Learn English – Why is “has come from” used in this sentence rather than “comes from”

phrase-usagephrasestensesusageverbs

In the sentence:

"Pinewood is wood that has come from a pine tree"

Why is the phrase "has come from" used rather than "comes from"?

Are the two phrases grammatically different? Do they have different meanings?

The sentence comes from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Another example of this usage which I have found, and confuses me is:

"Much of the opposition to this plan has come from the media."

Best Answer

"Pinewood is wood that has come from a pine tree"

Has come is in the present perfect tense.

If you're unsure what tense you are looking at, you can consult a table of conjugations:

Present perfect conjugation of the verb come from reverso conjugation:

he/she/it has come

What is the significance of the present perfect tense?:

The present perfect is a grammatical combination of the present tense and the perfect aspect that is used to express a past event that has present consequences. - Wikipedia

Relating this back to your example sentence:

"Pinewood is wood that has come from a pine tree"

The meaning here is that the wood has has come from a tree, and this has some consequence now. You might for instance hear someone say this if they were making a case now, for less tree felling, and more preservation of natural resources.

e.g.

"Pinewood has come from a pine tree... Do people not realize this when they go and purchase their trendy new furniture?"

Whereas:

"Pinewood is wood that comes from a pine tree"

Is in the present simple tense, which is:

The tense that is used to refer to events, actions, and conditions that are happening all the time, or exist now. - Cambridge.

You are no longer talking about the past fact that the pinewood was created from a pine tree with present consequences, but simply talking about the fact that pinewood 'comes from' pine trees.

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