Present perfect

Hi again Andi,

it's difficult to be certain without knowing the context, I'm afraid. The simple form is generally used to describe typical or normal behaviour; the continuous form suggests something which is temporary.

You might use the continuous form in your example if, for some reason, you consider the norm to be not going abroad every summer but the person in question has recently changed to start doing this. It's unlikely in this case because the time frame is necessarily years, and actions which cover years are difficult to think of as temporary unless we are talking about something which usually occurs over an even longer time frame such as where we live or work. Nevertheless, the choice is really psychological: whether or not we see the action or think of it as temporary or permanent.

It's also possible to use continuous forms to emphasise that an action is repeated and irritating or not desired: He's always leaving dirty dishes in the sink for people to wash. However, this does not seem applicable in your example.

I don't think the present perfect is likely in your other example as the plan is still current and we are interested in the future sense (an intention) rather than than in the past sense of doing all the organisation. If we wanted the latter we would probably add an adjective like 'already': What do you mean you've bought tickets to Italy? I've already planned to go to Peru!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kapil Kabir,

Interesting question! Yes, those sentences are grammatically correct. The meanings are similar to We'll need ten extra pounds and I've had three busy days.

Why is the article used? It shows that the speaker is thinking of 'ten pounds' not as ten individual units, but as one single unit, all together. That's why the indefinite article is used here - the basic structure is 'We'll need an extra (something)' , and the 'something' is 'ten pounds' (as one unit). Similarly, in sentence 2, the speaker is thinking of 'three days' as a single unit of time.

This structure is often used if the speaker wants to add an adjective to describe that unit. Here are some more examples: The journey was a long three hours / There were an incredible five hundred comments on the video. The structure is article + adjective + number + noun.

Thanks for your question! Please try to post questions on pages relevant to the question. This question would have been good on our Articles page, for example. Thanks :)

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Kapil Kabir,

You might want to refer to our Conditionals 1 and 2 pages, where you can see the structures that are taught in most textbooks and where we mention the mixed conditional. Often English learners get the impression that these structures are the only possible ones, but this is not the case.

I find the sentence that you cite a little confusing. The first part ('if this were to be the case') suggests an unreal present situation, but then it goes on ('this conflict would have long been over') to refer to an unreal past situation that seems to be dependent on the present situation. Perhaps I've misunderstood it, but this doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps I'm missing something here, but that's how I see the sentence here in isolation.

Both 3 and 4 are correct: 'if this were to be the case' is very similar in meaning to 'if this were the case'; both refer to an unreal condition in a hypothetical present or future time. The first form is more formal and makes it seem that this situation is even more unlikely that the second one, but other than that they mean the same thing.

Hope this helps you.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team