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Vkr6078 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Has ever had

"He was/is the greatest President this country has had or just has"

I am confused.

What should be the sentence if "he" IS still the president and he WAS the president and also what should be the sentence if he died.
  

Top answer

Hi The usual way is: - He is the greatest president this country has had [= He is honestly the best of all the presidents, up to this date] You could say: - He is the best president this country has ... but that would be a negative comment. You'd be saying.

— Dave_anon

  • Hi The usual way is: - He is the greatest president this country has had [= He is honestly the best of all the presidents, up to this date] You could say: - He is the best president this country has ...
  • but that would be a negative comment.
  • You'd be saying.
  • "We've only got one so, yeah, he's the best, but only because there is only one" If he has died, you can say, honestly: - He was the best president we ever had However, English has a 'historical present' tense that you can use here.
  • The man has died and has passed on, but we still use the present: - Winston Churchill is the best Prime Minister the UK ever had Even when we're not talking about history, the present tense can still be used: - That pizza I had in Venice, 1973 - that is the best pizza I ever had Dave
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1 Answers
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Hi

The usual way is:

- He is the greatest president this country has had
[= He is honestly the best of all the presidents, up to this date]

You could say:

- He is the best president this country has

... but that would be a negative comment. You'd be saying. "We've only got one so, yeah, he's the best, but only because there is only one"

If
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