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4) 完成时的用法A) Use of present perfectivePresent perfective, a combination of the perfective aspect with the present tense (have / has + -ed participle ), has two chief uses: “finished” use and “unfinished” use. The “finished” use refers to the present result of a past event still operative at the present moment. The “unfinished” use of the present perfective denotes that an action or state extends over a period lasting up to the present moment, possibly extending into the future as well.

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The difference between these two uses manifests itself in the fact that in the “unfinished” use, the present perfective is commonly accompanied by an adverbial expressing duration, but no such ac- companying adverbial is present in the “finished” use. Compare:He’s turned off the light. （灯在一个过去时间被关掉，说话时仍然关着。）He’s lived here since 1960. （他从 1960 年来到这里居住，至今还住在这里，偶尔也可根据上下文理解为刚刚搬走。）B) Uses of past perfectiveThe past perfective (had + -ed participle) also

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has two chief uses: “finished” use and “unfinished” use, only with time reference back-shifted to a specified past moment.In the “finished” use the past perfective denotes an action or state already in completion before a specified past, and in its “unfinished” use, it denotes an action or state extending over a period up to a past moment and possibly into the future in the past, eg:I had written the article when he came. ( 已经写完了文章 )By six o’clock they had worked twelve hours. ( 他们可能还会继续工作下去 )

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Note: Past perfective in sentences with when-/ before-/ after-/ until- clauses Subordinators such as when, before, after, until can sometimes be used interchangeably when they connect clauses where two actions happen one after another. The general rule is that the earlier happening is expressed by the past perfective and the later happening by the simple past. Compare: When I reached the station, the train had already left.I reached the station after the train had left.I didn’t reach the station until after the train had left.

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The train had left before I reached the station.

Since before and after can indicate time sequence by their own lexical meanings, the two actions happening one after another can both be expressed by the simple past in sentences comprising a before / after-clause. Compare:The train (had) left before I reached the station. After the teacher (had) left the room, the children started talking.

Sometimes the past perfective is used in a before-clause to lay emphasis on the incompletion of the action:

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He offered me a drink before I had taken off my coat.He arrived before I had finished my lunch.

Note: 能同时使用两个过去完成时的场合极少 , 下面带有由 by the time 引导的时间状语分句的句子是少数例外中的一个 :

By the time I(had) recovered from the shock,he had disappeared.

C) Use of present perfective progressiveThe use of the present perfective progressive (have / has been + -ing participle) has much in common with the “unfinished” use of the present perfective. Compare:I’ve been writing letters for an hour ( and I’ve still got some more to do).

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I’ve been sitting in the garden ( and have just come indoors).

In many cases these two forms can be used interchangeably:We’ve been living here for ten years.We’ve lived here for ten years.

There are cases, however, where these two forms are not interchangeable in that the present perfective progressive has also the meanings of continuousness and incompleteness. Compare: Who’s been eating my dinner? (“Some of it is left.”)Who’s eaten my dinner? (“It’s all gone.”)

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D) Uses of past perfective progressiveThe past perfective progressive (had been + -ing participle) is basically similar in use of the present perfective progressive, only with time reference back-shifted to a specified past. The chief use of the past perfective progressive has also something in common with the “unfinished” use of the past perfective, changeably, though in colloquial speech, the past perfective. Compare:I’d been working for three hours when he called.(colloq.) I’d worked for three hours when he called.

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E) More on the use of perfective tenseThere are a few more points that merit our attention concerning the use of the perfective tense.a) perfective tense is often accompanied by a since-phrase or a since-clause to denote a continuous state or activity from a point in past time until now. The verb in the since- clause is commonly the simple past of a dynamic verb denoting non-continuous activity. If the main or super-ordinate clause is in the

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form of “It be + complement (denoting a time span) + since-clause”, the verb be in the main clause may occur in the simple present in place of the present perfective, eg:I haven’t seen him since his wedding day/ since I met you.It’s three months since he wrote to me.

Sometimes, however, the verb in the since- clause may be the simple past of a dynamic stative （状态动词） verb, in which case the time span denoted by the since- clause is different from the present moment, we will have to use the present perfective instead of the simple past. Compare:

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He has written to me frequently since I was ill. (“I’m not ill now.”)He has written to me frequently since I have been ill. (“I’m still ill now.”)

b) Perfective tense vs have got / have got toThe perfective tense of “get” is “have /has /had got”, but in colloquial speech (esp. in BrE), “have got” can also be used in the sense of “possession” just like the main verb “have”. This should not be confused with the perfective aspect of the verb “get”. The construction “have got to” has nothing to do with the perfective tense of the verb “get”.

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This construction, the negative form of which is “haven’t got to”, is commonly used in the sense of “have to”. But unlike the semi-auxiliary have to, have got to cannot collocate with auxiliaries. For instance: we cannot say “ do not have got to”, nor can we say “ will have got to” or “ won’t have got to”.

c) Perfective tense in “It is the first time + that-clause”In the that-clause following “It is / will be the first time”, the verb usually occurs in the present perfective. If the verb of the main

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clause is the past tense of the verb be (was), the verb in the following that-clause should

be the past perfective, or occasionally the simple past. It may also occur in the present

perfective in case the main clause Contains a temporal adverbial inclusive of the time of speaking. Compare:It’s the first time I’ve been here.Don’t forget, it’ll be the first time I’ve spoken in public.It was the first time she’d been at a summer school and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

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It was the first time this year he hadn’t worked / hasn’t worked on a Saturday.

Note: 在上述结构中，主句的主语还可用 this ， this evening ， yesterday等；这种结构中的 fist 也可用其他叙序数词， time 还可由其他名词替代， that- 分句中动词形式同上。例如：This is the tenth time （ that …）This evening will be the first time(that)…Yesterday was the second time(that)…It’s the fist month(that)…

(end)

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5) 一般过去时与现在完成时的区别(contrast between present perfective and simple past )

As has been pointed out, the action or state denoted by the present perfective, though referring to some indefinite happening in the past, has some connection with the present. Hence, if an action or state happened in the past and has no connection with the present, it will have to be expressed by the simple past or the past progressive. Compare:

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His sister has been an invalid all her life. (she is still alive.)His sister was an invalid all her life. (she is now dead.)

判断什么时候用一般过去时，什么时候用现在完成时的基本方法如下：A ) 当有一个表示过去某时的状语 ( 包括when) 时，不能用现在完成时，而多用一般过去时。例如 :I saw her a minute ago. 我前一会儿还见到她的。Just now Xiao Lin came to see you. 刚才小林来找你。When did you get to know it? 你什么时候知道的。

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B) 当有一个表示到现在为止这段时间的状语时，多用现在完成时：Up till now we have planed over 24000 fruit trees. 到目前为止我们共种了二万四千多棵果树。We haven’t hand any physical training classes this week. 这星期我们还没上过体育课。So far we have only discussed the first five chapters. 到目前为止我们只讨论了前五章。I haven’t seen much of him recently (these day). 近来 ( 这些天 ) 我没大见到他。He has learned a good deal since he came here. 他到这儿以来学到不少东西。We haven’t had much rain this summer. 今年夏天没下多少雨。 ( 说话时仍是夏天，否则应用一般过去时。 )

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We’ve had two classes this morning. 今天早上我们上了两堂课。 ( 说话时是上午，否则应用一般过去时。 )C) 在用 already, yet, just, as yet, ever, never 这类副词作状语时，常可用现在完成时：This is the second game. They’ve already won a game. 这是第二场，他们已经赢了一场。Have you got the plan ready yet? — No, not yet. 计划做好了吗？—还没做好。I’ve just received a money order. 我刚收到一张汇款单。We haven’t reached an agreement as yet. 我们还没有达成协议。Have you ever seen each other before? 你们过去见过面吗？

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I’ve never heard of anything like that. 我从来没听说过这样的事。Note: “never, ever” 也可和一般过去时连用：Did you ever hear such a thing? 你听见过这样的事吗？I never met such a careless man. 我从未碰见过这样粗心大意的人。D ) 在单纯谈一个过去的动作，不涉及它对现在的影响时，通常用一般过去时；如果谈一件已经发生的事，不考虑它是什么时候发生的，而主要考虑对现在的影响，则多用现在完成时：Did you get up very early? 你起来得早吗？ ( 着眼动作本身 )Has he got up? 他起来了吗？ ( 着眼现在情况。 )

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What did you have for lunch? 你午饭吃的什么？Have you had lunch? 你吃午饭了吗？ I got the news from Xiao Yu. 这消息我是从小于那里听来的。I’ve got no news from him. 我没听到他的消息。I learned a lot there. 我在那里学到很多东西。I’ve learned a lot from you. 我从你们那儿学到很多东西。What did she say about? 他怎么说？What have I said to make you so angry? 我说了什么使你这样生气？

（ end ）

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6 ) 时态的呼应 (The Sequence of Tenses)

某些从句中，特别是宾语从句中的动时态，常要受主句谓语中动词时态的影响，例如 ,在 I thought you were free today. 这句话中，“你今天有空”这个概念本来应当用 you are free 表示，但是由于主要谓语 thought 是过去时态，就要用 You were free 这个形式。这种现象称为时态的呼应（ The Sequence of Tenses ）。

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A. 当主要谓语用的是现在或将来时态时，这类从句中的动词时态不受影响 :It is reported that a new railway is going to be built there next year.Has he told you when he is to leave for Kunming?Will you tell us how you managed to overcome the difficulties?

B. 如果主要谓语用的是过去时态，这类从句中的动词时态就要做相应的调整 , 以求两部分中的时态一致。一般说来，要做这种调整时，我们总是把现在时态改为过去时态 a.,把将来时态改

为过去将来时态 b. ，例如 :

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a. I did not know you were already ahead of us. I thought you were having break now. She asked me whether I had caught up with the others. b. I was thinking that you would not be going with us.

We had not expected that you would come so early.

She said they would have got everything ready by tonight.

Note: 过去时态多数不受影响，只有“一般过去时”通常改为“过去完成时”，例如 : She said she had finished her studies when the war had broke out.

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She said she was studying at university when the war

had broke out.She said her father had been a taxi driver. He told me he had joined the army two years before.

如果这个从句中有表示绝对过去时间的状语，就是“一般过去时”也不必改为“过去完成时” ，例如 :He told me he was born in 1934.She said she was in her last year in the university when the war broke out.

但是在用 the day before , three years before这类状语时，还是把时态加以调整较好，例如 : We were informed that our teacher had left two hours before.

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C. 需要遵守这种时态呼应规律的主要是下面几类从句中的谓语 :a. 宾语从句 :The did not tell me whether she had got well.She said she would do anything for us.

但当宾语从句的谓语表示一个人或东西的经常性的特点，变为过去时可能造成误会时，可以保持原来时态 :The teacher said that the Yellow River is the second largest river in China.Did he say that the train leaves at 5: 30?This proved once again that the earth is round.

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b. 作表语用的 sorry, afraid, glad, worried, certain, uncertain, sure 等形容词后的从句 :We were afraid you would not be able to join us.They were sure they could do the work well.

c. 主语及表语从句 :It had been decided who was to head the group.What I was uncertain about was whether we could overcome the difficulties all by ourselves.

d. 同位语从句 :He expressed the hope that we should go and visit his country some day.Who brought you the news that the enemy had surrendered?

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其他类型的状语从句和定语从句中的谓语一般都不受主句谓语动词的影响，而根据本身意思的需要选择适当的时态。Conclusion ：Up to now we have discussed the features of tense. We’ve talked about uses of the present tense, the future tense, the progressive tense, the perfective tense, the contrast between the simple past and the present perfective and the sequence of tenses.

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Exercise1. After driving for twenty miles, he suddenly

realized that he____in the wrong direction. a. has been driving b. had been driving c. was driving d. drove2. There was a knock at the door. It was the third

time someone____me that morning. a. had disturbed b. disturbed c. would disturb d. should disturb3. Now he is sitting next to Mary. At this time

tomorrow afternoon he____next to Helen. a. will sit b. is sitting c. will be sitting d. will have sat 4. He ___on this essay for thirty minutes but he

has

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written only a hundred words. a. worked b. will be working c. has been working d. would have worked5. He___today, but he was asked to study another

month. a. was to have returned b. were to return c. had returned d. is being operated6. The patient___nothing but orange juice for the

whole of next week. a.will be had b. will be having c. will have had d. will have been

having7.Turn on the television or open a magazine and

you___advertisement showing happy, balanced families.

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a. are often seeing b. playing c. will often see d. have often see8. Jackson___with the government for 40 years by

the time he retires. a. will be working b. will be worked c. will have been working d. will have worked9. After he___for half an hour, he came to the

conclusion that his friend was not coming. a. waited b. has waited c. was waiting d. had been waiting10. While he___the poster, a door somewhere

behind him opened. a. is staring at b. did stare to c. looked carefully upon d. was staring at