Questions tagged [perfect-aspect]
For questions about the perfect, a construction generally formed in English with a form of "have" followed by a past participle. The English perfect may be classified either as a grammatical "aspect" or "tense".
281 questions
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Dare + have done
Here is an example from an old book. I know it’s old but it can’t be simply discarded, I hope.
"I never dare have spoken — never dare have told you that my love for you was killing me"
So, I ...
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Can we use past perfect progressive in the context where present tense is predominantly used?
As I understand, past perfect is used to express an action that had happened before something else in the past. But in the paragraph I came across, there appeared past perfect progressive in the ...
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Present perfect continuous
Are the answers I chose correct. My choices are in bold.
I have been pumping/I have pumped up three tyres. Would you like to do the forth?
I have been greasing/I have greased my car. That's why my ...
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Simple past sounds better but past perfect seems more accurate
I think it's grammatically more accurate to say,"The market was closed after a virus had been found." However, it sounds "better" to say,"The market was closed after a virus was found." Grammatically, ...
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Present perfect continuous
How are we to understand whether present perfect progressive implies that the action is still in progress, versus implying it has stopped just now or recently?
In simple sentences like these two,
•...
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A grammar rule (Present perfect)
Is this rule correct?
when 'for' and 'since' are used in a sentence(in present perfect tense) to show duration of an action they imply that the action is still in progress. Without the 'for', the ...
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Using Past Perfect after an event
While reading a book, I came across some sentences that used past-perfect "after" an event had taken place. Actually, I've seen many books do this, so this must be the grammatically correct way, but I'...
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Can I use the 3rd conditional that way? [closed]
Is the sentence given below grammatically correct?
Had you born two days later and it would have been difficult to celebrate your birthdays.
Is it the only option to use the third conditional to ...
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Why present perfect in “When the night has come”?
In the song “Stand by Me”, we see a sentence like “when the night has come.”
I was taught that in a when clause, we use the past tense, yet the present perfect has been used in the sentence cited ...
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Present and past perfect dilemma
This sentence is giving me trouble:
For several days I (have/had) not had the chance to see her until a
few hours ago.
I think had is correct because the time reference is a few hours ago, which ...
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Present perfect or simple past [duplicate]
Why is it better to use simple past than present perfect in the first six sentences?
1.Did you win the game of chess?
2.Did you see Ann?
3.Did you call Jane?
4.When did you join the company?
5.Did ...
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"Would remain" vs. "would have remained"
What's the difference in meaning between the following two sentences?
He thought that he would remain young.
He thought that he would have remained young.
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Difference in meaning: "would have had to be" vs "would have had to have been"
Being a non native speaker, I cannot spot the difference here:
He would have had to have been there.
He would have had to be there.
The only thing that comes to my mind is that in the first case, ...
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Can the Future Perfect be used in a main clause of a conditional sentence that has a stative/non-action verb in the if-clause?
A student asked me this question today about a sentence like:
(1) If Canada's population is 40 million, the Canadian economy will have been more dynamic.
I was asked if it corresponded, in a future ...
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could versus be able
Let me start by saying what is written in grammar books on this issue and after that I will put my question. (Take heed that this usage of "could" ONLY refers to the past and ONLY to affirmative ...
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"has"+perfect in reported speech of the future
(1) I will jump out from behind the couch. Then I will tell him: "I have been in the room all along."
(2) I will pronounce him dead. Then I will tell him: "You have been pronounced dead....
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Meaning and sentence structure of "Why would we have thought otherwise?"
Here is a snippet from an article on CNN
And of course the fiscal cliff turned out to be a dud. Why would we have thought otherwise? It somehow makes perfect sense that Washington created its own ...
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He has just been offered or he was offered
What are the differences in meaning between these two sentences:
He was just offered a well-paid job with Radio Four. (Past Simple Passive)
He has just been offered a well-paid job with Radio ...
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Present perfect used in the negative
For the following sentence:
I haven't been there in a long time.
I want to know if the above sentence conveys any connection with time up to now. How can I correct this sentence it if it is ...
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Use of “had said” in the “The Archers”
In the BBC radio drama The Archers, the following conversation takes place:
A: David, you are not going to say what you saw. You love your family, right?
David: What?
A: ...
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What to use for hypothetically completed future actions
I was talking to a friend where I had to make a hypothetical statement about an activity that was completed in the future. So I came up with the following statements.
If he continued college, he ...
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Tense for second sentence in conditional statements
I run into the following sitatution:
If he had bothered Mike, he would have bothered him back so much that he would have forgotten about bothering anyone in his life again.
Is 'would have' the ...
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Present perfect or past perfect with "yesterday"?
I have marked those books yesterday.
I had marked those books yesterday.
Which sentence is correct?
I know that:
The present perfect is used when an action begins in the past and continues into ...
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Past/Present tense in a conditional statement
I'm not an English speaker. Even though I do understand conditional statements that are written by others but when it comes to my turn I still feel confused and don't really know how to organize it.
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"Be able to," "can" in reduced relative pronouns
I am trying to remember whether the sentences below are correct:
I don't know this guy being able to complete this task.
I don't know this guy can complete this task.
I think the first one is ...
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Can the present perfect continuous construct be used in passive voice?
Can the passive voice be used for sentences in the present perfect continuous?
I understand the present perfect and its passive voice (have/has built, has been built). However, the passive voice of ...
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What is the tense of "I would have been happy to..."?
I would have been happy to let you use the money, if you would give me a date to leave.
Is this a past present tense? I need to explain this statement I made, correctly.
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How to correctly use the present perfect tense
This link states that:
When you use the present perfect tense you have to be talking about a period of time that you still consider to be going on. For example, if it’s still morning, you can say, &...
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Speculative conditional: Why does it use the past tense or past perfect tense?
We use simple past to state a hypothetical present situation that we would like to speculate about (If they were here, I would be happy), past perfect for a hypothetical past (had they been here, I ...
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How to use "have been —ing"
I know the present perfect continuous is used for activity which has stopped recently or now. When it combines with for, since, or how long an activity is done, it means the activity is still ...
user6812
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When is it necessary to use "have had"?
I have come across a few sentences that contain "have had". I would like to know in what kind of situations we should use this combination.
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