Have you ever been to this restaurant?

I have decided to report about the restaurant from last night since it was good. It's called Chaya, and it's on the seventh floor of Isetan.

http://www.chayam.jp/restaurant/shinjuku.html

Actually, I've been there many times. I used to like going to movies, and there's a nice theater near there. While their brown rice is good, my suggestion is to get bread. It's really delicious, and you can eat as much as you want! It also comes with a nice peanut spread.

come with ～を搭載している［備えている・装備している］、〔主語には〕～が付いて［付属して・同梱されて］いる
・Does coffee come with it? : コーヒーはセットになっていますか？ (definition from 英辞郎 on the web)

For dessert, I had the nut tart. I have had other desserts there, but that one is my favorite.

So, you know I have been writing about present perfect tense. Here are the links to all of the posts I have written about it this week:

http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/now-that-i-have-had-dinner-i-can-write.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/yesterday-i-started-series-of-posts-on.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-have-written-two-posts-on-present.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-havent-seen-one-of-my-friends-for.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-many-times-have-you-run-washing.html

For a review, you should be able to correct these real sentences from class:

× I have ever been to that museum.
× How long have you lived in Taipei? (I don't live there now)
× Pollen allergy from last week.
× Recently, there are some serious quality problems.

Here are the answers:

○ I have been to that museum. <- don't use "ever" in a positive sentence
○ How long did you live in Taipei? <- if you use present perfect, it sounds like I still live in Taipei
○ My pollen allergy has been giving me trouble since last week. <- use "since" not "from" with present perfect
○ Recently, there have been some serious quality problems. <- use present perfect with "recently"

I hope you have learned something about present perfect this week. Now there are other topics to talk about, so my series of present perfect posts has come to an end. If there is something that you haven't understood, please let me know!

I haven't seen one of my friends for a long time.

We bought a banana rack a few weeks ago. It works pretty well. Still, I have been disappointed that the bananas don't stay green longer. I really love slightly green bananas! I suppose I should buy fewer bananas each time so that I can enjoy them before they start to develop black spots.

This week, I have written a few times about present perfect tense. If you want to review, here are the posts:

http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/now-that-i-have-had-dinner-i-can-write.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/yesterday-i-started-series-of-posts-on.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-have-written-two-posts-on-present.html

So, remember that one reason to use present perfect is to talk about an action which began in the past and has continued up to the present. The action is NOT FINISHED, or JUST FINISHED.

• × How long here worked? <- a direct translation from Japanese?
• ○ How long have you worked here?

When you talk about "how long" using present perfect, use "since" or "for", but not "from".

• × I have worked here from last spring.
• ○ I have worked here since last spring.
• ○ I have worked here for about a year.
• ○ I worked for my previous employer from 2006 to 2007. (雇い主 employer; definition from Edict)

A: Where did you grow up?
B: Tokyo.
A: Oh, so you must know the city well.
B: Sure, I've lived here my whole life.

Present perfect tense has this meaning of continuing from the past up to now. However, I think native speakers are more likely to use present perfect continuous in this situation, unless the action has been continuing for a really long time.

• × I've listened to this mp3 nonstop lately. You should really download it.
• ○ I've been listening to this mp3 nonstop lately. You should really download it.

Another difference is that when using present perfect, the action is more likely finished. When using present perfect continuous, there's a greater chance that the action is still going on.

• × Why haven't you replied to the email I sent? I have waited since last week!
• ○ Why haven't you replied to the email I sent? I have been waiting since last week! <- and I am still waiting
• ○ I've been working on this report for days, and I'm still not finished. <- I'm still working on it.

I haven't seen one of my Taiwanese friends since January. She has been to Moscow recently, and I'm really looking forward to hearing about her trip. We are planning to have dinner on the weekend. If dinner is good, I'll recommend the restaurant to you.

I have already written part of tomorrow's post; it's more on present perfect tense. Look for that tomorrow. The press has announced that a case of swine flu has been found in Tokyo, so everyone take care!