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paride1970
Joined: 24 Jul 2017 Posts: 7
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Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2017 5:52 am Post subject: Present perfect or simple past? |
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Dear ESL Teachers:
Should I use the present perfect or the simple past/past simple in the following sentences?
1) Over the past (last) year, our company's sales increased by 85%.
2) Over the past (last) year, our company's sales has increased by 85%.
3) During the past (last) year, our company's sales increased by 85%.
4) During the past (last) year, our company's sales has increased by 85%.
5) In the past (last) year, our company's sales increased by 85%.
6) In the past (last) year, our company's sales has increased by 85%.
Thank you. |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 1877 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 8:41 pm Post subject: Re: Present perfect or simple past? |
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paride1970 wrote: |
Dear ESL Teachers:
Should I use the present perfect or the simple past/past simple in the following sentences?
1) Over the past (last) year, our company's sales increased by 85%.
2) Over the past (last) year, our company's sales has increased by 85%.
3) During the past (last) year, our company's sales increased by 85%.
4) During the past (last) year, our company's sales has increased by 85%.
5) In the past (last) year, our company's sales increased by 85%.
6) In the past (last) year, our company's sales has increased by 85%.
Thank you. |
Here's my opinion. If it's just in the past, it should be with simple past. For me, all of these sound good with "increased." To use the present perfect, it would have to start in the past and continue to the present, such as:
Since last year, our company's sales have increased.
Starting last year, our company's sales have increased.
Or even better, "In recent years, our company's sales have increased."
or "Starting last year, our company's sales have been increasing." |
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bethanycraft
Joined: 15 Aug 2017 Posts: 1
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Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:32 am Post subject: Past/Present Perfect |
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Hi! In all of these situations, the past simple works. If you want to use the present perfect, you need to change has to have(sales have). When you use the past simple, it gives the idea that the year is over and the sales increased in that fixed period of time. When you use the present perfect, it implies that the sales have been increasing for a year and are continuing to do so.
I have
You have
He/She/It has
We have
They have
I hope this helps!
Bethany
www.craftenglishtutoring.com |
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