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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Could you explain the usage of "would + perfect infinitive" in this example?
— Did you have anything to do with the things that were put on the wall there?
— No, that would've been Sam.
I've always seen would've been in conditional sentences, as in "If you were smarter, ...
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2answers
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I haven't been to the gym since June
I know it is right to say "I've gone to or been to the gym many times since June" according to the answers to my other recent question. But if I want to use the negative form, do both ...
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2answers
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I've been to Japan many times since 2010
I've been to Japan many times since 2010.
I've gone to Japan a few times since 2020.
Are the two sentences both correct? In these sentences, does "been to" mean the same as "gone to&...
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Is there any difference: "I had an accident." and "I have been in an accident."
I had an accident.
I have been in an accident.
Although the first sentence seems more common, today I have come across the second sentence and got suprised.
I checked online and saw it frequently used ...
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1answer
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About present perfect continuous tense and present perfect tense
A : How much have we spent on food this week
B : A lot.
In A’s sentence, if ‘this week’ would be ‘for this week’ then, could I use the present perfect continuous tense? Instead of ‘have we spent’. For ...
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Past Simple or Past Perfect? Why do we use them this way in the quote?
Here is a quote from "To Kill a Mockingbird":
When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we
sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain
that the ...
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1answer
58 views
Present perfect for actions that are still ongoing or have just finished
Can present perfect be used in the following situations? Present perfect continuous is the usual choice, but do native speakers use present perfect simple too?
"It has rained for two hours" ...
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1answer
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Emphasizing a Sentence in Perfect Tense
If we want to emphasize the predicate of a simple tense sentence, we only need to add the auxiliary verb “do” (or “did”). Example:
I came here.
I did come here. (emphasized)
However, what can we do ...
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Is it okay to use present perfect in this sentence?
You've seen how it happened. So, you're the next that they will come for.
Is it okay to use "have seen" in this sentence, or would past simple be more acceptable? I'm not sure which is ...
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1answer
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Present Perfect or Simple Past for hypothetical situations?
I wonder what verb tense I should use when I'm making hypothetical sentences.
For instance:
Imagine you're writing a book with an intention in mind, and when people read your work, they get a ...
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1answer
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What does this sentence imply? Past Simple
"I learned English 2 years ago". What does it imply? Like a fact: I did learning at some time 2 years ago or I finished learning English 2 years ago? As far as I know it means the first ...
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"Who's been here" vs "Who was here" [closed]
"Who's been here?"
"Who was here"
What's the difference between these sentences and when should I use them? And what "i've been here" means by itself?
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Why is it "have you gone to the gym" instead of "have you been to the gym"?
I would really appreciate it if you could help me with the following sentences:
How many times have you gone to the gym this month?
Have you ever gone to a game?
I have double checked the ...
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0answers
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Use of the present perfect simple by persons in authority making a report
I read this report, made by a senior coroner at an inquest, and I wondered whether it has become common for the present perfect simple to be used in this way?
"She had been missing for a few days ...
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1answer
21 views
It would have been a good idea for him to have gone
It would have been a good idea for him to have gone to that school.
Does sentence (1) alone provide sufficient information for the reader/listener to assume that "he" didn't in fact go to ...
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Present perfect (has/has been) [duplicate]
Just when I think I have understood Perfect tenses, something comes up and I just can't get my head around it.
In my book it says that:
We can also use the present perfect for states.
1. The shop has ...
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why "has been telling" and not "has told"?
good morning,can someone explain the difference in this sentence I came across recently:
"The point of both is say that the writer has been telling the truth".
I found it on this site when ...
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1answer
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I’ve been traveling quite a bit since we saw each other last Christmas [closed]
I’ve been traveling quite a bit since we saw each other last Christmas.
I’ve travelled quite a bit since we saw each other last Christmas.
He’s been spending a lot of time at the gym.
He’s spent a ...
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1answer
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Perfect participle of " While Studying late at night, he fell asleep" [closed]
Would it be:
Having studied late at night, he slept.
Or something else?
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3answers
310 views
Does "by the time" require the Future Perfect tense?
I've come across this:
Sometimes, you can use the future perfect tense and the simple future
tense interchangeably. In these two sentences, there is no real
difference in meaning because the word ...
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0answers
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Can I use a clause that in the present perfect tense along with a clause that includes "since"?
I wonder if it is correct to use a clause that includes the present perfect tense along with a clause that includes "since." Do you think sentences like the ones below are correct if I am ...
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Are these grammatical? The simpler the better?
"He was washing the dishes while she was watching football"
"He said that he had been washing the dishes while she had been watching football"
"He said that he had been ...
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Do these sentences mean the same: "He has been found not guilty" and "He has not been found guilty"
He has been found "not guilty".
He has not been found guilty.
In terms of daily life, both sentences mean the same.
Although the first sentence seems to be correct in terms of grammar, I ...
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1answer
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supposed to do/have done
What is the difference between these sentences?
He is supposed to become a president.
He is supposed to have become a president.
He was supposed to become a president.
He was supposed to have become ...
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I don't know who {had stolen/stole/has stolen} your book
I gave my students a test with the following task:
I don't know who ___ your book.
and 3 response options:
a) had stolen
b) stole
c) has stolen
The key states that c) is correct, but I have a ...
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1answer
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Perfect infinitive? What is the correct phrase?
We happened to have been late for school today.
We happened to be late for school today.
What's the right way of putting it?
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592 views
Should I write "has returned home" or "returned home"?
I am writing a diary to improve my English. I write it describing the situation at the end of the day. My grandmother arrived home yesterday.
How should I describe this?
My grandmother returned home....
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1answer
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would have pp for the future perfect
By the end of this month, you would have already worked fifty hours.
If I had known it earlier, I would have helped you.
It looks like: the first would is "future from now" and second would ...
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"I have not been seeing her very often lately"
I have not met her very often lately (that means that I only have seen her once or twice)
BUT if I have seen may be 5 or 6 times can I use
I have not been seeing her very often lately
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auxiliary verb or bare infinitive?
"She might have been waiting for us"
‘Have been waiting’ forms the present perfect progressive tense
‘might’ is a modal verb
The verb that follows modal verbs is suppose to be a bare ...
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1answer
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past perfect to emphasize a contrast
the Byrds were now a family friends. Joan again
"I remember meeting them inside Ciro's - at first they had seemed older than the english groups. But up close it was clear that they were very ...
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1answer
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Is the past perfect continuous really necessary?
I've come across the following sentences in one grammar book. I wonder if it's really necessary to use the past perfect continuous in them?
The original sentences:
It had been raining for several ...
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Why present perfect and not simple past in this sentence?
Cold you please help me?
I have tried to find an explanation, but I am stuck.
I watched an interview yesterday. Both people were sitting in a garden and at a certain point the interviewee pointed at a ...
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1answer
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Using the verb "prefer" with the "perfect gerund"
Is it OK to use prefer with the perfect gerund?
I would prefer having travelled by car last month.
I would prefer having been watching TV for the last twenty minutes.
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Mixed conditionals in a sentence
If I had won the lottery, I would be travelling the world.
OR
If I had won the lottery, I would have travelled the world.
Which one of these is correct?
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have had to do something (for sometime)
Is it possible to use "have had to do something" in this sentence?
I have had to give him a call for one week now. But I am lingering.
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May/might had done
We can use the structure “may/might have done” to talk about what was possible to happen or the past possibilities:
You might have left your cellphone at work. = Perhaps you have left your cellphone ...
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would have done or had done
I would have appreciated it if my colleagues had done the same for me.
I would have appreciated it if my colleagues would have done the same for me.
Is the second sentence correct?
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1answer
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Perfect tenses after since
guys!
Can you please explain the use of two perfect tenses in one sentence with 'since'? The sentence is original and is taken from R.J. Palacio's book 'Wonder': "It had been a long time since I'...
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Why "I hadn't noticed" instead of "I didn't notice"/"I haven't notice"?
I see that I hadn't noticed is commonly used by native speakers, more than the pair I didn't notice and I haven't noticed ,in the following example
People are being more careful nowadays, don't you ...
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“As soon as I earn money, I will get a car”
I have a friend learning English: He said he would usually use, “ As soon as I earn money, I will get a car.”. Yet, someone told him to use, “As soon as I have earnt money, I will get a car.”.
I tried ...
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1answer
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Using I've Known With Past Year
Someone wished me a great year on my birthday, and I wanted to reply like that:
Hope it'll be a great year like the past one where I've known such a beautiful inside-outside soul, thanks, dear.
Is ...
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Would be or Would have been, and why?
He would be a king, unfortunately he died due to a disease
He would have been a king, unfortunately he died due to a disease
Would be or Would have been, and why?
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are these present perfect a good choice in my text
"My parcel is at last in France!!! unbelievable!" did I say today.
I did not expect to receive it any more, since it was sent 2 months ago. I have thought "It is lost for ever".
...
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1answer
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Can I use the past perfect without an action described by past simple?
Can I use the past perfect without an action described by past simple?
For example:
Alex: There were people at the cinema?
Me: No, because it had just opened.
Another example
Alex: What had you ...
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5answers
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"has felt"/"has been feeling" - why is the first wrong here?
I know that both
a) She has walked for two hours.
and
b) She has been walking for two hours.
mean the same thing: that she started walking two hours back and is still walking.
So according to the ...
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Which tense should l use?
"You are late! I have waited for 20 minutes"
Or
"You are late! I waited for 20 minutes"
We are told if you see "for+ specific time" you should use present perfect so the first one must be true.
...
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Soon with Past Perfect
Can I use “soon” in the following manner?
I had some garlic at lunch and smelled bad. But thankfully, the smell has soon worn off, and I smell fine now.
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She hoped to have done
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 ...
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2answers
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It is able to be possible/ She is able to have drunk
If "can" and "be able to" are interchangable sometimes, for example:
She can speak Latin = She is able to speak Latin
Can "be able to" be used instead of "can" in:
She can't have drunk that much ...