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 #2 (permalink) Wed Oct 14, 2009 16:42 pm Phrase "This is a state, not an action." |
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No, they are talking about neither dynamic nor transitive. That is, the present perfect may be used with transitive and dynamic verbs. Now, the present perfect for a "continuing situation" is very difficult to explain in an exact rule; the most exact rule will necessarily be quite vague.
It would go as follows:
I use the p.p. when I want to present something that happened in the past as mostly relevant to the present, as more relevant to the present than to the past.
Yes, it happened in the past, but the reason I mention it is that I want to talk about the present.
A typical situation is when this thing that has happened is still going on:
- I have worked here since June.
(I started working here in June and I am still working here now.)
Another typical situation is when the most important aspect of a thing that happened is its results that are in the present:
- A lion has escaped, and we haven't been able to capture it yet.
(What is most important here is the fact that the lion is roaming the city at this moment.)
- I haven't told her yet that I am going to file for a divorce. (What is most important here is the state of ignorance of the wife at this moment.)
You probably know already that the p.p. has other uses, too, such as for something that happened in the past at an unspecified time. |
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 Cerberus™
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
Posts: 775
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| #3 (permalink) Wed Oct 14, 2009 18:09 pm Phrase "This is a state, not an action." |
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Quote: I use the p.p. when I want to present something that happened in the past as mostly relevant to the present, as more relevant to the present than to the past.
Thank you so much for a very detailed answer Cerberus! xD
I think it's kind of like this right?
- I've tried many things in life, but I haven't yet to find out what I really want.
- I've been to Japan. (unspecified time)
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Aikuzo
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 23 Jul 2009
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Location: Houston, Texas
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| #4 (permalink) Wed Oct 14, 2009 19:27 pm Phrase "This is a state, not an action." |
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| Aikuzo wrote: |
Quote: I use the p.p. when I want to present something that happened in the past as mostly relevant to the present, as more relevant to the present than to the past.
Thank you so much for a very detailed answer Cerberus! xD
I think it's kind of like this right?
- I've tried many things in life, but I haven't yet to find out what I really want.
- I've been to Japan. (unspecified time) |
Yes, you chosen the p.p. correctly in both sentences.
But "I haven't yet to find out" is wrong: you probably mean "I haven't yet found out".
You could also say "I have yet to find out", which is a different sense of the word "to have": "I have yet to + [infinitive] ..." means "I have never [past participle] ... yet". Perhaps you confused this usage of "have" with the present perfect in you sentence.
Q: What is your opinion on the smell of elephants?
R: None at all: I have yet to smell one. |
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Cerberus™
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
Posts: 775
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| Present simple tense? | Past tense: David couldn't pay the bill unless he had returned back to the car... |
