SEMINAR 8 -- THE PRESENT PERFECT, THE PAST PERFECT THE PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE ( have / has + -ed / past participle) - always suggests a relationship between present and past - time reference is often undefined -- we don't say when st happened but if it happened (or not!) -- and therefore has some present results!! ? e.g. I haven't seen him. (= I don't know if he is here.) I've lost my key. (= I don't have it.) I've cut my finger. (= It's bleeding.) She's broken her arm. (= It's in plaster.) They've sold the car. (= They don't have it any more.) Have you done your homework? (=Do you have it or not?) Often this tense is used with some typical expressions: - never - ever - so far - yet (in negatives) - yet (in questions) - recently / lately - just - since (1990) - for (2 months) - before now - up till now - in the last few days - for a long time - always - already (positive sent.) - already (in questions) - also expressions which refer to a period seen as unfinished -- today, this morning, this month, this week, etc. Compare: Past simple Present perfect (finished period -- nothing can change) (unfinished period -- things can still change) I didn't see him last week. I haven't seen him this week. I had two cups of coffee yesterday. I've had two cups of coffee today. We weren't on holiday last year. We haven't been on holiday this year. I wasn't at the cinema last month. I haven't been to the cinema this month. When did he arrive? Has he arrived yet? My grandfather never smoked. I have never smoked. (= I'm still alive) (He died in 1995.) Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays. x My aunt is a writer. She's written 3 books. I worked in Prague for two years, x I have worked / I've been working in then I moved to Brno. Brno for three months. (I'm still here.) The present perfect simple is also used in the following structure: It's / This is the first (second, third) time st has happened e.g. It's the first time I've driven a sports car. This is the third time Bill has phoned this evening. x ! But! It's two years since I last saw John. Tenses in conversation - the new information is expressed using the present perfect - the following sentences concerning further details are in the past simple e.g. A: I've burnt myself. A: Have you ever tried bungee jumping? B: How did you do that? B: Yes, I have. A: I picked up a hot dish. A: Really? When did you do that? / How did you feel? / Was it exciting? THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS 1) we say how long the activity is - it is unfinished -- it started at some moment in the past -- it is going on now -- and will probably continue e.g. How long have you been working on that? - Since 2 o'clock. How long have you been learning English? -- For 5 years. It's been raining since yesterday. She's been studying for her exams for 3 days. Have you been waiting long? 2) activity was happening for some time -- it is finished at the moment of speaking, but there is still some result of it at present e.g Your eyes are red. Have you been crying? You are out of breath. Have you been running? The kitchen is a mess! What have you been doing there? PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE V. CONTINUOUS: Activity Result The room stinks. He's been smoking here. He's smoked all my cigarettes. My hands are dirty. I've been repairing the car. I've repaired it. You can drive it. What have you been doing all those years? What have you done so far? She's tired. She's been typing letters all day. She's typed 10 letters so far. I've been saving for the new car for months. I've saved 10,000 so far. !! Careful about negative sentences: I haven't been waiting long. (= just two or three minutes.) X It hasn't rained since Monday. (not hasn't been raining!!) - it didn't happen at all. !!Some verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses -- know, like, believe, have, etc. e.g. We've known each other for 10 years. We've had this car since 2001. !! Live and work -- can be used both in continuous and simple tenses e.g. How long have you been living here? / How long have you lived here? How long have you been working here / How long have you worked here? !! Actions repeated over a long period - both the continuous and simple tenses are possible: e.g. I've been playing tennis / I've played tennis since I was a child. THE PAST PERFECT SIMPLE - is used to describe the order of events, i.e. which of two events happened first e.g. The patient died when the doctor arrived. The patient had died when the doctor arrived. - we are talking about the past- the past perfect is used to go back to an earlier past time e.g. When I returned from my holiday, I found out that someone had broken into my flat. No wonder her French was excellent -- she had lived in Paris since childhood. I realized we had met before. When the police arrived, the thieves had run away. When we bought it, the house had been empty for several years. I could see from his face that he had received bad news. He wasn't exactly a stranger -- I had met him before. - we do not need to use the past perfect: a) when we report the events in the same order as they happened e.g. I was tired when I came home, so I went to bed. b) when it is clear which event came first e.g. I rang the bell but nobody answered the door. I got out of the taxi, paid the fare and went to the station. !But sometimes we need to be very precise, particularly with `when': Compare: 1. When I came, John left. 2. When I came, John had left. 3. When Peter arrived, his wife made dinner. 4. When Peter arrived, his wife had made dinner. With the conjunctions after and before it is possible to use the past perfect -- if we want to stress that something finished and only then something else happened; but we can also use the past simple because the conjunctions clearly state what came first (esp. in AmE) e.g. She (had) cleaned all the flat before the guests arrived. She phoned him after she (had) finished her work. !!!Notice the use of the present perfect and past perfect: e.g. Juliet is excited. She has never been to a dance before. Juliet was excited. She had never been to a dance before. THE PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE - we emphasize that the action or situation was in progress up to some past moment. e.g. When she arrived I had been waiting for three hours. Compare: e.g. She is tired. She's been typing letters all day. She was tired. She had been typing letters all day. Her eyes are red. She's been crying. Her eyes were red. She had been crying.