Who can tell me when i have to use present perfect instead at past in english?

Question

I understood that i must use past when action done has no consequence in the present? i right?

as problably you are thinking , i'm french..

to kitty :
I have sent a email
i sent a email

Answer 1

Not really. I don't think you can make a hard and fast rule like that. After all, past actions ALWAYS have a consequence in the present. I "woke up" this morning, but it has a present consequence because I am still awake.

I think of the past perfect as being a simple statement that something has happened in the past and may still be happening in the present with no real reference to time, when it happened or how long it took. For example, comparing:

- "I walked to the store" (simple past) implies that I walked there, and it was over, and I was there.
- "I was walking to the store" (imperfect or past progressive) implies that I was in the middle of walking there when something else happened to interrupt that time.
- "I have walked to the store" (present perfect) has absolutely no reference to time, just saying that at some point in the past (which may include the time right now as I am walking into the store) I walked to the store.

These are not hard and fast rules, but I think they get across the flavor of it. An alternate way to think of it: the present perfect is really not a past tense, but a present one: you're not really talking about the past at all, in a sense, but rather you are effectively saying "I am currently in a situation where at some time in the past I walked to the store." That would be just as true if I walked there 3 years ago (maybe I learned the best route to get there, which I still take today) as if I am just walking into the store. In either case, I am currently in the situation or state of having walked there at some time in the past.

Does that help? Feel free to contact me directly for more grammar questions.

Answer 2

The sad fact is that I don't think anybody will be able to give you a 'correct' answer. English is a germanic language with some French influence. It is largely defined not by rules of grammar but by example; the King James bible, Shakespeare and the book of Common Prayer which were written in the vernacular. Latinists then tried to apply rules of Latin grammar and were only marginally successful. As a consequence there are usually several ways of saying the same thing or almost the same thing and all of them will be right but there will be subtile nuances between the different ways of saying it. And it is all learnt by feel rather than instruction. I have walked to M&S is a statement of fact I walked implies you might have run or cycled. I was walking implies that you are going to say abit more, maybe what happened while you were walking. Part of the problem is that English doesn't have tenses; that is a Latin concept.
The standard example is that , in English, it is grammatically incorrect to split an infinitive. You are not supposed to say
Ladies are requested to kindly remove their hats, because Latin verbs have an infinitive.and you clearly can't put an adverb in the middle of another word. English doesn't have an infinitive and the two words 'to remove' are a translation, not an infinitive and there is no reason not to put kindly in the middle. If you put it first it suggests a kindly request rather than a kindly removal and after remove it sounds ridiculous.

Answer 3

I understand your difficulty as it is not the same in English as it is in French. Nor, unfortunately, is it the same in British English as it is in American. Americans use the simple past in situations where the British use the present perfect. Being British I can only give you an idea of how it is in British English.

Often the past is used to refer to a specific moment in the past e.g. yesterday/last week/this morning, whereas the time is not important with the pp, it is the action which is important.
e.g. "Have you seen my keys? They were here this morning."
"Yes, I saw them then, but I haven't seen them since."
In the second part of the answer you see the relationship with the present.
This is quite a complex piece of grammar and you should get a good grammar book to study for yourself. Raymond Murphy has written a number of such books which you can find on Amazon or in any good language bookshop. Alternatively you can just speak American English and not worry about it.

Answer 4

You use the present perfect when:
1) The action or the result of the action is important and the time is not mentioned. " the price of petrol has gone up"

2) when you talk about actions as personal experiences. " I have met Julia Roberts"

3) when something started in the past but hasn't finished.
" I have lives in London all my life"

THE PAST WHEN:
You mention when or when the action is simply finished
" I bought a new car" ( last week)

Answer 5

okay.
Firstly you say 'I understand' not 'I understood.'
and you say 'Am i right'
not 'i right'.
I'm not being funny, I'm just correcting your errors so you don't make the same mistake!

The present tense is the tense (that is, the form of the verb) that may be used to express:

-action at the present time;
-a state of being;
-a habitual action;
-an occurrence in the near future; or
-an action that occurred in the past and continues up to the present.

And yes, the past tense is a verb tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past. For example: 'Yesterday I played tennis'

Present tense: I am playing tennis

Future tense: I will play tennis.

Answer 6

You use the Present perfect to link the past with the present.*

Subject + verb (to have) plus verb in the participle. (Third column in the irregular verb list).

Example

I have driven a Ferrari for 8 years.

I have driven a Ferrari since 1999.

J'ai commencé en 1999 et je le fais toujours.

The present perfect is used to talk about experiences, trends, and actions where the time is not important.

Experience, Have you ever been to France?

Je ne sais pas si vous avez été en France, peut etre pas, mais ça pourrait changer dans l'avenir.

Trend, Unemployment has been rising steadily.

Le chomage etant un tendance toujours en cours.

Action, Hey Dad, I've done my homework.

L'action est terminé mais le notion du temps précis est sans importance.

Answer 7

The past simple is used:

1. for completed actions/events wholly in the past
example: "We bought this house 10 years ago."

OR

2. for past habit
example: "We always ate Chinese food on Friday when we were young."

The present perfect is used in three main ways:

1. for past experience
example: "I have been to Japan."
(no time mentioned; just sometime in the past)

OR

2. for recent news
example: "The government have banned smoking." (It is now banned.)

OR

3. to talk about something which began in the past but either continues in the present or has a relevance/result in the present
examples: "I have lived in London for 5 years." (And I still live there.)
"I've told him." (He now knows.)

You may find 'Oxford Practice Grammar' or 'How English Works' (Swan & Walter) useful. Or any other grammar reference book.

Answer 8

you do no longer choose the have interior the 1st sentence. it is going to likely be "guess what? I gained million funds!" "I by no skill theory it might ensue to you!" is the better expression considering which you assert which you probably did no longer think of that prevailing a million funds become attainable for Amy. a million. the instructor is solid by way of fact she continues to be 'seeing' you whilst she is saying the fact, as a effect it fairly is modern-day stressful. 2. "i've got by no skill been to this captivating place in the previous." is solid even though it is no longer a query, so it does not have a "?" on the top. you're literally saying you what by no skill been to Japan in the previous. 'captivating' is the adjective used to describe it. 'have been' is previous non-end, so it fairly is misguided considering which you will possibly then be saying which you decrease your finger and are nonetheless interior the action of reducing your finger. you will possibly say "I decrease my finger" for modern-day stressful, or whether it fairly is previous stressful you will possibly say "I had decrease my finger before." the two way you will possibly additionally say "i'm bleeding" considering which you're nonetheless bleeding interior the present. "the place did you pass?" and "the place have you ever been?" will the two get you the comparable reaction. i choose to propose "the place have you ever been?" seeing it fairly is looking the place somebody become in the previous being with you. you mustn't basically say your sentence like that, it is going to likely be better defined. "I have been given a chilly before" might basically consult with the previous. you are able to upload "yet i don't have one no longer" or "and that i nonetheless have one" for the present. I recommend you seem greater into 'have' by way of fact i do no longer think of you completely understand the way it differences a sentence.

Answer 9

well, i dont really know what you mean, but every past action has a consequence in the present, so, i dont know what to tell you....maybe your question is about the -ing?? playing, running?? is that what you mean??....

Answer 10

I thought they were the same thing. Can you give a couple of sentences as an example please?