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The present perfect is one of the most popular areas of grammar that:
Aspect in English
Tense is a grammatical concept which marks past, present and future time. Closely linked to tense
is the concept of aspect, which adds a further time perspective. Aspect reflects the way in which the
action of a verb is viewed with respect to time, answering questions such as: Is the event or state
completed or still in progress?. We recognise two aspects in English, the progressive aspect,
sometimes referred to as the continuous aspect, and the perfect aspect. The progressive aspect
describes events or states which are in progress or continuing, whereas the perfect aspect usually
describes events or states which occur or begin during a previous period of time.
Aspects are marked for tense, so for instance we talk about the present perfect, e.g:
I have read your letter.
We think of an example like this as being in the past tense, because the perfect aspect implies that
the action happened or began in a previous period of time, but this verb form is still referred to as
the present perfect, since it implies a connection between something that happened in the past and
the present time. The past perfect, exemplified by
I had read your letter.
will always refer to an action or situation which occurred before a particular time in the past, and
therefore represents a connection between something which happened in the past and a past
moment in time.
Sometimes both progressive and perfect aspects combine in a complex verb phrase, as in for
example the present perfect progressive, e.g:
I answered the phone six times this afternoon. (a completed period, the afternoon is over)
The present perfect can be used with time clauses introduced by after, when, until, as soon as,
once, by the time, and expressions like the minute/ the moment, etc., to refer to future events, e.g:
Hell call you as soon as hes got the results.
We wont know the details until weve talked to Jack.
Shell be forty by the time she has finished the course.
Ill let you know the minute Ive heard something.
It is therefore more likely to be used with verbs that suggest a repeated activity, rather than a single
action, compare:
Ive broken my leg.
* Ive been breaking my leg. (possible but unlikely )
The present perfect continuous is used to emphasise that an activity is ongoing and repeated,
whereas the present perfect suggests that an activity happened only once or a specified number of
times, as illustrated in the following example:
Jack has been writing letters all day, but he hasnt written one to his girlfriend.
When we want to focus on the result of an activity, we use the present perfect, but when we want to
focus on the process, the present perfect continuous is often used, compare:
Ive been washing the car and Im soaked. (process present perfect continuous)
Ive washed the car and it looks much better now. (result- present perfect)
However the present perfect continuous is often used in place of the present perfect when the
speaker is complaining about the situation resulting from some previous activity, e.g:
Whos been eating my chocolates?
Youve been using the phone again, havent you?
Whos been washing the car, theres water everywhere?