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I have seen a plane.

Here, what is the meaning of the sentence above? I understand the basic meaning of 'have pp'. The sentence above means that I have just seen a plane? Or I have seen a plane before? Or both according to the context?

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  • This question has been answered many, many times on this site.
    – Lambie
    Commented Oct 28, 2019 at 15:58
  • Oh..I should have checked out first..anyway, feel very very grateful to get answers here
    – yoonjin kim
    Commented Oct 28, 2019 at 16:02

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A lot of the meaning comes from context - what this is in response to.

In isolation it seems a strange thing to say unprovoked, and might get a response of 'Well, who hasn't?'.

If it is in response to 'What have you seen through the window?' then it has your first meaning - 'just seen'. If it's in response to 'Hey- that's a plane! Did you know that?' then depending on intonation and emphasis it could be a sarcastic or patient reply in your second sense.

So yes, it could mean either depending on context.

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