The Present Perfect Part 2

 

We also use the Present Perfect when we talk about our experience, a thing that started in the past and it is still going on until now. This English grammar rule is quite confusing for some ESL students. 

 Compare the following examples:

 1.     My grandfather was a famous novelist. He wrote more than 500 novels.

 My grandfather died 20 years ago. He is not writing novels anymore, but he wrote more than 500 novels when he was still alive. This sentence is Past Simple sentence. But why do we have to use the Present Simple for this situation? Obviously, my grandfather can’t write novels anymore. He’s dead.

 2.     Jack is a famous novelist. He has written 100 novels.

 We have to use the be-verb IS because Jack is still with us; he isn’t dead. He has written 100 novels up to this point in time, and he will write novels more. This is the reason why we use Present Perfect to describe this situation.

 Japanese Translation by: Google Translate

 また、過去に始まり、現在も続いている経験について話すときは、現在完了形を使用します。

 次の例を比較してください。

 1.     My grandfather was a famous novelist. He wrote more than 500 novels.

 私の祖父は20年前に亡くなりました。彼はもう小説を書いていませんが、彼がまだ生きていたときに500以上の小説を書きました。この文は過去形です。しかし、なぜこの状況で現在形を使用する必要があるのでしょうか。明らかに、私の祖父はもう小説を書くことができません。彼は死にました。

 2.     Jack is a famous novelist. He has written 100 novels.

 ジャックはまだ私たちと一緒にいるので、動詞ISを使用する必要があります。彼は死んでいません。彼はこれまでに100冊の小説を書きましたが、今後さらに小説を書きます。これが、この状況を説明するために現在完了形を使用する理由です。