you can go if you have finished ?

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thomas615

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Hello Teacher, I saw this sentence (1) in an article and I am wondering why sentence (1) is correct. Can I say "You can go if you finish your task."

(1) You can go if you have finished your task.
 

emsr2d2

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Hello Teacher, I saw this sentence (1) in an article and I am wondering why sentence (1) is correct. Can I say "You can go if you finish your task."

(1) You can go if you have finished your task.

They're both possible.

You can go if you have finished your task = You may go NOW if you have finished.
You can go if you finish your task = You can go at some unspecified point in the future provided that, at that time in the future, your task has been completed.
 

BobK

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:up: There'se another possible meaning for 'You can go if you have finished your task' which depends on tone and context: 'You can go if you have finished your task [and at this rate you never will!]' I used to hear this a lot in school detentions (which are now a thing of the past :-(;-))

b
 
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