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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Why was the past perfect used before and after ‘since’?
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'd been ...
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“Had been + ing” or “have been + ing”
I’ve learned to use present perfect continuous for an action that began in past and is still continuing and past perfect continuous for an action that began in past and ended in past too before ...
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Perfect or perfect continuous?
Perfect simple and perfect continuous are sometimes confusing for learners. I know we can use "I've worked for twenty years" in place of "I've been working for twenty years". Both ...
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'Having been released in ...' or 'Released in ...'? Is the Perfect Participle Necessary?
Admittedly, there are a few questions similar to this, but I find that the examples are usually compromised by other errors.
In these two examples (below), which use participle clauses as supplements, ...
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Using perfect modals for future
I have seen that to talk about some past events by using modals,we mostly use perfect modals(such as could have ,should have, would have, might have ,may have)and to talk about future and present ...
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Perfect Forms Of State Verbs
We use perfect to denote our finished,fulfilled actions for example.
I have done my homework
İt implies that the action has been achieved,fulfilled and now my homework is done.
I have been here for ...
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Past Simple or Past Perfect? "We [finish] eating our lunch and we were taking the plates out to the kitchen"
Here's my question:
We ___ eating our lunch and we were taking the plates out to the kitchen.
A finished
B were finishing
C ’ve finished
D ’d finished
It seems that this should be Past Simple (...
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done / having been done + once
Having been chased by street dogs once, he doesn't dare to take that path.
An example relating to "___ (tell) many times, he still made the same mistakes" form http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/...
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work/worked and know/known?
Normally, when we use stative verbs in perfect tense, we prefer simple perfect tense, not perfect continuous, and we know that they mean the same thing.
I have worked here for 3 years. or I have been ...
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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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Past Continuous and past perfect continuous for native English speakers
According to Martin Hewing's Advanced English Grammar:
The difference between past continuous and past perfect continuous is as follows:
When we met Simon and Pat, they had been riding.(=we met ...
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Why is "have cooked" used instead of "cook" or "cooked" in this sentence? [duplicate]
I came across the following sentence:
"Why would they have cooked their food at all?"
The context is a discussion about the behavior of people in ancient times.
I'm curious why "have ...
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WOULD LIKE TO HAVE + PP for possible accomplishments vs FUTURE PERFECT
How does "would like to have + past participle" compare with future perfect. Is future perfect something planned out and expected while "would like to have + pp" describes more of ...
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FUTURE PERFECT and HOPE
If the future perfect is used to describe an expected or planned event before a time of reference, then how is it possible for us to use the word 'hope'? I need an explanation of the nuance here.
I'll ...
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Past Simple or Past Perfect in context of a story
we were creating a story and stumbled over this sentence:
I remembered the day when she had come up with an idea...
So in this sentence is it better to use Past Perfect or is it better to say "...
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They'll deliver it in two hours. (meaning, we'll have this in two hours)
Browsing through an online store, a girl points at a certain item and says, "Wow, let's order this! They(or A courier) 'll deliver it in two hours (meaning, two hours from now, if we do order it ...
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Has each... how natural is it?
Ahoy, folks.
I wonder if it's natural and widely accepted to use 'has' in perfect structures, such as those given below:
Has each member of the committee provided feedback on the proposal?
Has each ...
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past perfect continuous vs past perfect (perfect continuous vs perfect simple)
I read that the perfect continuous is an action that continuous up to another point and my teacher told me that usually these actions are ongoing or they end very close to the other point.
My question ...
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Adverb of duration
an adverb of duration can tell us how long somebody does something for example:
all morning/all night
all week/ all month
for days /for weeks
The whole time
So I want to know which tense we can ...
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Does "Do we still have to meet tomorrow?" sounds reluctant?
When somebody asks "Do we still have to meet tomorrow?" when we had an agreement to meet tomorrow, does it show that the speaker is reluctant to meet?
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Have you been learning French since you were a kid? ---> in the past
If the person you're talking about or your interlocutor is alive and still learning a language, you can say:
Have you been learning French since you were a kid?
My brother has been learning Italian ...
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Canonical Post #2: What is the perfect, and how should I use it?
This is a Canonical Post, intended as a reference and resource for both Questioners and Answerers.
The English “perfect” is deeply puzzling for learners. Nearly one Question in every twenty here asks ...
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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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By implementing/By having implemented new technologies, the company is going to generate more revenue. - differences in meaning
The company has implemented new technologies, and as a result, the company will generate more revenue in the future.
Which one is the correct simplified version
Example 1
"By implementing new ...
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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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Do I have to use the perfect infinitive
I was taught that if we had some action which can happen 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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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 ...
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Past perfect tense without following events
I am learning English and I have got a question about past perfect tense.
In textbooks it is said that this tense is used to describe a sequence of events, to emphasise that one
event happened before ...
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Perfect vs non-perfect
She wants to finish it when you return
She wants to have finished it when you return.
These are examples from my text book. It says they are different in meaning.
I made 3 and 4. I think they mean ...
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Seemed vs seems
Before A.D.900, manuscripts of the Koran (the book containing the teachings of the Islamic religion) seem to have been the most common type of book produced and decorated, but after that date a wide ...
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Can I use the construction like "get + gerund" (example: get moving) with continuous and perfect forms?
I guess, I understand about usage of "get moving" or "get doing" in simple.
I always get reading a new book as soon as I have free time.
What about continuous or perfect forms? ...
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Past simple or past perfect in a subordinate clause
Could you please have a look at this paragraph:
Last Friday I arranged to meet my boyfriend at a restaurant. I arrived
first and because it was pouring with rain, I went inside. After an
hour ...
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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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had been released for a few days
Some predicates are incompatible with the perfect aspect. For example, "He has died for five years" is incorrect. What about the following? Are they okay or similarly incorrect? Note that (c)...
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"have been reading" vs "have read"
Is that valid to say:
I've been reading 3 books this week.
Is this sentence grammatically correct?, I know that it is better to say I've read 3 books this week, But Is it grammatical to say the ...
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Past Perfect vs Present Perfect [closed]
everyone! I was reading a book and there was like "After we have done our home tasks we went to the cinema"
I wonder why it's present perfect , bit not past perfect ?
Thank you beforehand!
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Sentences with recent actions
If an action has just happened, I should use present perfect, right? (At least in BE)
Like: A friend come back and he is sweating, I can reply "What has happened?" right?
And:(fake story :)) ...
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WOULD+Present Perfect
Could you please explain why Modal + Present Perfect is used here. It's usually used to express regret, but I can see none in this example.
Personal computers first made their appearance in the home ...
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I picked up the letter that was lying on the floor. Does it sound all right?
Here's my context:
I entered the room and I saw a big heap of letters on the desk. One of them had fallen on the floor. I picked up the letter lying on
the floor. / I picked up the letter that was ...
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Future Perfect Continuous
Tell me please, if it is okay to use the future PC tense without a time span, like this?:
"I will have been waiting for him when he finishes with his business."
"Will you have been ...
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Having injured or Injuring
A remote-controlled bomb exploded outside a hotel near the town square yesterday, _ at least 12 people.
A having been injured
B having injured
C injured
D injuring
I think D is correct, but somebody ...
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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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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 11.
I haven't got very far with the book I'm reading.
'Got' ...
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“I had been thinking of” or ”I thought about“
Is the following correct:
I thought about killing myself for a couple of hours after I swallowed the pill.
or do I have to change it to:
I had been thinking of killing myself for a couple of hours ...
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I would like to know more how present perfect tense and it's derivatives are in passive & active form; thus some concerns are waving over my mind?
Firstly;
Present perfect- has recreated
In each of these movies, batman has been recreated as the subconscious mind of American society.
Is this sentence a proper passive and still present perfect, ...
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perfect infinitive mode
I have the task to change sentences to use the perfect infinitive. For example:
I wish I were in Madagascar. → I would like to have been in Madagascar
How do I rephrase the sentences below using ...
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<will do/ will have done>... by
There are these two constructions:
will do... by...
will have done... by...
I want to make sure I understand the difference, if any, between these them correctly and came up with these questions.
...
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Can I use "how long" without a continuous tense?
How long have I slept?
Can I say that just before waking up? I think so.
The problem is that "how long" implies a continuous tense in most cases. In this case you can't use with a ...
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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 ...
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Come to a place for some time [duplicate]
He came to New York for two weeks.
He has come to New York for two weeks.
Can they express the idea that he has come to New York and he plans to stay for two weeks， without mentioning how much of ...
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