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Present Perfect Tense with State Verbs

English Language Learners Asked by Arthur Robinson on December 22, 2021

Can I use the Present Perfect SIMPLE with State Verbs like “Thought” and “Know”? Like, for example, “I’ve thought you were my friend” and “I’ve known she was nice.” Can I use it? If I can’t, why?

One Answer

I would not use these sentences as they are, but I might use that construction in a longer sentence:

  • “I have known about her goodness for several years.”
  • “I have sometimes known her name, but I never remember it for long.” (This is somewhat humorous.)
  • “I have often thought it would be fun to learn woodworking.” (The thought comes to me often, but I do not always have that thought.)

I cannot clearly say why, but for these verbs this tense demands a specification of time: either a duration (continuing into the present), as in my first example, or a set of discrete moments, as in my others.

Answered by Anton Sherwood on December 22, 2021

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