I'm not very good with particular subjects of Language Arts, and particular things like this is one of them.

When you say 'I have eaten', it expresses a different thought than 'I ate'. How would you express the first one in Esperanto compared to the second? The second would be 'Mi manĝis', but would the first one literally translate to 'Mi havas manĝis'?

Thanks,
sandman

Actually, In Esperanto, "Mi manĝis" can take on both meanings according to the context. You might say "Mi jam manĝis" (I already ate, I've already eaten) for emphasis. It really depends on the idea that you're trying to convey.

It's also possible to express the sort of construction you suggest directly in Esperanto. But Esperanto doesn't use havi as the auxillary verb for participles, instead it uses esti. That's a bit weird for English speakers, but it's just a difference between the languages.

So, for example, you could say

"Mi estas manĝinta" = I have eaten (active past participle)

or you could say

La pomo estas manĝita = The apple is eaten (passive past participle)

As you say, there actually is a subtle difference between

Mi manĝis and Mi estas manĝinta is that the first is really talking about the action of eating, and the second is referring to the state of eating.

The first one is an answer to the question, "What was I doing?" (I was eating)

The second one answers the question, "What kind of person was I?" (I was a person who was eating)

In practice though, the two can be used interchangeably, and they usually are. The preference among most esperantists is to use the first form, as it is the simplest. And the use of participles is one of the more advanced topics in learning the language.

sandman85:I'm not very good with particular subjects of Language Arts, and particular things like this is one of them.

When you say 'I have eaten', it expresses a different thought than 'I ate'. How would you express the first one in Esperanto compared to the second? The second would be 'Mi manĝis', but would the first one literally translate to 'Mi havas manĝis'?

Thanks,
sandman

I will just add that compound verbs are usually employed when there is a need to specify the time and state of the action within the context. The auxiliary verb provides the time, and the participle shows the state.

Mi estas manĝinta literally means that, in the present (estas), your action of eating is complete (-int-). (I have eaten)

Mi estos manĝanta means that in the future (-os), your action of eating will be in progress (-ant-). (I will be eating)

And so on.

Thanks a bunch to both of you!

I have a similar question...

How would you say "I have been ___-ing"?

I believe that's the Present Perfect Continuous tense in English.

How do you construct this in Eo?

As in "I have been studying Esperanto."

Mi estis studanta Esperanton. (??)

Yes.

Literally, "Mi estis studanta Esperanton", means "In the past, my action of studying Esperanto was in progress / not finished".

There isn't necessarily a 1-to-1 correspondence between English and Esperanto verb tenses, but that's what I would use if I wanted to translate "I have been studying Esperanto" keeping the distinction between the time and the state of the action.

If such a level of detail isn't needed (and this happens much more often in Esperanto than in English), then "mi studis Esperanton" is just as good.