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Seraphin Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

a tense issue

0 This has always been an issue for me, and I wonder if anyone has a simple and clear answer to help me with.02br
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00Which of the following sentences is/are correct?02br
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00(a) I have not heard back from her since then.02br
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00(b) I do not hear back from her since then.02br
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00(c) I did not hear back from her since then.02br
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00I understand if EVERYTHING happened in the past, (c) is probably correct (is it?).02br
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00But what if everything is currently ongoing. For example, I contacted her 3 months ago, and up to now, I still do not hear from her.02br
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00In this case, should I use (a), or (b) (or neither?)?02br
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00Any help? Thanks0-
  

Top answer

12br 12br 10(a) I have not heard back from her since then. 11font 11b 10ok12b 12font 12br 12br 10(b) I do not hear back from her since then. 11font 11b 10No12b 12font 11b 11font 12font 12b 12br 12br 10(c) I did not hear back from her since then.

— Feebs11

  • 12br 12br 10(a) I have not heard back from her since then.
  • 11font 11b 10ok12b 12font 12br 12br 10(b) I do not hear back from her since then.
  • 11font 11b 10No12b 12font 11b 11font 12font 12b 12br 12br 10(c) I did not hear back from her since then.
  • ).
  • 11font 11b 10no12b 12font 12br 12br 10But what if everything is currently ongoing.
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4 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Seraphin12cite10This has always been an issue for me, and I wonder if anyone has a simple and clear answer to help me with.12br
12br
10Which of the following sentences is/are correct?12br
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10(a) I have not heard back from her since then. 11font11b10
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0 Thanks for the prompt reply. 02br
00But isn't it ALSO a FACT that I DO NOT hear from her. Although in terms of time continuum, the fact started from the past02br
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00and is still valid currently, can we use the "fact" as a stand-alone and use "do not" instead of "have not" - I do not know if02br
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00I am making any sense, but hopefully
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0(a) is correct, and means that she has not contacted you in all the time between "then" and now.02br
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00(b) is incorrect.02br
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00(c) sounds quite wrong to me, but Google Book Search indicates that a few authors think it's acceptable. I don't know what it could mean other than (a).02br
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01b00Edit:02b00 0
0
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0(a) I have not heard back from her since then.02br
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00(b) I do not hear back from her since then.02br
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00(c) I did not hear back from her since then.02br
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00(a) Perfect.02br
00(b) Impossible in English. Many languages allow this, but not English. In English you have to use (a) when you want this meaning.02b
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