He has worked here for 10 years
- He has been working here for 10 years

There is basically no difference in meaning in those two sentences. The continuous form mainly adds a little bit to the sense of duration.

Goofie · Answer

Both thanks for the fast reaction!
Great forum!

Tanit · Answer

Hi K.,

KooyeenYou seem to be interested in the difference between the past simple and the simple past.

I'm extremely interested myself.

Kooyeen · Answer

Tanit
KooyeenYou seem to be interested in the difference between the past simple and the simple past.
I'm extremely interested myself.

LOL! What a... typo? Nah, that's neither a mistake nor a typo! It seems something much more serious!

Should I worry?
I corrected it, thanks.

Tanit · Answer

KooyeenShould I worry?

Nahhh...

... not yet, I mean!

(PS: welcome!)

CalifJim · Answer

GoofieWhy is "He bought something" a correct sentence? cause I have learned that if there is no time-indicator in the sentence that it as to be "He has bought something".

You have it backwards!

If thereis a time indicator you cannot use the present perfect!
*He has bought something last Monday would be incorrect.

GoofieWhat is the difference between
- He has worked here for 10 years
- He has been working here for 10 years

For the verbs "work" and "live" there is no real difference. Use whichever you like.
The only difference that I notice is that if you're going to use has been working it has to be a case where he is still working there. If you use has worked, it can mean he is still working there (same as for has been working) or not, as long as he once worked there.
Generally, either one or the other is used somewhat indifferently if he is still working there, but if he isn't still working there, only has worked will do, and that situation is a bit special -- a little like something on a resume. For example, if he worked at ABC for 10 years, but the whole 10 years was 20 years ago, you can say that he has worked at ABC (and you probably wouldn't add for 10 years), but not that he has been working at ABC.
CJ

Two questions

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions