Mr. Present Perfect

Story written by – Giorgio Ducci

Once upon a time there was a man called Present Perfect. The name was quite unusual, but his parents wanted to distinguish him from anyone else in the world. His destiny was inside his name and in fact he was an English teacher, and he loved his job. His best lesson was the one about “the present perfect tense”. Once, his student Gerardo from Treppalle said:

“Why is your name a verb tense?”

“Because it helps me to reconcile myself with my existence. Do you know the reason behind this tense?”

“No, I do not”

“This tense can be used to remind you about something that happened in the past and is related to the present. I was born 35 years ago, and I am still here, improving myself every day.”

“Sorry, but I cannot catch the meaning of what you have just said”

“Have you ever completed an action?”

“Yes I have”

“Great! Now think about this action, is it related with the present?”

“Yes, it is!”

“How would you describe that action? Because it’s important to use the correct tense to express that what you did in the past is still important now. The perfect is a combination of tense and aspect. Tense is grammatical marking of when something happened, aspect is grammatical marking of how that happening relates to time…. But I see your face, and you look perplexed, better to use an example. My name is Present, and I’m here in front of you. My surname is Perfect because before the present there is always something. The present perfect is before the present, or looking back from the present. I embody this strange situation”.

The student from Trepalle was astonished.  

“My dear student, please remember that connection in time is fundamental in the English language. The name of this tense is Present Perfect because it is connected to the present. Two simple examples: “you studied English” is a correct sentence, and “you have studied English” is also correct.  Let’s pretend you are about to attend a proficiency test, only because you have studied. Present perfect connects the past to now (because it is the present).”

“Thank you, Mister Present, got it!”

“No problem, Gerardo! Studying a foreign language is a battle between our native language and a new one. Our native language tries to translate the logic of the new language using its own logic. Just win the battle and you will understand English Present Perfect Tense.”