Theory

Tenses: Present perfect and Past

Let’s hear the bad news first: this is probably the most difficult part of the grammar. The reason for this is that the two forms in Dutch and English look so much the same, but the meaning is completely different! The good news is that when you have mastered this rule, the others will seem relatively easy.

Some more good news: you will probably make few mistakes with I did. Most mistakes are made in the use of I have done, so let’s look at that one: I have lived in Delft or I lived in Delft??

The most important thing here is to look at the situation and forget about the Dutch language. This is because “Ik heb in Delft gewoond” to your Dutch ears means that the speaker no longer lives there. This is the Dutch rule and situation. However, you cannot apply the same rule in English! When an English speaker says ”I have lived in London” it means that he is still living there. We cannot explain this any other way, but please try to remember this. It sounds very unnatural to Dutch ears, we know, but we cannot change the rules for you.

Let’s look at another situation: Imagine you are painting your room and a friend phones to see what you are doing. Your answer should be: Oh, nothing much, I’ve been painting the room all morning. You cannot say here: I have painted the room all morning, because you are still in the middle of paining it. Remember that I am doing is used to talk about an action? Therefore: I have been painting refers to an action too.

I have lived, worked, etc, means that this situation is still true. Think of this every time you have to fill in an answer in the exercises. At first it will sound really strange, but you will get used to it!

One final note: There is much more to say about the I have done-form, but that goes beyond the scope of this course. If you really would like more information click on this link.