2015-08-21
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I’ve just seen Carol. I just saw Carol.
You’ve already told me that. You already told me that.
Have they come home yet? Did they come home yet?
2. You use the present perfect to say that something started to happen in the past, and has continued to happen up to now. There is a clear difference with the past tense, which you use when the action is finished. Compare these sentences:
present perfect: I have lived in Chicago for many years. (=I still live there now)
simple past: I lived in Chicago for many years. (="now" I live somewhere else)
present perfect: Jim has worked for us since 1992. (="he" still works for us now)
simple past: Jim worked for us from 1992 to 1996. (="he" does not work for us any more)
Don’t say ‘I am living here for 10 years’, or ‘I live here for 10 years’. Say I have lived here for 10 years.
3. You use the present perfect to talk about something that happened at some time in the past before now, but it is not important to say when it happened.
She has had several jobs abroad.
There have been problems with this system in the past.
This meaning of the present perfect is often used in news reports.
There has been a big earthquake in Japan, and hundreds of people have been killed.
You can emphasize this meaning by using ever in questions, or never in negative sentences. For example:
Have you ever visited Scotland?
I’ve never been in a plane before.
If you give the date, year, or time when something happened, you must use the simple past, not the present perfect. For example:
I spoke to him yesterday. NOT I have spoken to him yesterday.
They arrived in the US last week. NOT They have arrived in the US last week.
THE PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
You make the present perfect progressive by using have been/has been, followed by the main verb with an ‑ing ending, for example I have been living, she has been studying. The present perfect progressive has very similar meanings to the present perfect, but draws attention to the period of time during which the action has taken place.
The present perfect progressive is used in the following ways:
1. You use the present perfect progressive to talk about something which has continued to happen for a period of time in the past, and which may still be happening now.
How long have you been learning English?
We’ve been expecting them to arrive since last Thursday.
2. You use the present progressive to talk about something which has been taking place recently and which affects the situation now.
“You look tired.” “I’ve been working really hard.”
It’s been raining all week, so the ground’s very wet.
Don’t say ‘I’ve been knowing John for a long time’. Say I have known John for a Iong time.
Do not use the following verbs in the progressive:
be have see
believe like agree
know love disagree
recognize hate mean
remember prefer need
understand want deserve
wish belong
DETERMINERS AND ARTICLES
‘Determiners’ are used before a noun to ‘determine’ the character of the noun ‑ in particular, how ‘definite’ or ‘general’ a noun it is, and whether it is ‘one’ or ‘more than one’. When you use a noun, you have the choice of using it in one of three possible states.
1. You can use the noun without any determiner at all.
• in the singular, if it is a proper noun Boston is on the east coast.
• in the singular, if it is an uncountable noun I can hear music.
• in the plural, if it is a countable noun Tigers have black stripes.
When you use a plural countable noun without the article, you are seeing the noun in a general way - ‘tigers in general’.
2. You can use the noun with either of the ‘articles’, a or the:
• use a with singular, countable nouns I can see a car.
• use the with singular countable nouns I can see the car.
• use the with plural countable nouns I can see the cars.
• use the with uncountable nouns I can see the water.
The articles are the most common determiners in English. Their main job is to say whether the noun is ‘definite’ or ‘indefinite’.
3. You can use the noun with one of the other determiners. This adds a further meaning to the noun. For example:
determiner adds the meaning of
my book ‘possession’ also (our, his, her etc)
this book ‘nearness to the speaker’ (also plural these)
that book ‘distance from the speaker’ (also plural those)
some books ‘quantity’ (also any)
enough books ‘sufficiency’
each book ‘item by item’ (also every)
either book ‘one of two’ (also neither)
no book ‘absence’
what book ‘unknown item’ (also which, whose etc)
You cannot use two determiners at the same time. Don’t say things like ‘the this car’, ‘my an apple’, or ‘some the cups’.
You can use other words or phrases expressing quantity in front of a determiner to make the meaning of the noun phrase more exact.
NOTE: (of) shows that you can leave out the word of.
all (of) the people both (of) the cats half (of) the gold
double the amount twice the cost a third of the people
a few of the cars half (of) that cake some of those cakes
You can also add certain quantity words after the determiner. They include the numerals, as well as a few general expressions of quantity.
The three kittens were playing on the floor.
I’ve just taken my fourth examination.
He bought it on one of his many trips abroad.
If you want to add adjectives to the noun phrase, they always follow any determiners or other quantity expressions.
the three little kittens
my fourth difficult examination
his many interesting trips
WHEN TO USE ‘A’ AND ‘THE’
A and the are called ‘the articles’. A is called ‘the indefinite article’, and the is called ‘the definite article’. They are used in the following ways:
1. The main use of a and the is to say whether you are talking about a noun for the first time, or whether you have mentioned it before. For a first‑time mention, use a; for later mentions, use the.
Mary bought a car and a bike, but she used the bike more often.
2. If you use the with a noun that you have not mentioned before, you are actually saying to your listener ‘you know which one I mean’. This is usually because there is only one example of the noun in the situation, or you have only one such example in your mind. That is why it is ‘definite’.
Have you fed the cat? (=you have only one cat)
There’s the hotel. (="that" is the hotel we have been looking for)
I met him during the war. (="both" you and your listener know which war you mean)
Pass the salt, please.
3. If you want to talk about something of a particular type in an indefinite way, use a.
I’m training to be an engineer. NOT I’m training to be engineer.
I went out to buy a newspaper. NOT I went out to buy newspaper.
4. Use a when you are talking about one of several things or people and it is not important to say which one. Use the when it is clear that you are talking about one particular thing or person and there is only one.
A man I work with told me about it. (=you work with several men)
The man I work with told me about it. (="you" work with only one man)
5. You must use the with singular nouns such as world, sky, or sun, because there is only one of these things in the situation that you are talking about.
We’re going to travel round the world.
Don’t look directly at the sun.
6. If you are talking about buildings, places, and organizations as things which you often see or visit, use the. For example the bank, the theatre, the cinema etc.
I went to the theatre last week.
She’s at the gym.
When a is used before a word that begins with a vowel, it changes to an.
WHEN NOT TO USE ‘A’ OR ‘THE’
1. If you want to use a countable noun in the plural to talk in general about something, don’t use the.
Tigers are very fierce animals.
Prices keep going up.
2. If you want to use an uncountable noun to talk in general about something, don’t use the.
There has been a big increase in crime. NOT There has been a big increase in the crime.
It takes patience and skill to be a teacher. NOT It takes the patience and the skill to be a teacher.
3. Most names of places or people that begin with a capital letter do not have the before them. Don’t use the with these names.
They’re visiting Belgium and Holland. NOT They’re visiting the Belgium and the Holland.
However, there are some names that always have the in them, for example the United States, the Nile (="the" big river in Egypt) etc. Don’t forget to put the in these names.
He’s from the United States. NOT He’s from United States.
4. There are also many common nouns and phrases which do not use a or the. This is especially true when talking about meals, illnesses, ways of travelling, times and periods of time.
Will you have lunch with me? NOT Will you have the lunch with me?
Her mother has cancer. NOT Her mother has the cancer.
I travel to work by bus. NOT I travel to work by the bus.
In winter we get a lot of snow. NOT In winter we get a lot of the snow.
It’s time to go to bed. NOT It’s time to go to the bed.
We got up at dawn. NOT We got up at the dawn.
