have seen

[Offensive And Peculiar]

I had believed that "have seen" was the 'past perfect' tense. I saw that someone posted at Wiki-answers that it is 'present perfect'.

Could you enlighten me. I am a product of schooling in the "60s" and I am trying to overcome that.

Thank you for your patience and kindness (and especially for not laughing at me)

[5jj]

'I have' - present - - - 'I have come/seen/conquered' - present perfect.
'I had' - past - - - 'I had come/seen/conquered' - past perfect.

ps. welcome to the forum.

[Barb_D]

Hi, and welcome to Using English.

"Have seen" is present perfect. (The "helping" verb, "to have" is in the present tense.)
"Had seen" is past perfect. (The helping verb is in the past tense.)

A: Do you want to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie?
B: Could we pick another? I have seen that one already.
-- It relates to an action in the past that connects to our present situation.



I was halfway through a movie on demand when I realized I had seen it before.
-- It's a past action that has another past action after it. I had seen it, then I realized it, both in the past.