Why call it the preterit perfect??
Present Perfect is called like that because it combines the present grammatical tense (you have) and the perfect grammatical aspect (done). Compare that to Past Perfect which uses the past tense (you had + done), or the Future Perfect which uses the future tense (you will have + done). The term perfect comes from Latin perfectus, "achieved, finished, completed".
The present perfect, like the simple past, locates the situation, or part of it, in the past:
· She has read your letter.
· She read your letter.
However, the present perfect is a compound tense that combines the present and the past, while the simple past is purely a past tense.
Here are some reasons its called the present perfect, and not just the past tense:
Use of time adjuncts
The present perfect allows the use of time adjuncts referring to the present.
· We have, by now, finished most of our work.
· *We, by now, finished most of our work. (incorrect)
Conversely, the present perfect does not allow the use of time adjuncts referring to the past.
· *We have finished our work last week. (incorrect)
· We finished our work last week.
Current relevance
With the present perfect, the situation in the past is seen to have some kind of current relevance. Compare these two:
· She has lived in this city for ten years.
· She lived in this city for ten years.
I've quoted quite a bit from the very descriptive A Student's Introduction to English Grammar by Huddleston and Pullum.
Me llamo ______Present Perfect Tense
Perfect Tenses are called “los Tiempos Compuestos” because they are made up of TWO parts:
a conjugated form past participle
of + (drop -ar and add -ado)
the helping verb (drop -er or -ir and add -ido)
haber (to have…) ejemplo: hablado
comido
servido
“No”, other negative words, object pronouns and reflexive pronouns go
in front of the verb haber. NOTHING comes between haber and the participle.
ejemplos: ¿Te has afeitado hoy?
Sí. Me lo han explicado.
No, no lo hemos recibido.
No le he preguntado todavía.
**Most past participles are regular. J Below is a list of verbs which have irregularly formed past participles:
a. Group 1: Most –er and –ir verbs in which a vowel immediately precedes the infinitive ending are formed regularly but have an accent over the “i” in “-ido.” (This does NOT include verbs ending with –uir; these verbs are regular : ejemple: construir à construido)
caer à caído oír à oído
creer à creído traer à traído
leer à leído sonreír(se) à sonreído
reír (se) à reído
b. Group 2: These verbs have irregular past participles and must be memorized. J
Most common irregulars:
abrir à abierto freír à frito romper à roto
cubrir à cubierto hacer à hecho ver à visto
decir à dicho morir à muerto volver à vuelto
escribir à escrito poner à puesto
Otros: y, claro, porque su “base” es irregular:
describir à descrito decir à dicho
satisfacer à satisfecho contradecir à contradicho
descubrir à descubierto
devolver à devuelto poner à puesto
disolver à disuelto imponer à ______
envolver à envuelto suponer à ______
pudrir à podrido imponer à ______
resolver à resuelto
maldecir à maldito hacer à hecho
deshacer à ______
rehacer à ______
Why call it the preterit perfect??
Present Perfect is called like that because it combines the present grammatical tense (you have) and the perfect grammatical aspect (done). Compare that to Past Perfect which uses the past tense (you had + done), or the Future Perfect which uses the future tense (you will have + done). The term perfect comes from Latin perfectus, "achieved, finished, completed".
The present perfect, like the simple past, locates the situation, or part of it, in the past:
· She has read your letter.
· She read your letter.
However, the present perfect is a compound tense that combines the present and the past, while the simple past is purely a past tense.
Here are some reasons its called the present perfect, and not just the past tense:
Use of time adjuncts
The present perfect allows the use of time adjuncts referring to the present.
· We have, by now, finished most of our work.
· *We, by now, finished most of our work. (incorrect)
Conversely, the present perfect does not allow the use of time adjuncts referring to the past.
· *We have finished our work last week. (incorrect)
· We finished our work last week.
Current relevance
With the present perfect, the situation in the past is seen to have some kind of current relevance. Compare these two:
· She has lived in this city for ten years.
· She lived in this city for ten years.
I've quoted quite a bit from the very descriptive A Student's Introduction to English Grammar by Huddleston and Pullum.