While I am waiting
for the concert to begin, let me tell you the story of Shirley, one of my
students.
A
Malayali born in Kolkata, Shirley was an adorable child. She has lived in the
city ever since. She studied at St. Thomas High School and then graduated in
nursing. She worked as an intern at the Christian Medical College in Vellore
for a year. Then she returned to Kolkata and worked in a private hospital. But
the hospital was shut down in 2011 after an accidental fire killed 95 people,
mostly patients. Out of job, Shirley decided to do master’s in Nursing. Two
years later, with an M. Sc. (Nursing) on her CV, she joined a nursing college
as a lecturer. She has been teaching there so far, but now she plans to migrate
to Canada.
A
hospital in Toronto has offered her a job provisionally. She applied for and got a passport while she
was doing M.Sc. Recently she has applied for a Canadian visa and work permit.
Shirley
is an accomplished musician too. She has been learning classical music since
she was a child and presently, she performs at concerts. At the moment, I am in
Kalamandir, waiting for a musical programme to begin. Shirley is going to
perform tonight. Look! She’s just come on stage.
Analysing language
The simple past tense: Most
of the sentences you’ve just read are about the past. And the past has been
described using three forms. One of them is the simple past. The
sentences in this form are:
1. …
Shirley was an adorable child and bright student
2. She
studied at St. Thomas High School and then graduated in nursing
3. …
she worked as an intern …
4. Then
she returned to Kolkata and worked in a private hospital
5. But
that hospital was shut down in 2011 after an accidental fire killed 95 people …
6. Out
of job, Shirley decided to do her master’s in Nursing
7. With
an M. Sc. (Nursing) on her CV, she joined a nursing college as a lecturer.
8. She
applied for and got a passport …
You would see that
in all these sentences, we are treating the past as a closed or completed action (Sentences 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8), event
(Sentence 5), or state (Sentence 1). So please remember:
If you look at the past as
something that is complete, something that you can put in a packet of history,
you use the simple past tense.
We will now move
on to present perfect tenses. Let’s go
back to the passage above and turn to the other sentences that have something
to do with the past.
1. She has lived in the city
ever since.
2. She has been teaching
there ever since …
3. A
hospital in Toronto has offered her a job provisionally
4. Recently she has applied
for a Canadian visa
5. She
has been learning classical music since she was a child …
6. Ah!
She’s just come on stage
These sentences
are in the present perfect simple (Sentences 1, 3, 4, and 6) and present
perfect continuous (2 and 5). We use these forms to describe past
events that have some connection with the present.
1.
She has lived in the city ever since. ð she started living in the
past and still lives there
2.
She has been teaching there ever since … ð began teaching in the
past, she’s still teaching
3.
A hospital in Toronto has offered
her a job provisionally ð the offer is valid as of
now
4.
Recently she has applied for a Canadian visa ð her application is under
consideration
5.
She has been learning classical
music since she was a child … ð she’s still learning
6. Ah!
She’s just come on stage ð a recent event began a little
earlier, which is also a part of the present
We use the past perfect (simple or continuous) to describe an event that
began in the past and has some connection with the present.
I can hear you
asking: What’s the difference between the past perfect simple and the past
perfect continuous?
Well, you use the
continuous form of the present perfect to talk about:
1. An
action that began in the past and is still continuing
2. An
action that continued for some time and has just ended
For example:
1. Shirley
has been teaching …
2. She’s
been learning music ð An action
that is yet to be complete, she’s still learning
3. Shirley
looks tired because she’s been working out at the gym ð the action
(work-out) is just over
Present continuous or present perfect continuous?
A common mistake
committed by many speakers is: Shirley is teaching at a college since last year. û
As you are
connecting Shirley’s present activity with the past (last year), you shouldn’t use the present continuous form here.
You say: Shirley has been teaching since
last year. ü
Continuous tenses and verbs that talk about states:
You do not
normally use state verbs (some books
call them stative verbs) like know,
believe, etc. in continuous tenses. You do not say: I have been knowing Shirley since we were
in school. û
You say: I have known Shirley since we were in
school. ü
Also, certain
verbs like begin, start, etc. which represent one-off actions are not normally
used in continuous tenses. For example, you don’t say: She has been starting to practise yoga.
û
You say: she has started to practise yoga. ü
Another point to note:
You do not
normally use time expressions of the past with the present perfect tenses. For
example, you don’t say: She has applied for a Canadian visa last month. û
The sentence “She has applied for a Canadian visa” is
fine if you don’t specify when she applied.
But if you wish to
specify the time, you are possibly looking at the past as a completed event and
you use the simple past instead: She applied
for a Canadian visa last month. ü
The forms
The forms are:
A.
The present perfect simple:
·
I
/ We / You / They + have + the past participle form of the main verb
·
He
/ She + has + the past participle form of the main verb
B.
The present perfect continuous:
·
I
/ We / You / They + have been + the +ing form of the main verb
·
He
/ She + has been + the +ing form of the main verb
Practice
1.
Choose the correct alternative:
a.
Shirley was / has been born in Kolkata.
b.
Shirley has lived / lived / is living in Kolkata
since her childhood.
c.
Shirley has been / was an adorable child.
d.
She graduated / has graduated in 2013
e.
She has been learning / has learned music, but she believes she has a
long way to go.
f.
She has got / got herself a passport when she was a student.
g.
Shirley has applied / applied for a Canadian visa; she has a visa interview next
week.
h.
Shirley invited / has invited / is inviting me to her concert next week.
i.
Look! Shirley just came / has just come in. Doesn’t
she look awesome in her new dress?
2.
Correct the sentences if they
are incorrect. Put a ü next to a sentence if it is correct.
a.
Shirley was always a sincere
and hardworking student.
b.
In her first job, she has
worked sixteen hours a day.
c.
The tragedy happened because
the hospital owners have not followed safety regulations.
d.
A hospital in Canada offered
Shirley a job. She will go to Canada if she gets a work permit.
e.
Shirley has been knowing her
boyfriend since she was in school.
f.
Shirley looks awesome in her
new dress.
3. Think of your academic /
professional career so far. Write a brief note on your own career, roughly in the line
of the passage on Shirley.
Cheers!
Bengaluru
Sunday, 26 May
2014
