"Recently"
How long is recently?
I know that present perfect can use with recently. All people are talking recent past action by using present perfect but how long it is I did not find the exact time. Please guide me. I want to know estimated time.
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How short is a short piece of string?– Michael HarveyCommented Apr 24 at 7:42
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1Don't forget to leave a space after a full stop (period)!– Kate BuntingCommented Apr 24 at 8:08
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So, it depends on myself how long it is. Thank you sir @Michael Harvey– ThamilayCommented Apr 24 at 8:13
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1It's relative to a time-scale, either explicitly stated or widely understood. For geologists, the Holocene (meaning “entirely recent”) period began at the end of the last ice age, 11,700 years ago. I have not seen my friend John recently; the last time was two years ago. It is 10 AM; I had a cup of tea recently, at 9.25 AM.– Michael HarveyCommented Apr 24 at 8:26
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1It's not really correct to say that present perfect is for things that have happened recently. Present perfect is used for past events that have some relevance to the present. If someone asks if you are familiar with a particular author, you might say, "I love her! I have read all of her books!" That says nothing about whether you read those books recently or not, just that the fact that you have read them is relevant to the present discussion.– Canadian YankeeCommented Apr 25 at 15:30
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1 Answer
Everyone tells me that I have to refer to a recent past action using the present perfect.
The meaning of recent depends on the time-scale. Recent history could mean the history of the last twenty or thirty years. A recent action for which you use the past perfect could be a few hours or a few minutes ago. For instance, you would only say "I have had breakfast" during the same morning - until the time you would expect to have the next meal of the day.
answered Apr 24 at 8:15
