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Chapter 2: Time Travel

VII. Cause-Effect

1.0 Cause/Effect Relationship

Besides connecting two points of time or action, the Perfect Tense is also used to talk about a cause/effect relationship.  Something that happened earlier has a later effect.  There are three possible situations for a cause or causes that have a later effect:

  1. The action started and ended in the past but has an effect on something in the present.

    Example

    I have lost my wallet.  I don’t have money to pay the restaurant.
  2. The initial action happened repeatedly in the past (prior to the time of reporting) and has an effect at a later time.

    Example

    I have cut back on eating dessert, and I have lost weight.

The initial action happened repeatedly or incrementally (developed through time) at a prior time until the time of reporting.  The effect is likely incremental, but it could happen as a result of the cumulative initial actions.

Example

The population of Mexico City has increased greatly.  It is difficult to find an available apartment.

1.1 Compare the Simple Past with the Perfect Tense

Comparing the Simple Tense with the Perfect Tense will help us understand the cause-and-effect in the perfect tense.  When we use the Simple Past, there is no cause-and-effect relationship with a present.  Below is a comparative example:

Example

Simple Past:

I had an accident in 2005.  My car was severely damaged, but it has been fixed.  I also broke my leg, and it took three months to heal, but it is fine now.  I can play sports again, and I am enjoying hiking again.

Perfect Tense:

I have had an accident.  I think that I have broken my leg, and I need to be taken to the hospital.  My car has also been damaged, and I need a tow truck to bring it to an autobody repair garage.  Also, my family has not been called about this.  Does someone have a phone that I could use to call them?

Exercises

  1. Choose whether the following Perfect Tense verbs have a Single Cause (write ‘s’ in the blank), a Single Repeating Cause (write ‘sr’) or a Cumulative Cause (write ‘c’).
     
    1.        I have broken my phone, and I missed an important call.
    2.        Joji had been late so many times that his boss is considering dismissing him.
    3.        Why has she not called yet?  I am beginning to be worried.
    4.        The world has emitted so much carbon that the climate is changing rapidly.
    5.       Climate change is happening exponentially because snow cover has decreased by 30% in the North.  Snow reflects heat and slows climate change.
    6.        I had forgotten about my assignment that was due, so it was late. The instructor reduced my grade by 15%.
    7.        Every month, I have put $100 in my savings account.  By the end of the year, I had enough money to buy a new cell phone.

     

    Answers show/hide
    1. s
    2. sr
    3. s, c
    4. c
    5. c
    6. s
    7. sr

     

  2. Match the possible effects of the initial action in the Perfect Tense.
     
    Cause
    (1) Yasmin has not eaten breakfast.
    (2) An increase in administrative costs has impacted the net profit of many companies.
    (3) Conflict at work has had negative effects on everyone.
    (4) Stock prices for technology have increased over the last five years.
    (5) Her friends have planned a birthday party for her.
    (6) Inflation has risen by 15%.
    (7) Chiara is going to work but has forgotten her wallet.
    Effect
    (a) Revenue was up by 23% this year, defying expectations.
    (b) She is very hungry.
    (c) They are busy getting everything ready.
    (d) People are having trouble affording food.
    (e) She doesn’t have money for the bus fare.
    (f) Sick leave has increased by 10%.
    (g) Many companies are struggling.

     

    Answers show/hide
    1. b
    2. a
    3. f
    4. g
    5. c
    6. d
    7. e

     

  3. After you have matched the causes and effects above, make sentences by combining the clauses for both cause and effect.  Use connecting words to create subordinating clauses of cause and effect.  Be careful to use the correct conjunction, which can either be a conjunction for ‘cause’ and a conjunction for ‘effect’.  They can be either coordinating conjunctions or subordinating conjunctions.  You could also leave them as independent clauses using adverbs, transitions or conjunctive adverbs (examples: so, therefore, as a result, however, although).
     
    Examples:
    • I have been working hard on creating this accounting app, so I should finish this week.  (coordinating conjunction)
    • Because I have been working hard on creating this accounting app, I should finish this week.  (subordinating conjunction)
    • I have had some trouble with creating this accounting app. However, I should finish this week.  (conjunctive adverb)

     

    1.                                                                                                                                 
    2.                                                                                                                                 
    3.                                                                                                                                 
    4.                                                                                                                                 
    5.                                                                                                                                 
    6.                                                                                                                                 
    7.                                                                                                                                 

     

    Possible Answers (Answers Will Vary) show/hide
    1. Yasmin has not eaten breakfast, so she is very hungry.
    2. An increase in administrative costs has impacted the net profit of many companies. As a result, many companies are struggling.
    3. Conflict at work has had negative effects on everyone, so sick leave has increased by 10%.
    4. Because stock prices for technology have increased over the last five years, revenue was up by 23% this year, defying expectations.
    5. Her friends have planned a birthday party for her, so they are busy getting everything ready.
    6. Because inflation has risen by 15%, people are having trouble affording food.
    7. Chiara is going to work but has forgotten her wallet, so she doesn’t have money for the bus fare.

2.0 Perfect Tenses for Cause and Effect

Table 2.10 Perfect Tenses for Cause and Effect
Perfect Tense Perfect Continuous Tense

The Perfect Tense connects a past action or several (series of) actions to a later effect.  In the Present Perfect, the later effect is true (now).

There are three ways that this can happen.

  1. Something has developed a little at a time, which leads to a later effect or current situation.

    Examples

    The population of Mexico City has increased over the last ten years.
     
    He has grown rapidly in the last year.
  2. One action has happened repeatedly (again and again) over time, or several actions over a period of time have happened between two points in time, leading to a later effect.

    Examples

    She has contributed in many ways to this project, leading to its success.
     
    He has acquired of a number of classic cars, resulting in an impressive collection.
     
    I have packed my bags, bought my plane ticket and arrived at the airport.  My vacation is finally here.
  3. One action in the past has a later effect.

    Examples

    He has had an accident, and now he can no longer work.
     
    He has graduated with a degree in Medicine.  Now he is working at the City Hospital.

The Perfect Tense connects a past action or several (series of) actions to a later effect.  In the Perfect Continuous Tense, however, there is an expectation that the cause will continue to happen.  If there is an effect, it is an ongoing or cumulative effect that is still in progress

There are only two ways that the cause can happen. #1 below is not possible.

  1. One action in the past has a later effect that is still in progress—this would not be how the Perfect Progressive Tense is used.  Since the action happened in the past, it is not on-going.
  2. Something has developed a little at a time (incrementally) in the past, which leads to a later or current situation that is still in progress.

    Examples

    The population of Mexico City has been increasing over the last ten years (and is expected to continue increasing).
     
    He has been growing rapidly in the last year (and is expected to continue growing).
  3. One action or several actions over a period of time have happened repeatedly (again and again) between two points in time, leading to a later effect that could be cumulative.

    Examples

    She has been contributing in many ways to this project, leading to its success (this is expected to continue happening).
     
    He has been acquiring a number of classic cars, resulting in an impressive collection (this is expected to continue happening).

In reality, there is little difference between #2 and #3 above.

Exercise

Match the clauses on the left with the effects on the right.
Example: 100 – z

(100) I have been studying a lot lately.
(z) I think that I can get an ‘A’ average this year.

Cause
(1) She has been learning to play the guitar
(2) Jasmin has been getting sick a lot lately
(3) Our company has been increasing sales
(4) My sister has been looking for a new job
(5) We have been traveling for 10 hours
(6) My mother has been calling me every day
(7) I have been running 3 miles every day.
Effect
(a) revenue is up by 15%.
(b) I hope to do three miles in thirty minutes soon.
(c) if this keeps up, it will drive me crazy.
(d) she hopes to be a singer-songwriter.
(e) we should be in Barcelona soon.
(f) she is missing a lot of work.
(g) she should be able to get something soon.  There is a big need for accountants now.

 

Answers show/hide
  1. d
  2. f
  3. a
  4. g
  1. e
  2. c
  3. b

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English Grammar for Academic Purposes Copyright © 2025 by Randal Thiessen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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