Submitted by hoang trung (not verified) on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 05:37.
I think the above interpretation about the past tense is not precise. The tense is a formal category. So , it is nor correct to say there are two type of past tense. The present perfect is a present tense that expresses an event or a state that happened in the past, but it's still relevant to the present (they have always lived there = they are still there. So it does not indicate a past event).The present perfect (continuous)indicates that the beginning of events or states is in the past, and that does not absolutely mean it is a past tense.
I think the above interpretation about the past tense is not precise. The tense is a formal category. So , it is nor correct to say there are two type of past tense. The present perfect is a present tense that expresses an event or a state that happened in the past, but it's still relevant to the present (they have always lived there = they are still there. So it does not indicate a past event).The present perfect (continuous)indicates that the beginning of events or states is in the past, and that does not absolutely mean it is a past tense.