English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
PRESENT PERFECT or PAST PERFECT?
The present perfect shows:
1. a midway between the present and the past. Example: He has finished his assignment (that’s why he’s playing around).
2. a habitual action: He has always come home late.
The past perfect is used to talk about the first of two past actions:
He had come before I left.
He had had a degree in English before he proceeded to study Law.
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
Academic Advisor, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan;
&
Doctoral Student of English, University of Ibadan.
