English tenses. A question about Present Perfect

[tarvos]

That's because you use present perfect with experiences that last a lifetime.

[aaleks]

But I'm not a native speaker, of course

That doesn't matter, I'm interested in every opinion

[mcthulhu]

To continue with the ice cream example, you could also use it without any qualifier: "I have eaten ice cream." (Presumably in response to a question like "Have you ever eaten ice cream?", though here maybe "I have eaten chocolate-covered ants" might be a more plausible example. And yes, I have.)

I have visited Austria.

I have read Sologub.

I have studied xx languages.

None of these imply that the action is still ongoing, or future; the actions are all clearly in the past. I think the focus of the present perfect is still on the present, however, in the sense of the present result or outcome of actions in the past. Neurotip's "relevant to the speaker now" is a pretty good description. Maybe we could also think of the present perfect more generally as looking back toward the past from the vantage point of the present moment. It's a matter of perspective. If you add something to any of those examples that instead situates it firmly in the past, e.g. "in 1979," then the focus is no longer on the present moment and you have to use the simple past: I read Sologub in 1979.

Maybe we have beaten this one to death (present perfect used intentionally).

P.S. - "As a native BrEng speaker, I might well say 'Have you finished the book yet?'" That would also be my first choice, as a native American English speaker. The other variant seems less neutral (impatient, or rude). I might hesitate before phrasing the question to my wife that way.

[Dylan95]

Not a silly question at all, and I'm sure there's a lot of information and discussion about this online which I've read very little of. I absolutely agree with Tarvos' answer, but at the risk of causing confusion, I might add:

'I have lived in London and Paris.'

Here, the speaker may be living in London, Paris, or somewhere else, but both are seen as relevant to the speaker now ('...and I've learned from both experiences').

There is also a difference between North American and British usage. As a native BrEng speaker, I might well say 'Have you finished the book yet?', but it would feel odd to say 'Did you finish the book yet?', which if I understand correctly would be quite normal in NAm.

hope this helps

Yeah. In the US, those phrases are pretty much interchangeable. "Have you finished the book yet?" and "Did you finish the book yet?" I probably would ask, "have you finished the book yet?" more often though. It sounds slightly more polite to my ears for whatever reason.

[Dylan95]

I have lived in London for 10 years. = I lived in London for 10 years, and I still do.
I have lived in London = A general fact. I have lived in London. (I no longer live in London). I would never express this thought in this way though. I would be more likely to say "I have lived in London before"

I lived in London for 10 years. = I lived in London for 10 years, and I no longer do.
I lived in London last year. = I lived in London last year. The assumption is that I no longer live there.
I lived in London once. I lived in London once. The assumption is that I no longer live there.
I lived in London. (I would never say this on its own).

[aaleks]

Thank you all for your answers It's been very helpful.