Hello teachers,
I’ve been trying to give myself a very general definition for the present perfect, though I’m not trying to square the circle.
Would this one be appropriate in general terms? Would there be another one in general terms?
The present perfect has a few different uses, but basically it is used:
a) For actions or situations that happened at an unspecified time in the past.
Will this one be better?
a) For actions or situations that happened at an unspecified time in the past that have some reference in the present.
b) For actions or situations that started in the past and continue in the present.
I’m also asking myself if the ‘b’ definition is only for the present perfect progressive, since this tense most often describes actions that began in the past and continue into the present with the prepositions ‘since’ and ‘for’. Consequently If I want to include time reference I have to use the Present Perfect continuos Tense.
If that was so, then only ‘a’ should be appropriate as a general definition for the present perfect. Am I right about my assumptions?
I was taught that the present perfect refers to something that started in the past and “still touches the present.”
a. My parents brought our family to Los Angeles in the 1940’s.
So: I HAVE LIVED in the City of the Angels [Believe me! Not everyone here is an angel!] since the 1940’s / for more than 60 years.
SOME books claim that the present perfect usually refers to something rather permanent; the present perfect progressive, they claim, seems to refer to a more temporary situation:
University student from (the) Ukraine at an American university:
I like L.A. a lot. Of course, I HAVE BEEN LIVING here for only six months, so I do not know that much about this city.
University student from Syria: I know what you mean. I HAVE BEEN LIVING here for only three months, so I know even less than you do.
The Ukrainian: I hope to graduate in four years and then return home.
The Syrian: Me, too.
The Ukrainian: Oh, by the way, do you see that ugly old man sitting on that bench?
The Syrian: Yes, I do.
The Ukrainian: If you have any questions about L.A., you can ask him. He HAS LIVED here for about 60 years.