If you're an English learner and struggling with the present perfect, I recommend that you read the comments of my previous post. In both General and Outdated, @Simone- and @CocoPop are having an interesting conversation about this topic.
After reading Uly's explanation, I've come to think that the present perfect includes not only the actuality of time, but also some possibilities and ambiguities.
Recently, I overheard that saying "I've met him/her." implies that he/she is still alive. If the person has already passed away, you say "I met him/her.", allegedly. Is this correct? I guess this is because if the person is alive, it's still possible to meet him/her in the future.
I think the same would be true if the subject of the sentence were the deceased. For example, talking about my late mother, I should say "She never went abroad." rather than "She hasn't been abroad."
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Great post! I think a lot of English learners just resign themselves to the fact that the present perfect is something they're never going to master and so they just give up. This page has a lot more information about the present perfect and its uses and nuances: https://www.smissle.com/reference/present-perfect
Akiko, tagging users only works in the comments section or in the correction windows. It doesn't work in the body of the post itself.
Edit: Of course, if you were just trying to refer to Uly and me, then it'd make sense.
Great post! The one exception I can think of is celebrities regarding one-time actions. For example, If talking to my friend about Ryan Reynolds, I could say "I met him once!" Not sure why haha but it is said like this rather than "I've met him once". Also it is more likely to say "She never went abroad." or "She never got the chance to go abroad". Hope this helps!
@LeighBree The reason you can't say I've met him once is that if you use the present perfect, you can't use an adverb that relates to the past.
@CocoPop Uly, that was a lot to unpack. I'd say I was pretty familiar with most of the guidelines you provided. Of course, there's a big difference between knowing something and applying it correctly. I appreciate that each example is presented with some context; that really goes a long way. Instead, grammar books just throw random sentences at you.
I have a couple of questions for you.
Regarding the 3b section, is there any difference in usage between British and American English? I watched a YouTube video—I can't remember which channel it was —that showed how the American and British media (newspapers, newsreaders) treated the appointment of the new British Prime Minister. The British used the present perfect and the Americans used the past simple.
In section 4, you wrote Emma uses the perfect I have seen instead of the expected I saw to emphasize just how horrible the experience was for her. Could you explain the difference between for her and to her? I have this vague notion that to me puts the focus on my point of view, whereas for me puts the focus on other people's opinions. That's why I would've used to and not for.
Your last example in section 2b was completely new to me. I would've been lost without your explanation. What I'd like to know is whether the past simple can also be applied; that is, you don't want to focus on being surprised.
@CocoPop Thank you, Uly. I attempted to read the page several months ago, but it was too difficult and complex to complete at the time. This time, I was able to finish it, and I believe I grasp the basis of the present perfect. How enlightening! I learned quite a lot for the first time.
In Japanese, the present perfect is translated to 現在完了. The term 完了 means to complete or finish. I feel it's the opposite of open-ended. I think it makes the present perfect more difficult for us Japanese.
@Simone- Sorry, I didn't know that! I just found they didn't become blue. I'll use the comments section from now on to tag someone.
@LeighBree Thank you for your comment! The exception you told me is quite interesting and helpful. My interpretation is as follows: the fact that you met celebrities is specified at some point in the past and closed, so it fits to be expressed with the simple past. However, that's just my opinion, and I'm curious if that's true if you met some celebrities multiple times.
@Simone- In terms of 3b, there are always going to be discrepancies between the two dialects. I feel the British use the present perfect more freely and less emotively than the Americans, for the most part. For instance, I feel a Brit would be likely to say I've read the paper — do you want it?, whereas an American would consider this too formal, and, well, British. But as an American, I also often see this American stoicism being taken to the extreme; the simple past being used in a context where the present perfect would've been more appropriate, for instance, to announce the election of a new Prime Minister. But I can't comment on the specific cases you're referencing without seeing the video myself.
@Simone- When I said how horrible the experience was for her, this is a direct reference to her experience, what she went through. If you say how horrible the experience was to her, it related to her opinion of it, so it would make more sense to use it in communicating her opinion of someone else's experience and not her own.
@Akiko In order to understand the present perfect, you have to bear in mind that it has two elements: (1) some action was indeed completed in the past; and (2) for some reason, it's significant and has some kind of interpretation now. That interpretation depends on the the context. In one context, it simply means so far; up to now, but is open-ended in the sense that you may still continue to do more because now isn't over. For instance, the example about it being 9am, and you saying "I've had three cups of coffee this morning." This is open ended, but at 9am, this morning is still the present, so you may have more coffee before the morning ends. The time slot for what this morning refers to is still open for more coffee, in this case.
@CocoPop Now it makes perfect sense (for her vs to her). Thanks!
@CocoPop Thank you for clarifying! In the sense that some action was indeed completed in the past, its Japanese name 現在完了 isn't necessarily wrong. Moving forward, I'll be more careful about how the present perfect is used.