Sakshi Education
Simple Past > < Present Perfect Tense
Prof Tongue (RK): Has Prof Bansal come?
Sreenivas, the Secretary: Yes sir, he came.
Prof Tongue: How is it he left? We have a meeting at 3.00 pm.
Sreenivas: No sir, he is there in his room.
Prof Tongue: Then, why have you said that 'he came'? It means he had left.
Prof RK Tongue was a Britisher. He rightly understood "he came'' ie. 'He came and left'. But Sreenivas being an Indian could not make a distinction between "He came.'' and "He has come.'' This is the parody of Perfect Tense as we do not have that tense in Indian languages. This means, we have to learn how to use "Present Perfect Tense'' and ""Simple Past Tense'' attentively.
Simple Past tense is used for actions that are complete and have no connection with the present. Whereas, Present Perfect tense is a sort of mixture of the Past and the Present. It implies a strong connection with the recent past. For example, if you say, "He has met with an accident.'', it means that he is still in hospital or recovering. "The lift has broken down.'', means you have to use the stairs. "She has appeared for the examination.'', means, she is waiting for the results.
It is also used with "ever'' "never''. "Have you ever smoked?'' "No, I have never smoked.'' "Have you ever visited Varanasi?'' means so far. In the case of a dead person, you should ask, "Did your father (deceased) visit Varanasi?'' means when he was alive.
When the action is complete, we should use Simple Past. The house was built in 2010. In past actions if there is a point of time, we should use Simple Past. "When did you return from USA?'' Here the response will be with a point of time like. "Last Monday.'' "On 23rd of this month.'' Similarly, "When were you born?'' should be answered with a specific point of time such as "On May 10, 1992.''
The following exercise helps you in differentiating the use of both the tenses:
Simple Past OR Present Perfect
1. I ____ (see) him twice since morning.
2. He ___ (join) the university ___ in 2001 as Asst Professor.
3. I ____ (not eat) meat so far.
4. ___the postman ____ (come)? Not, yet.
5. As she put on weight, she ___ (go) for a walk in the mornings for a year.
6. ___the milk ___(not boil) yet?
7. He ___ (appear) for the EAMCET and is anxious about his rank.
8. Since he ___(meet) with an accident, he ___ (admit) into the hospital. (He is still there.)
9. Since the lift ___ (break down), we must ___ (use) the stairs.
10. Satish ___ (win) a bumper prize in the lottery. Therefore, he is going to add another floor to his house.
Key
1) have seen 2) joined
3) have never eaten 4) Has …come
5) went 6) Has….not boiled
7) has appeared 8) has met, was admitted
9) has broken down, use 10) has won
Prof Tongue (RK): Has Prof Bansal come?
Sreenivas, the Secretary: Yes sir, he came.
Prof Tongue: How is it he left? We have a meeting at 3.00 pm.
Sreenivas: No sir, he is there in his room.
Prof Tongue: Then, why have you said that 'he came'? It means he had left.
Prof RK Tongue was a Britisher. He rightly understood "he came'' ie. 'He came and left'. But Sreenivas being an Indian could not make a distinction between "He came.'' and "He has come.'' This is the parody of Perfect Tense as we do not have that tense in Indian languages. This means, we have to learn how to use "Present Perfect Tense'' and ""Simple Past Tense'' attentively.
Simple Past tense is used for actions that are complete and have no connection with the present. Whereas, Present Perfect tense is a sort of mixture of the Past and the Present. It implies a strong connection with the recent past. For example, if you say, "He has met with an accident.'', it means that he is still in hospital or recovering. "The lift has broken down.'', means you have to use the stairs. "She has appeared for the examination.'', means, she is waiting for the results.
It is also used with "ever'' "never''. "Have you ever smoked?'' "No, I have never smoked.'' "Have you ever visited Varanasi?'' means so far. In the case of a dead person, you should ask, "Did your father (deceased) visit Varanasi?'' means when he was alive.
When the action is complete, we should use Simple Past. The house was built in 2010. In past actions if there is a point of time, we should use Simple Past. "When did you return from USA?'' Here the response will be with a point of time like. "Last Monday.'' "On 23rd of this month.'' Similarly, "When were you born?'' should be answered with a specific point of time such as "On May 10, 1992.''
The following exercise helps you in differentiating the use of both the tenses:
Simple Past OR Present Perfect
1. I ____ (see) him twice since morning.
2. He ___ (join) the university ___ in 2001 as Asst Professor.
3. I ____ (not eat) meat so far.
4. ___the postman ____ (come)? Not, yet.
5. As she put on weight, she ___ (go) for a walk in the mornings for a year.
6. ___the milk ___(not boil) yet?
7. He ___ (appear) for the EAMCET and is anxious about his rank.
8. Since he ___(meet) with an accident, he ___ (admit) into the hospital. (He is still there.)
9. Since the lift ___ (break down), we must ___ (use) the stairs.
10. Satish ___ (win) a bumper prize in the lottery. Therefore, he is going to add another floor to his house.
Key
1) have seen 2) joined
3) have never eaten 4) Has …come
5) went 6) Has….not boiled
7) has appeared 8) has met, was admitted
9) has broken down, use 10) has won
Published date : 17 Dec 2019 04:20PM
