Friday December 16, 2005
The past is now!
By GUY PERRING
IN business, past actions and activities often have a direct impact on the present. For example, in the sentence “We have hired a new marketing executive”, although the action was in the past the impact is on the present (We now have a new marketing executive.). The tense we use is the present perfect.
Here are some more examples taken from the latest business news:
The IMF has approved a plan to cancel debt to the world’s poorer countries.
Gold prices have climbed to their highest level since 1980.
Australia has settled a maritime dispute with East Timor.
All of the above happened in the past, but have impact now.
Look at the two sentences below which illustrate another difficulty regarding the present perfect:
a) I have written 12 e-mails this morning.
b) I wrote 12 e-mails this morning.
In sentence (a), it is not yet midday and potentially more e-mails can be written. In sentence (b), the action is finished and it is the afternoon already.
Just to cause a little more confusion, US and British usage tends to be different. For example, if you wish a British colleague to join you for lunch, you might say:
Have you eaten yet? (present perfect used with yet)
Whereas if you wish to invite an American, you should use the past simple such as:
Did you eat yet? (past simple used with yet)
This is a rare case in that most US and British differences tend to be in areas of vocabulary rather than grammar. An area we will explore in a later column.
Guy Perring is Director, Professional Development Unit (PDU), at the British Council Malaysia. The PDU offers a wide range of learning opportunities from management and communications skills training to developing English skills. Contact the British Council in Kuala Lumpur at 03-2723 7900 or Penang at 04-2630 330 or visit www.britishcouncil.org.my.
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