Questions tagged [perfect-aspect]

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Adjectival participles and perfect

I read a wonderful article on this resource about the Perfect construction - Canonical Post #2: What is the perfect, and how should I use it? - and came across this part: Adjectival participles The ...
Rodrigo's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
5k views

I ___(to read) your book. It's fantastic. I'll finish it tonight

I have passed the English grammar test. I'm B1 and can't complain about that. But I have a major questions about verb tenses anyway. I ______ your book. It's fantastic. I'll finish it tonight. have ...
Phaenomenon Sanctus's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
43 views

Tense in the subordinate clause when the main clause in the present perfect tense

Which tense should I use in the subordinate clause when the main clause in the present perfect tense. I'm thinking about this particular scenario: "I've seen a great nation fell." versus &...
Uneau's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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"To be" VS "to have been" ( the impersonal passive)

Is there any difference between (1) and (2)? (1) Almodovar's film was considered to be the most innovative. (2) Almodovar's film was considered to have been the most innovative. (1): means that the ...
Meriem AISSAOUI's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
132 views

I am walking VS I have been walking

I am walking. I have been walking. I know those sentences have the same meaning. But under what context is it better to use one rather than the other? Maybe below. I am walking for more than 2 hours....
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When do we use haven't had, hadn't had, and didn't have?

For example: I haven't had my breakfast. I hadn't had my breakfast. I didn't have my breakfast. Could you clarify if the abovementioned sentences are grammatically correct, and if yes, then what are ...
Nandita Sen's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
37 views

Are these sentences in the past perfect & present perfect tenses grammatically correct?

Past Perfect Last week our teacher gave back the essays we had written the week before. The house was quiet when Andrew got home. Everyone had gone to bed several hours earlier. Annie didn't want to ...
Serg's user avatar
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0 answers
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how to decide between simple past and past perfect?

The question is to find error if there is one. The current economic scenario (a)/ could possibly undo (b)/ the growth that followed (c)/ the economic liberalization of 1991. (d)/ No error (e) I am ...
Rishiraj Chauhan's user avatar
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1 answer
18 views

What is the appropriate use of the modal 'Could' in this example?

(Question moved from English Language & Usage.) I was writing a passage of dialogue wherein one of the characters reflects on their ability to not do something in the past. See a similar example ...
MJ Ada's user avatar
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1 answer
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Can stative verbs be completed?

Action(dinamic) verbs are presented in 2 different forms: The progressive which means that the action is not completed(finished) and the perfect which means that the action is completed. Action verbs ...
Help Me911's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
118 views

What is the difference in meaning between "I want to do something" and "I want to have done something"?

In the 12th episode of the 2nd season of Suits one of the characters said the following. I want to have talked to everyone of my clients by the end of the day. That's the first time I've seen the ...
Dmytro O'Hope's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Verbs in the simple present vs. perfect present

Please help me and tell me, which one of these sentences should I use? Until they have prepared our room, we will wait in the hotel lobby. Until they prepare our room, we will wait in the hotel lobby....
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0 votes
1 answer
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Has been raining vs Had been raining

This question came in the Dhaka University admission exam 2002-03 Q) It ____ raining since morning (a) is (b) was (c) has been (d) had been My question bank says that the answer is (c). An alternative ...
tryingtobeastoic's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
43 views

The United Kingdom had its coldest April night since 2018

Normally, you'd need the present perfect (or the past perfect) when accompanied by since, as in: The United Kingdom has had more than 1 million diagnosed cases of the coronavirus since the start of ...
listeneva's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
183 views

Telling about recent actions in modern English

Let’s suppose that a few days ago your friend recommended a certain book to you, so later on you took went out and bought that book for yourself. How would you normally relate the foregoing sequence ...
Pyotr Sobolev's user avatar
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1 answer
27 views

Which Perfect aspect should be used: "I’ve read / been reading this page three times already…”? [closed]

I’ve been reading this page three times already, but I still don’t understand it. Or I’ve read this page three times already, but I still don’t understand it. Is the action in progress or is it ...
Yevara Saleya's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
31 views

Is it correct: I had been staying , in my situation?

Is this correct: I had been staying in the Emergency Department for three days until the doctors could identify the missing diagnosis. where "staying" is used together with another action ...
Costas's user avatar
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1 answer
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I was building it, but I didn't build it

Many natives told me that simple past always tells about completion, so I've been wondering how to speak about actions that you were doing at a specific time in the past, but in the end didn't finish. ...
IlyaTretyakov's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
50 views

Past perfect without Past tense

As a technology visionary, Elon Musk has created cars that have challenged the conventional automobile industry and rockets that have saved space transportation costs. Is this sentence correct? It ...
Arvind's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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A: What did you do yesterday?

Please help me out, what extra words are needed to convey the incomplete nature of the actions? A: What did you do yesterday? B: I read books. I wrote my book. I built the wooden ship (which you had ...
IlyaTretyakov's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
140 views

What is the difference between "blame someone for doing something" and "blame someone for having done something"?

Could you tell me what is the difference in meaning between blame someone for doing something and blame someone for having done something? For example: Kate blames Jack for ruining the cake. Kate ...
Dmytro O'Hope's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
32 views

Continuous aspect for something happening again and again. What nuances does the aspect add to the meaning of sentence?

About continuous aspect in this site British council>Continuous aspect, they say that continuous aspect can be used to describe something happening again and again. I don't really understand the ...
Ssupermeo's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
107 views

Present Perfect vs Past Simple. Which one is correct?

I was watching a movie yesterday and came across a dialogue: "What is this?" "It's the technology I developed" Is the word "developed" here used in the right tense? ...
Savva Pavlenko's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
200 views

Answers from quiz, why this answer is correct in particular?

First answer: ✅ Have you always been living in a big city?(ʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀ) ❌ Have you always lived in a big city? (ᴡʀᴏɴɢ ᴀɴꜱᴡᴇʀ) Second answer: ✅ By the end of August they’ll have been working on ...
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0 votes
1 answer
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Do I use "I" and "I have" for skills I gained and still possess?

When discussing skills I gained from a past job but still possess, do I use "I" or "I have?" In my work as a Communication Specialist, I/I have developed communication and ...
AL B's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
75 views

Shift back tense in reported speech

I have a situation as below: A: Who read my diary? B: I didn't read it A: It is only you who read it. B: I told you I didn't read it/ I told you I hadn't had read it. Is that both sentences are ...
LE HANH's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
20 views

Why not using present perfect tense when it comes to since?

"Aduhelm is the first novel therapy approved for Alzheimer’s disease since 2003." On June 7th America's food and Drug adminstration approved the first drug since 2003 to treat Alzheimer's ...
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0 votes
0 answers
82 views

Conditionals and past perfect continuous

I have a question about the third conditional and past perfect continuous. The form of the third conditional is: If+past perfect,...... would+have+past participle Is it possible to use past perfect ...
Amineln's user avatar
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0 answers
34 views

Is it possible to use “next” between subject and verb?

When we next see Alex and Max, who are presently parents of two children, they will have had a new baby in their family. Source: English Grammar Digest by Trudy Aronson. I know Only a few adverbs of ...
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0 votes
0 answers
30 views

State-change verbs are mostly in perfect tense?

I know one of the uses of the perfect tense is to describe an action from the past that influences the present. Then I would expect most of state change (changed, grew, transformed, moved) verbs to be ...
Elad Benda's user avatar
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1 answer
50 views

"would like to have Vpp" or "would have liked to V"

Suppose you were reading a dictionary that wasn't available when you were a student. Which of the following forms would you use? This dictionary is excellent. I would like to have had a copy when I ...
Apollyon's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
490 views

- Have you already finished your essay? - No, I will ___ it by this Thursday

In an online placement test that is, frankly, not the best of the best, this sentence is provided with a gap to be filled: Have you already finished your essay? - No, I will ___ it by this Thursday ...
R.I.P.30.12.21Baskakov_Dmitriy's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
29 views

Based on "I would have stayed", did Edward stay or leave?

Normally, if I hear somebody say "I would have stayed", I would expect a "but" coming along stating the reason why instead the speaker did not stay. Or, I would expect subsequently ...
Jenny's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
52 views

The word "have" in different contexts

I have a rather unusual question about English for native speakers. Recently a friend of mine showed me a book to learn my native language (non-English obviously) and I saw a section about "...
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0 votes
1 answer
24 views

Present Perfect questions?

If we have sentences like (he is a teacher) can we make it in present perfect to be (he been a teacher)? If the answer no why?
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1 vote
2 answers
39 views

Is this sentence gramatically correct? Use of would have and had

Is this sentence correctly written? I would never have had the chance to become who i am if would not worked as hard as i did. Also, I'm a native Spanish speaker and i can't find the differences ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
28 views

Have arachnophobia or had arachnophobia?

I wrote this question: Why hadn’t you said to me that you have arachnophobia before we went there? Now I’m worried I should have used this version instead: Why hadn’t you said to me that you had ...
Ethan Blackthorn's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
29 views

"never did before" vs. "has never done before" [duplicate]

What is the difference between these two phrases: something he never did before something he has never done before
Victor Dubrovsky's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
53 views

present, past, passive and perfect participle usages

Which is correct grammatically? Beaten severely, he died immediately. [past participle] Having been beaten severely, he died immediately. [perfect participle) I would like to put my understanding of ...
RAVI VARMA's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
103 views

She hoped to have done [duplicate]

I saw a sentence She hoped to have done Or a sentence, created with the same structure. I don'tunderstand how it works. Then I saw a full version of it: She hoped that she had done So, it's like a ...
Michael Azarenko's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
22 views

Can I use the helping verb "had" instead of "has" in the Perfect Tense when talking about the present period of time?

When I talk about a period of time that hasn't finished yet (at the moment of speaking), can I use the helping verb "had" instead of "has" in the Perfect Tense? For example, should I still say: By ...
brilliant's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
40 views

Has vs had grammaticality for something that happened last week

In my English class, my professor posed the following question: Manuel (has / had) asked Pedro to help him fix his computer last week. He said the answer was has, but that seems present tense to ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
41 views

Using infinitive instead of perfect infinitive

Here I see below sentence: We hope to have finished the building works by the end of March My question is if I write this sentence using infinitive instead of the perfect infinitive then will it ...
hagrawal7777's user avatar
-1 votes
2 answers
4k views

"have liked"/"have been liking"/"had liked"/"had been liking"

I have liked you since childhood. I have been liking you since childhood. I had liked you since childhood. I had been liking you since childhood. What is the difference between the above sentences?
sajan kumar's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
144 views

"But the idea that someone might be arming the Seam would never have been allowed" — why "would have"?

From The Hunger Games: My bow is a rarity, crafted by my father along with a few others that I keep well hidden in the woods, carefully wrapped in waterproof covers. My father could have made good ...
athlonusm's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
241 views

Problems with perfect tenses

I have some problems with Present Perfect tenses. I often see in movies or in books where 2 characters are talking about situation that take place right now. When they see the result, instead of using ...
user331990's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
32 views

Grammar: Past perfect tense

If someone just told me about some celebrity I didn't know about all my life. would it be natural to express this in past perfect tense. For instance: Someone tells me about me about Mohammed Ali and ...
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0 votes
2 answers
38 views

Future Perfect continuous question

Wondering if it is correct to use Future Perfect continuous time in the sentence: "We will have been eating by 8pm tomorrow, so plz come at 9pm." Or it is better to us Future Perfect: "We will have ...
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0 votes
1 answer
70 views

Equivalents of Russian perfective/imperfective verbs

Which one of the sentences means "Ne ustanovili pravila", but don't "Ne ustanavlivali pravila"? They didn't set rules. or They didn't have to set rules. What is the difference? Which one makes ...
Грузчик's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
72 views

Does every present perfect sentence have some kind of connection between what happened in the past and the present time?

We use the present perfect tense to address something that happened in the past, but we don't specify precisely when it happened. We also use present perfect to suggest some kind of connection between ...
Shane's user avatar
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