3. Present perfect and Past indefinite-----differences
|
Present perfect |
Past simple |
|
Unfinished state /
action Spain has governed the enclave of Ceuta since 1580 |
Finished state /
action Spain governed the state of Western Sahara from 1958-1976. |
|
Unfinished time I haven’t seen Keith this morning yet. (It’s still morning.) |
Finished time I didn’t see Keith at all this morning. (It’s now evening / afternoon.) |
|
Present relevance The Indian Government has imposed a ban on tiger hunting to prevent the extinction of tigers. |
No present relevance The Indian Government imposed a ban on tiger hunting a few years ago. |
|
Indefinite time I’ve been to Eurodisney twice. |
Definite time I went to Eurodisney in 1999 and 2000. |
|
We use the past
simple, not the present perfect, to correct an incorrect belief or
expectation or to confirm a correct one: ⅹ The area is far more rugged and wild than I have expected. √ The area is far more rugged and wild than I expected. ⅹShe is just as beautiful as I have imagined. √She is just as beautiful as I imagined. |
How to keep diaries 1
What a good idea it is to WRITE A DIARY
Anyone can write a book. And you get better at it as time goes on. It's best to use either LAST YEAR's diary and not use the dates, or to get a blank book, or to write on a computer. Not using the dates? That's to avoid the fixed format of having a constraint on the amount of space. Instead, write your own dates and write as much as you like and then the next day starts just after that.
0000/00/00 00:00
The important thing is to ACTUALLY WRITE rather than just not doing. By recording what happened, what you think about it, how you feel, etc, you become a good friend of yourself.
The diary
should be kept secret by default (otherwise it affects the writing style), need
not be written prefect perfectly, and YOU decide what you think and what
you want to say yourself.
As the style of writing develops, some of the material you write may be interesting to the point where you decide to publish some of it. Another cultural aspect of this is the performing of the reading of writings at parties.
It's fascinating to look back at the history you've recorded yourself. Using a camera to record memories is good, but composing your own TEXT and telling your own STORY of how things happened gives it a chance in the future to LIVE again.
How to keep diaries 2