Questions tagged [perfect-constructions]
Perfect constructions employ a form of HAVE as an auxiliary and the past participle of a lexical verb to express past events as a current state.
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We had been dating
I have a friend practicing English. He asked this: "We had been dating for three years before we had married". And, "I have been studying English since I have met Sally":
Are these both usages right?
...
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1answer
60 views
Can present perfect be used for events occurred long time ago?
I had a discussion with my mate about the usage of present perfect tense, and he raised the point that it can only be used for recent past events. First off, it's illogical, because we can't agree ...
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1answer
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“He found the bicycle that he had lost yesterday.” Past perfect with yesterday?
He found the bicycle that he had lost yesterday.
Is this sentence correct? If so, which is the intended meaning:
He lost the bicycle yesterday and he found it after that.
He lost the bicycle ...
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1answer
122 views
Understanding “haven’t got very far” in this sentence
When I saw this sentence, there seems to be something weird to me. I got this sentence from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, entry number 17.
I haven't got very far with the book I'm reading.
'Got' ...
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1answer
34 views
When + Past Perfect
Does Past Perfect sound good here?
This sentence is from the book, but I am not sure why we need Past Perfect here. It would make more sense to use Past Simple there.
He must, he thought, have ...
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2answers
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What is the origin of perfect continous?
I know we use present perfect tense for past actions which have present effects. We use it for unfinished actions which started in the past and still continuing as well. I have observed that we use ...
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2answers
156 views
Correct error in perfect tense
I'm self-studying English and in an exercise I'm asked to correct the errors in perfect tense of a series of sentences. One of them is the following
Supposing they would have got married, wouldn't ...
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1answer
23 views
“Since they partnered up they have made a lot of money”
Since they partnered up they have made a lot of money.
Or should it be
Since they had partnered up they have made a lot of money.
because first they partnered up and only then they have made a ...
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1answer
57 views
Present Perfect Tense with State Verbs
Can I use the Present Perfect SIMPLE with State Verbs like “Thought” and “Know”? Like, for example, “I’ve thought you were my friend” and “I’ve known she was nice.” Can I use it? If I can’t, why?
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Using present perfect continuous
One of the uses of present perfect continuous is:
One continuing event
We use the present perfect continuous for a single activity that began at a point in the past and is still continuing:
...
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1answer
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Past Perfect tense in “if clause” type 3
"If he had come here yesterday at 5 p.m., he might have seen his sister."
What does this sentence mean and which situation do I imagine with this sentence?
Do I imagine the situation that he came ...
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1answer
45 views
“If” Clause, Type 3, and Perfect Tense
"If he had come yesterday, he might have seen his sister."
This sentence implies he didn't come yesterday and didn't see his sister.
"If he has come YESTERDAY, he may have seen his sister."
İ ...
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1answer
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Which version of the word “dry” is suitable to question about the next step of instructions
Which one of these sentence is correct?
1) What do we need to do after we have dry our body?
2) What do we need to do after we have dried our body?
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26 views
Uncertain about future perfect
I'm trying to better acquaint myself with the future perfect tense, and I wanted to ask if the following sentence makes correct use of it:
I believe the pressure to impeach President Trump would ...
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2answers
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Tenses in English
Sandra finds her mobile phone very useful.
She uses it all the time
She has been using it all the time.
Which one is correct in the second sentence? Please tell me!
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1answer
38 views
“be in love” vs. “fall in love” in a perfect construction
Which one is correct grammatically?
I've been in love with you ever since I saw you
I've fallen in love with you ever since I saw you
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1answer
44 views
Grammaticality and past perfect tense
Let's say there are two summers. Summer of 2012, summer of 2011. And summer of 2012 was bad time, whereas the summer of 2012 is the best summer I've had.
Now, if I put it this way.
"I knew that ...
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0answers
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I want to have come there by the evening
I am a little confused with Perfect infinitives:
I will have come there by the evening
It's an action which will have happened before some moment in the future . Our moment here is "the evening".
...
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0answers
23 views
Past perfect / present perfect
Which one is correct?
I had wet.
I had got wet.
I have wet.
I have got wet.
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1answer
170 views
What is the difference between “have interviewed” and “are interviewing” in this sentence?
Could you please explain the difference in meaning in the following sentences.
The detectives have interviewed two people this week.
The detectives are interviewing two people this week.
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0answers
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Replacement of “in” with “to”
Should I always replace "in" for "to" in Perfect Sentences after "to be" forms?
I have been TO America\TO the party
He said he had been TO America\TO the party
When she comes he will have been TO ...
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0answers
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What is better: I'm (I have been being) in the middle of it all my life [duplicate]
What is better:
I'm in the mainstream of it all my life.
OR
I have
been being in the mainstream of it all my life.
I want to emphasize that I am (or I have been being) in the center (in ...
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1answer
79 views
“Has someone smoked” vs. “Has someone been smoking”
If I come into a room full of smoke, should I ask:
A: "Has someone smoked here?"
or:
B: "Has someone been smoking here?"
I can literally see the smoke, but the person who was smoking has ...
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1answer
42 views
present simple + recently
Today I got into argument with my colleague about the answer of below question.
She claims both are possible but choice 2 is the better one saying that "economics is a branch of science and if we ...
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1answer
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Present perfect been/ gone: to or in?
Do we ask
Has he ever been to Germany?
OR
Has he ever gone to Germany?
OR
Has he ever been in Germany?
Negative:
He has never gone to Germany.
OR
He has never been in Germany.
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1answer
33 views
How to differentiate between got and receive
If I ask someone "have you got my email?", is it wrong? Or should I ask "have you received my email?"
Which one is gramatically correct, and other than this scenario, how do we differentiate these ...
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1answer
338 views
How can that be correct: “Have you ever been fishing”?
In a british movie, two students in a boarding school are sitting in a classroom environment and are talking about their school and teacher.
Student A: I wish the teacher would let us go fishing. ...
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8answers
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“My boss was furious with me and I have been fired” vs. “My boss was furious with me and I was fired”
I have a question and I hope you can help me. I've been learning English for many years but I'm still struggling with the difference between simple past and present perfect.
For example this sentence ...
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1answer
52 views
English studying tense
Accouncement:”BIKE RACE 9 a.m.-10 a.m”
Someone said:„At 8 a.m. the race hadn’t started”
Why someone used Past Perfect in this sentence?
Accouncement:”SKI JUMPING COMPETITION 11 a.m.-1 p.m.”
Someone ...
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1answer
45 views
Present perfect continuous for the verb to sign?
On the same exercise there is that sentence
He has been signing up for a historical tour to exactly these places
The reason of choosing the continuous form is that it is a temporary action.
But ...
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0answers
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Differences between “must have made”, “must have had made”, and “must have had”?
It must have made you cry!
If I am remembering it correctly I have read this sentence in a drama book once and it made me think about it(if it is grammatically correct) and about other ways on how ...
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2answers
142 views
Present Perfect and Present Continuous tenses in one sentence with only one subject
Are the tenses in this sentence correct:
We have placed order for required parts and waiting to get them.
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2answers
60 views
Do I have to use the perfect infitnitive
I was taught, that if we had some action which can hhapen before some moment in the future, I had to use Perfect. For example:
I will have done it by the morning.
Some days ago I had to say a ...
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1answer
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Perfect infinitive in the Future
Which is correct?:
I will have had enough time to come by Monday
I will have had enough time to have come by Monday
I will have enough time to have come by Monday
If all of them are ...
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3answers
2k views
Is “If he had come tomorrow, I would have gone.” grammatically correct
Is this sentence grammatically correct?
If he had come tomorrow, I would have gone.
I am trying to convey that
He will not come and I can't go. Does it convey the same meaning?
Can "If +had ...
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2answers
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Future perfect progressive tense with 'if'
I would just like to ask if the part of the sentence marked bold is correct.
My friend started her chemo yesterday and will be checked next month to know if she will have been responding well to ...
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1answer
161 views
When…+present perfect [closed]
Is
Susan does not live here,When I first came here three years ago, she has moved to another city.
Or
Susan does not live here,When I first came here three years ago, she had moved to another ...
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2answers
861 views
“Have never won” v/s “had never won”
In a book I found a sentence like this:
The 2010 FIFA World Cup culminated in an epic final with two teams
that have never won the World Cup.
I'm wondering why have never won is used instead of ...
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1answer
323 views
Passive infinitive + verb third form
Which kind of stretchers is it. Passive infinitive + verb third form. As it is written here (may have been decimated). May have been is passive infinitive and decimated is verb third form.
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1answer
58 views
Can WANT be used with PERFECT INFINITIVE to refer to the past?
It seems that "I want to have seen you when I was in USA" is not very correct. However, I can see the sentences like:
So I do feel some sympathy for him, some feeling toward him. I want him to have ...
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2answers
99 views
To be or to have been
The parcel appears to have been opened before it was delivered.
Could you let me know if it is possible to use 'to be opened' instead of 'to have been opened', and if not, why?
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votes
2answers
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Present perfect and since
I learned that present perfect is used with “since” when we talk about duration, something began in the past and continues to the present, with non continuous verbs, like:
I have known her since I ...
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1answer
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what do you think about these 4 past perfects?
Gillian visited (to visit) her friend Ann in Hull. She went (to go) there by train. Before she arrived (to arrive), Gillian had fallen (to fall) asleep and nearly missed the station. After she had ...
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2answers
101 views
Is it possible to use past simple instead of past perfect in “…all the washing up HAD BEEN DONE…”?
There's the following sentence in my Grammar book:
It was a lovely surprise to find that all the washing-up HAD BEEN DONE while I was asleep.
The only answer mentioned in the answer key is past ...
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3answers
160 views
How about “When I saw Debbie, she had played golf”?
Oxford Guide to English Grammar; John Eastwood; Oxford University Press 1994-09
Page 94
Compare the past continuous and past perfect continuous.
When I saw Debbie, she was playing golf. (I ...
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2answers
55 views
Is the textbook wrong?
Hi everyone. Thank you for clicking into my question page.
In my exercise book, I have a question as follows:
It_____and the streets were wet.
A. has been raining B.rains C. has rained ...
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1answer
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wrong subtitle in a film
In the film "Basse Normandie" of Simon Regiani and Patricia Mazuy, I saw this subtitle, is it possible
I have been working while I wait for you
I think it should be:
while I was waiting or ...
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2answers
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Why is the present perfect simple used in this sentence (and not the present perfect continuous)
I'm looking for some advice on why this sentence (from a FCE book) is in the the present perfect simple: I have spent ages preparing for the party.
This sentence requires the use of the present ...
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2answers
119 views
Never in the present perfect and the past perfect
After another grammar repetition, I started thinking about adverb 'never' in the present participle and past participle.
The rules say that using 'never' in the tenses is possible, but what is the ...
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1answer
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“is said to be” vs. “is said to have been” [closed]
Can we use both of variants and are they interchangeable?
The house is said to have been built a century ago.
The house is said to be built a century ago.
