{"id":7046,"date":"2021-01-04T09:34:20","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T09:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltweekly.com\/?p=7046"},"modified":"2021-01-04T09:34:20","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T09:34:20","slug":"time-and-tense-2-by-nick-shepherd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/?p=7046","title":{"rendered":"Time and Tense 2 by Nick Shepherd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A quick reminder: time is about clocks and calendars, tense is about verb forms. They often coincide, but by no means always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week I talked about Present Simple and Progressive, and Past Simple and Progressive. This week I\u2019m looking at the Perfect aspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are four:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Present:         perfect simple: I have done<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                    perfect progressive: I have been doing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Past:               perfect simple: I had done<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                    perfect progressive: I had been doing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a diagram which shows the difference (notes below):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here are notes on the seven sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.1 and 1.2 are the same, but used in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.1 I have read the article<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dotted line goes from the past to the present, which means that I was reading up until the present time. If you are performing a task and come to the end, you look up from your worktop \/ desk \/ stove \/ machine or whatever it is, and you say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • I’ve finished!<\/em><\/li>
  • I\u2019ve fixed the car!<\/em><\/li>
  • I\u2019ve boiled the eggs!<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Whatever the task may be that you finished just seconds ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.2 I have read the article<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Look at the second sentence: there is a curved dotted line to the present, which means that the effect <\/strong>of what you were doing continues into the present, even if you finished some time ago. So a student comes into class and says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • I\u2019ve done my homework!<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      That means that she did it last night, and the result of that is that she has it here and now to hand in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Two more examples with present effects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • I\u2019ve seen that film<\/em> (last week, but therefore don\u2019t want to go and see it now<\/strong>).<\/li>
      • I\u2019ve showered and dressed<\/em> (an hour ago but am ready to go out now<\/strong>).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        2.1 I have been reading the article<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This means that you haven\u2019t finished. You have started, you are still reading it, but you haven\u2019t finished. The same is true of these sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        • I\u2019ve been cleaning out the cupboard <\/em>(there\u2019s still more to do)<\/li>
        • He\u2019s been studying English for six months <\/em>(and he\u2019s not there yet).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Progressive verb tenses usually signify that the job is unfinished, but not always:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          2.2 I\u2019ve been playing football!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          A boy comes back home after a game, and this conversation takes place:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Mother: You\u2019re all covered in mud!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Boy: Well, I\u2019ve been playing football!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The game finished an hour before, but the effect<\/strong> of the game is still there: he\u2019s dirty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          And now for the past perfect forms. These are used much less<\/strong> than the present perfect forms, and mostly in writing or formal speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Again, 3,1 and 3.2 are the same phrases, used in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          3.1 \/ 3,2 I had read the article (when \/ before . . .)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It\u2019s hard to distinguish between these two, and as it\u2019s all in the past it doesn\u2019t make much difference whether the event occurred at the time of the past event or before it, leaving only the effect. Do we care? Mostly not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          4 I had been reading the article when . . .<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          This is formal language, and I think it is not much used in speech:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Wilson had been researching the work of early writers in the field, when it became clear to him that he should reconsider his approach.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          More Complicated Stuff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Informal use<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I don\u2019t have evidence for this; it\u2019s more of a gut feeling. When we are using language more formally, often – but not only – in writing, we are more careful about using verb forms in the most accurate way, whereas in casual rapid speech we often hear phrases like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          • Did you phone her yet?<\/em><\/li>
          • Yeah, I just phoned her.<\/em><\/li>
          • (or even) Yeah, I just did.<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            You could argue that these phrases are all \u2018incorrect\u2019, or you could take a different view (as I do), and say that language use varies enormously across countries, areas within countries, levels of intimacy between the speakers, and even their age. My own view is that the main bases for judging a chunk of language are: does it work? Does it do the job it was intended to do? And (importantly) are the participants happy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Some say that you should always be yourself, use language as you choose to use it, and let people make of it what they will. I do not myself take such an extreme view, and think you should always consider who your listeners are before speaking, but I also think that the point of language is to communicate something – an idea, a feeling, a piece of information – and the definition of success must be: did you communicate successfully? And did you choose words and phrases which were mostly likely to achieve that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If you did, you are helping us along the sometimes stony path of living peacefully with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If you want to write to me and tell me what you think, you can message me on my Youtube channel, Shepherd School of English. That\u2019s all for now!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \u00a9 Shepherd School of English<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            A quick reminder: time is about clocks and calendars, tense is about verb forms. They often coincide, but by no means always. Last week I talked about Present Simple and Progressive, and Past Simple and Progressive. This week I\u2019m looking at the Perfect aspects. There are four:             Present:         perfect simple: I have done […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","omw_enable_modal_window":"enable","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[288,289],"tags":[851,921],"class_list":["post-7046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eltweekly-volume-12","category-eltweekly-volume-12-issue-1","tag-elt-newsletter","tag-eltweekly","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7046\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltweekly.humbeestudio.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}