Reporting Source
Where did you get those jeans?
Focusing on Source or Emotional Impact
Reporting Source vs. Duration
| PAST | PRESENT PERFECT | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Use past tense to focus on: who, what, where, why, how or the origin of something. |
Use present perfect to focus on an aspect of time: the duration or the recency of the activity. (for the past few hours, recently, so far) |
||
Where did you go? |
I went shopping. (a shopping center) |
Where have you been? |
We have been shopping. (for the past few hours) |
What did you buy? |
I bought some jeans. (pants) |
What have you bought? |
I've just bought some new shoes. (recently) |
Where did you get those jeans? |
I got them at the Gap. (a store) |
What brands have you worn? |
I've worn Levi's and Gap. (so far) |
What are they made of? |
They are made of denim. (material) |
What have you sold this year? |
We've mostly sold Levi Jeans. (so far) |
Common Mistakes
| ERRORS | FIX |
|---|---|
|
We went to the beach this summer. (completed) We have been to the beach recently. (completed) We have been vacationing at the beach this summer. (ongoing) (If we are still at the beach, use present perfect progressive with "this summer". If we are talking about a recently completed trip, use past tense, or use present perfect with the adverb "recently".) |
Where did you get that? |
I bought it at the bakery. (Emphasis on where. Use past tense for reporting source or origin.) |
Wow! He did a back flip!
Reporting an Emotional Response
The past tense focuses on action!
- urgency
- emotional impact
- emotional outburst
Emotional Response vs. Experience
| PAST | PRESENT PERFECT |
|---|---|
When reporting something with an emotional response, use the past. |
When telling previous experience, use present perfect |
Wow! Look at him. ! He just did a backflip. (amazement) |
He has done a backflip. (indefinite past) |
Mom! Johnny hit me. (outrage) |
Johnny has hit me. (indefinite past) |
His car ran into the back of mine! (shock) |
*His car has run into the back of mine. |
Practice
Past Tense vs. Present Perfect
- Choose the tense that agrees with the adverbs of time.
- An asterisk (*) indicates an incorrect answer.