first time you mention it - CalifJim's quotation

0 Hi,02br
00I wanted to ask about a sentence I saw in one of CalifJim's posts (posted yesterday, I guess). I decided to open a new thread, asking there would have been confusing. The thread is 01a05000 02a00 and here's the relevant part:02br
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00Believer wrote: 01i01font01i00Friends, here in this auditorium, the change is coming and will come for John and his family and the change that comes will be good and will bring along situational changes where they will be blessed with no want of material goods.02i02font02br
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02i00CalifJim wrote: 01font01i00The usage of the is not acceptable there. 05101u01b00It's the first time you mention anything about change02b02u00, so there's no preceding use to which 02i00the change could refer. You can say 01i00a change or just 02i02font01i01font00change there.02br
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02font02i01font00The question is: "Is it ok to use a present tense there (...first time you mention...)? And if it's ok, why?"02br
00I know that a present tense after expressions like "the first time" is practically always unnatural, but I feel in this case it's ok. I think it's ok because "mention" has a kind of "present" and "future" meaning:02br
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00It's the first time you've mentioned it ---> General. You've never mentioned it. It's the first time.02br
00It's the first time you mention it ----------> I already know you (will) mention it more than once in your essay. It's the first time you (will) mention it in your essay.02br
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00Thank you in advance. 05202br
02font0260hrefhttp://www.EnglishForward.com/English/UsageAcceptable/dpnbd/Post.htm11id612id1