The Present Perfect tense is a little tricky because it has several different uses.
In this video we are going to look at the how we can use the Present Perfect tense to talk about past experiences.
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In the first video of this series on the Present perfect tense we looked at the main concept,
which is to talk about how the present moment is affected by something in the past.
For example “There has been an accident.”
We are talking about the past but our focus is on how the event from the past,
in this case 'an accident', affects the present.
That is why even though we are talking about the past, it is called the Present Perfect.
Because we are more interested in how the past is affecting the present.
But, have a look at this example.
“I have lived in New York”.
This is a very common use of the Present Present Perfect tense but how does that main concept apply?
We can see that we are talking about the past but what is the connection with now?
We went to New York and now we are back.
Well in this case, the main concept is a little vague or abstract but it does still apply.
You need to think of it like this;
Now you have the experience or the memory of going to New York.
So when we use the present perfect here
we are saying that We went to New York and it changed us.
So now we have some knowledge or experience that we did not have before.
Lets quickly compare that to the Past Simple tense.
We could say a very similar thing in Past Simple
“I lived in New York.”
So what is the difference? Is there any difference?
Well they are very similar and a lot of people will use them interchangeable,
especially in American English, but there is a difference that you should be aware of.
In Present Perfect we are talking about now.
That’s our focus, the experience that we have now.
We are referring to something that happened in that past but it is not our focus
and it doesn't matter when because we are talking about the present.
In the Past simple we are talking about the past. We are referring to an event
from a specific time in the past that has finished and there is no connection to the present.
In the context it needs to be clear when that event happened.
The example on it’s own is actually lacking that detail.
We don't need to say it if it is clear from the context of the conversation
but on it’s own it would be better to say something like:
“I lived in New York two years ago.”
But with present Perfect we don't need to know when,
because we are talking about now.
Here are some more examples of the Present Perfect tense being used in this way.
I have studied medicine.
Have you worked for a large company?
I haven’t thought about that.
We’ve eaten in that restaurant before.
She hasn’t been to Paris.
You have seen this video.
The present perfect is one of the most difficult tenses to learn
mainly because it has different uses.
The main idea of the tense is that we are talking about how the present is affected by the past
but as we have seen in this video, sometimes this effect is only
that we have a memory or experience of the event.
But remembering the main concept and how we can be flexible with it
will help you to express yourself correctly and be understood.
We have made some more videos to examine the other ways the present perfect is used in more detail.
The first video in the series was an Introduction to the main concept of the tense.
We are going to look at how the present perfect is used
to talk about information that is new for the listener like news.
How we can talk about things that have happened within a period of time up until now.
We often use the adverbs the Just, Already and Yet with the present perfect
as well as the adverbs ever and never.
Present perfect if often confused with the past simple
so we will look at that in more detail and do a comparison.
We will also look at how the present perfect is used differently in American English.
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