(Episode 12: Present Perfect vs Past simple. Part 3: Just and yet.)
(Photo by Schrodingerinthkitchen)
Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet? I have just made a sandwich! Actually, Schrodingerinthkitchen has just made it! When?
If you have listened to the past two episodes, you know that she did it in the past, it is finished (the sandwich is ready!), and we don’t know when, right?
Well, in this case, we know it was a short time ago. But how short is a “short” time ago? Sigh…
Come listen to this episode, where we will add finishing touches to the topic of present perfect, and if you answer the questions and practice on your own until next week, I promise you will get that much better at using this form!
Relax. You’re ok. Take a deep breath; give yourself more oxygen. Relax your shoulders and your jaw; let the blood flow more easily. After all, we are just talking, and this will be easy. I promise!
Hello everyone! This is the last episode of season 1 of English Airs, the podcast that will give you effortless accuracy! I don’t know about you, but it’s quite unbelievable for me. My name is Parya, I have been teaching English since 2000, and I’m currently based in Tokyo. You know, I always say “currently” because every day you are faced with new situations, and you have to make decisions that change the future. I haven’t decided to move to another place yet, but I have just come up with another idea for my website. This means I will have to work more for a while.
Hey, what did I say? “I haven’t decided to move to another place yet”, and ” I have just come up with another idea.” Just and yet are two more words that you can use with present perfect, and they are super simple. Here, I’ll show you:
When you say “I have just done that.” you mean a short time ago. How short? Well, that depends on how often you do that thing, or how big it is. For example, can you say “I have just brushed my teeth” 4 hours after you brush your teeth? Of course not! You will probably be doing it again in an hour or two! How about saying “I have just gotten a promotion!” 4 hours after you get the news? Well, first of all, congratulations! And second, yes, you can! You don’t get a promotion every day, do you? You can say “I’ve just been promoted” for about a month!
So, what has just happened to you? What have you just done? I’ll wait while you think and tell me at least two things, out loud if you can!
Great! I mean, great job using “just”, but I have mixed feelings about some of the things you told me!
What about yet? Let’s look at a pair of sentences:
“I haven’t been to Austria”
and
“I haven’t been to Austria yet.”
As I’m sure you know, both of them are correct. So, which one gives more information? That’s right, the second one. It tells you that I am going to go there in the future. Yes, it is a plan, but zero arrangements at the moment!
Oh, and if you visit the post for this episode, you will see that I have asked you a question: “Have you eaten yet?” Why didn’t I ask “Have you eaten?” Bravo! It’s because I think if you haven’t, you are going to eat (at some point) today.
All right. Now think about your day or your week, and tell me what is on your schedule but you haven’t done yet. You can also ask me a few questions, too! I am listening!
Great job everyone! But for those of you who haven’t eaten anything yet, please eat something! You don’t learn as much when you are hungry!
Ok, now I need to mention a final point before closing the chapter on present perfect for now:
If you hear “I just ate”, that is also correct and means the same. In American English, you can use past simple instead of present perfect here without changing the meaning.
Well, give yourself a pat on the back; you have just finished one of the most confusing structures for English learners. Practice every day, and trust that you will get better and better. How to practice? Time to change the questions on your reminder. I think you have an idea of what to put there, don’t you? Yes, something like these:
“What have you just done?”
and
“What haven’t you done today or this week yet?”
Of course, you can add a Yes/No question, depending on your schedule.
Set the reminder to repeat every day, sometime between 10 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon. If you set it for early morning or your lunch break, your answers will probably be the same, right?
And with this, we can bring this episode to an end. Remember that now you can listen to it on YouTube while reading the transcript, and you can ask questions and leave comments. And don’t forget to subscribe so that you don’t miss the extra videos I will upload that are not on the podcast. You can also go to the website and see the script in whole, and find extra material and links.
Thanks for staying with me until the end of season one. Season two is starting soon! I have so many ideas about what to put there, but as always I would be very happy to hear your ideas and/or questions and comments, and please keep recommending the podcast to anyone who might need it, or enjoy it. You know that I wish to help everyone I can. Would you help me?
Parya out!
I am very sensitive to noise, especially in the morning. I wanted to buy this T-shirt, but it’s a tad too expensive to sleep in!
Do you look like this when you have just woken up, too?
Is something still not clear? Do you want to tell me something? Leave a comment under this post, or ask me.