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".
38 questions
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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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past simple vs past perfect [duplicate]
My question might seem to be stupid enough, it's basic grammar, I believe; however, I'm at my wits' end. Should we use Past perfect or Past Simple in the following sentence:
He promised/ had ...
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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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"they had renovated" vs "had been renovating"
How can I understand the sentence 1b?
1 a When I last went to Moscow, they had renovated St Basil's Cathedral.
b When I last went to Moscow, they had been renovating St Basil's Cathedral
The ...
user398042
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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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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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Usage of 'future perfect' versus 'future simple'
I have a question about the usage of the future perfect thingy: I know that it is used to talk about a completed action before a time in future, but is it wrong to use just plain future simple in this ...
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Present Perfect with the word "ago"?
First, I check that my native language is not English, and the problem described below met on one of the exams.
With this sentence:
"The most important news is that my parents [...] a new ...
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Adverbs + Present Perfect
Here's my problem:
I've been confused about the placement of adverbs in present/past perfect phrases. For example, which sentence would sound better:
"We had been slowly drifting down the river ...
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"I've gotten better-looking as I get older" When did "gotten" re-enter the BrEng vernacular?
This summer I went to Ireland, to be more precise Dublin. Overall good weather and good fun. Anyway, while I was staying in Dublin I'd buy the local newspaper and one tabloid headline caught my eye.
...
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Should “If I ever had a philosophy” be in the past perfect?
Excerpted from The Hills of Triumph:
If I ever had a philosophy with which to govern my social life, even long after learning that social is often at the detriment of personal, it would have been ...
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"I would like to have come" vs "I would have liked to come"
I wonder why it is correct to say:
I would like to have come but I was not informed.
Wouldn't it be better to say: I would have liked to come?
(I found many examples on Google).
Is there a ...
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What is the difference between has gone and went in this context? [duplicate]
A: Is Mr. Bob at home?
B: Sorry, he isn't at home. He___to Hong Kong for vacation?
A. went
B. has gone
C. is going
Which one is correct answer? and why it is not the other ones?
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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 the Progressive Form of Be for a State of the Mind and Lately in Present Continuous
Firstly, is the following sentence correct?
My brother is being unusually nervous lately.
If correct, how is being nervous behavior? We usually use the progressive of be to describe a behavior or ...
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Simple Past and Present Perfect [closed]
could you possibly enlighten me about any differences between 2 sentences below:
(a) I went to Warsaw this year.
(b) I have been to Warsaw this year.
Thank you very much in advance!
user5323
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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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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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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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What's with the passive present perfect progressive? [duplicate]
I was taught that we made passive voice using be + the participle of the main verb, without changing the verb tense. E.g.,
I send letters. (present simple)
Letters are sent. (present simple ...
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Is there a better term for "perfect infinitive", "perfect participle" or "perfect gerund"?
BACKGROUND
There are grammar terms such as 'present perfect' and 'past perfect' as in:
She has learned English for 10 years. [present perfect]
She had learned English when she was little. [past ...
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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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"We are finished" vs. "We have finished"
Is "we are finished" grammatically correct? I thought it would be more correct to say "We have finished".
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What tense should I use for describing an ongoing action which has started a long time ago? [closed]
Suppose I started working on a project several years ago and right now I'm still working on the same project. If I want to express this to someone else what tense should I use? The statement should ...
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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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Why is 'have' English's main perfect auxiliary?
The Wikipedia page for the perfect aspect says the following regarding the origin of the verb 'have' as the English auxiliary for the the aspect:
The have-perfect developed from a construction ...
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A perfect use of a past participle without the auxiliary verb "have"
An article titled "Hulk Hogan lawyer tells SN: Gawker sex tape a 'massive' invasion of wrestler's privacy" has this:
Hogan's $100 million lawsuit against Gawker for posting a private video ...
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"hadn't have killed" vs "hadn't killed"
Can someone help?
"Dave killed Peter."
Dave asked Susan, "why was Peter here?"
Susan said, "Maybe he would have told you if you hadn't have killed him."
Would there have been any difference if she ...
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What are the differences between "May" & "Might" / "May have" & "Might have" in strict English?
The more I learn about Modals, the more confused I get. English Modals are very unstructured or adhere to a rigorous structure & that makes foreigners hard to understand them.
According to ...
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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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The continuative and non-continuative readings of the perfect form (have + past participle)
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 141) has this section:
Here, Tr is the time referred to (by the verb or verb group, e.g., have told, have been, told, was), and To is the time of ...
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Present Perfect for the past? [duplicate]
I've come across the - more or less - following sentence in a book (American publisher):
"They have done it in the past"
I've always thought that "PAST" and "PRESENT PERFECT" can't go together. The ...
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"He is said to have known people" vs "He is said to know people"? [closed]
I came aross a question like this：
As a public relations officer, he is said ________ some very influential people.
to know
to have known
There are two available answers to this ques...
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*Why* is "I've been to <place>" grammatically valid only in perfect constructions?
While riding my bike this morning, my mind was wandering. All of a sudden I realized that the phrase "I've been to (place)" is very strange because if you change the aspect of the verb, it ...
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'could have + past participle' to talk about possible events in the future
BACKGROUND
In this earlier thread, Edwin Ashworth approved a use of 'could have + past participle' for the future event that was precluded by context as in:
(1) Mary could have arrived tomorrow, had ...
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Should there be the Past Perfect? “He advised me to do as he said but I didn't pay any…” [closed]
Where is the error in the following line?
He advised me to do as he said but I didn't pay any attention to his advice.
I am confused what is the error here or even error been there or not?
As far ...
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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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He is the only/first player who has won GS twice
He is the only player who has won GS twice.
He is the first player who has won GS twice.
Are both sentences grammatically valid? If the tennis player is still active, can I use the present ...
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