Study this example situation:
-yesterday morning-
Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining, but the ground was very wet.
It had been raining.
It was not raining when I looked out of the window; the sun was shining. But it had been raining before.
Had been -ing is the past perfect continuous:
I/we/you/they had ( = I‘d etc.) been doing / working
he/she/it had ( = he‘d etc.) been doing / working
The past simple is had + past participle (gone / seen / finished etc).
Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past:
“Sarah arrived at the party.”
This is the starting point of the story. Then, if we want to talk about things that happened before this time, we use the past perfect (had …):
“When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.” Read the rest of this entry »
Do not use the present perfect (I have done) when you talk about a finished time (for example, yesterday / ten minutes ago / in 1999 / when I was a child). Use the past tense:
“It was very cold yesterday.” (not has been)
“Paul and Lucy arrived ten minutes ago.” (not have arrived)
“Did you eat a lot of sweets when you were a child? (not have you eaten)
Use the past to ask When … ? or What time … ?
“When did your friends arrive?” (not have … arrived)
“What time did you finish work?”
Study this example situation:
Tom is looking for his key. He can’t find it. He has lost his key. (present perfect) This means that he doesn’t have his key now.
-Ten Minutes Later-
Now Tom has found his key. He has it now.
Has he lost his key? No, he has found it.
Did he lose his key? Yes, he did.
He lost his key (past simple) but now he has found it. (present perfect)
We use the present perfect to talk about something that began in the past and still continues now. Compare the present and the present perfect:
Bill is in the hospital.
but He has been in the hospital since Monday.
(not Bill is in the hospital since Monday)
Do you know each other well?
but Have you known each other for a long time?
(not Do you know)
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