Korean Job Discussion Forums

[whatthefunk]

Maybe Im just a dumbass, but could somebody please help me with the present perfect? I was teaching an adult class about it the other day and my two studnets asked about a million questions that I couldnt answer and now Im really confused. Heres my main question....what is the difference between present perfect and simple past? Is there a difference between these two questions?
1 - "Did you call your mother yet?"
2 - "Have you called your mother yet?"

Is there a difference? Thanks.

[Gopher]

Excellent question.

One way of making a distinction is the "lost keys" story.


I lost my keys this morning, but found them before lunch. (past = finished)

Help! I've lost my keys. Has anyone seen them? (present perfect = in the past, but still relevant right now)


I don't have any students at this level. Maybe Korean doesn't use the present perfect like English does? (I don't know the answer to that)

I used to tell intermediate students in Chile that they could get by without the present perfect...just like intermediate English speakers can get by without Spanish's subjunctive tense. Depending on the context, there is no great difference between "Did you call your mother?" and "Have you called your mother yet?"

[sheba]

There is present perfect and present continuous.

Present Perfect:

To exress something that has happened (or not) at an unspecified time in the past (life experience). or To express something that started in the past and that continues into the present.

eg: I have been to China and Japan.
I have never eaten Korean food.
She has been on holiday since last week.


Present continuous:

To express an action in the moment.

eg: I am walking
I am studying
They are eating Pizza


Hope this helps and doesnt just confuse you!!!

As for your questions... well the first just sound wrong!
Did you call you mother?
Have you called your mother yet?

Not sure of the technicalities

[Bunnymonster]

[the saint]

[tomato]

Gopher, you got me thinking.

It looks like Korean has grammatical constructions for the present perfect tense, but no separate verb tense.

I keep a file on Korean expressions. I quick-searched "have you ever" and "I have never," and this is what I came up with:

[verb stem] �� ���� �ִ�? =
Have you ever [verb]ed?

[verb] ���� �ִ°� =
Have you ever [verb]ed?

�̱��� �� �� ���� �ִ°� =
Have you ever been to America?

Ļ�ŷ縦 ���� �� ���� �ִ�? =
Have you ever seen a kangaroo before?

�ϵ�� Ÿ �� ���� �ִ� =
Have you ever flown first class?

������ [verb]�� �� ���� ���� =
I have never [verb]ed.

������ ��� �� ���� ���� =
I have never heard of such a thing.

�� å�� �쵵 �� �ô� =
I have never even opened the book.

�̰��� ���� ���� ó���̴� =
I have never seen such hot weather as this.

�������� [noun]�� �� ���� ���� =
So far, I have never seen a [noun].

���� �̰��� ó���Դϴ� =
I have never been here before.

[tomato]

Here's a folk song which might hit the spot:

[Gopher]

Hey Tomato: does this suggest, then, that Koreans might need to learn not only the verb constructions (regular and irregular participles, for ex.) but also the concept of the present perfect as we use it in English?

If so, then it's going to take some work to get them to internalize and use it...

[some waygug-in]

Just a note, your last example is wrong.

The English should read "This is the first time I am here"

or "This is the first time I've been here".

I've read on this forum that the present perfect doesn't really exist in Korean. The constructions you showed seem to come close though.

Anyone know how to say something like: "I've been studying Korean for a long time" using a present perfect progressive?

[tomato]

Some Waygug-in, I think that would be:

�������� �ѱ�� �����Ѵ�.

And boy, have I ever!

[Confused Canadian]

The following is taken / summarized from the book "Fundamentals of English Grammar, 3rd Ed." by Betty Schrampfer Azar.

The SIMPLE PAST expresses an activity that occurred (i.e. finished / completed) at a specific time (or times) in the past.

Ex. I finished my work two hours ago.
Ex. I was in Europe last year / three years ago / in 1995 / when I was ten years old.

The PRESENT PERFECT express an activity that occurred at an unspecified time (or times) in the past.

Ex. I have already finished my work.
Ex. I have been in Europe many times / several times / a couple of times / once.

The main difference is that we use the SIMPLE PAST when we mention a specific time. When the time is unspecified, we use the PRESENT PERFECT.

Also, when the present perfect is used with since or for, it expresses situations that began in the past and continue to the present.

Ex. We've been in class since ten o'clock this morning.
Ex. I have known Ben for ten years. (I met him ten years ago. I still know him today. We are friends.)

According to the above,

"Did you call your mother yet?"

is incorrect. You would need to state a specific time:

Did you call your mother last night / yesterday / on her birthday?

"Have you called your mother yet?" is correct. [Have you called your mother at any time (in the recent past) up to the present time?]

Hope that helps! Sorry I can't help with the Korean though...

Confused Canadian

[some waygug-in]

Muchisimas Gracias, and that ain't no bull.


Now if only I could teach myself how to remember these things when I try to hangug-mal.

[whatthefunk]

Thank you Confused Canadian. You helped me considerably. You are the least confused canadian there is, i think.

[Billy Pilgrim]

[Billy Pilgrim]