0
Henry74 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
He has been going to have finished
Hi everyone,
I came across a couple of sentences the other day, that left me speechless.
a) For four months now John has been going to have finished his novel by today [but it is not finished yet].
b) Tomorrow Bill will have been going to pay me back for three weeks [but I still have not seen a penny].
Luckily for me, an explanation was also provided.
a2) For four months now John has said that he was going to have finished his novel by today.
b2) Tomorrow it will be three weeks that Bill has been saying that he is going to pay me back.
Not that these elongated versions are any easier in terms of tense agreement. In fact, I have a question about a2) and b2).
Why doesn't b2) read, [...] Bill has been saying that he was going to pay me back?
And could b1) also read [...] that he was going to finish his novel?
I'm not sure I understand the difference between those alternatives. Can you please help me understand?
Thank you!
H.
I came across a couple of sentences the other day, that left me speechless.
a) For four months now John has been going to have finished his novel by today [but it is not finished yet].
b) Tomorrow Bill will have been going to pay me back for three weeks [but I still have not seen a penny].
Luckily for me, an explanation was also provided.
a2) For four months now John has said that he was going to have finished his novel by today.
b2) Tomorrow it will be three weeks that Bill has been saying that he is going to pay me back.
Not that these elongated versions are any easier in terms of tense agreement. In fact, I have a question about a2) and b2).
Why doesn't b2) read, [...] Bill has been saying that he was going to pay me back?
And could b1) also read [...] that he was going to finish his novel?
I'm not sure I understand the difference between those alternatives. Can you please help me understand?
Thank you!
H.
Top answer
- - It could, but he still has not paid the money back. - Yes, that is a valid alternative. I'm not sure I understand the difference between those alternatives.
- - - It could, but he still has not paid the money back.
- - Yes, that is a valid alternative.
- I'm not sure I understand the difference between those alternatives.
- -- They say the same thing; they are just viewed by the speaker from slightly different temporal viewpoints.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
16 Answers
0
Why doesn't b2) read, [...] Bill has been saying that he was going to pay me back?-- It could, but he still has not paid the money back.
And could a2) also read [...] that he was going to finish his novel?- Yes, that is a valid alternative.
I'm not sure I understand the difference between those alternatives. Can you please help me under
And could a2) also read [...] that he was going to finish his novel?- Yes, that is a valid alternative.
I'm not sure I understand the difference between those alternatives. Can you please help me under
00
Hi,
Thank you for your answer Mr. Micawber.
Can I elaborate just a little bit on b2)?
I'm not sure I understand why the original sentence reads is going to pay me back. Doesn't it sound as if it was written:
Bill has been saying: "I'm going to pay you back"? Why doesn't is going backshift?
Is it because the Present Perfect Continu
Thank you for your answer Mr. Micawber.
Can I elaborate just a little bit on b2)?
I'm not sure I understand why the original sentence reads is going to pay me back. Doesn't it sound as if it was written:
Bill has been saying: "I'm going to pay you back"? Why doesn't is going backshift?
Is it because the Present Perfect Continu
00
0
0
Henry74a) For four months now John has been going to have finished his novel by today [but it is not finished yet].b) Tomorrow Bill will have been going to pay me back for three weeks [but I still have not seen a penny].How do we call this tense ,is it future perfect continuous ?
If so,what is the difference between these two sentences :
Y
00
everlastinghopeYou have been going to wait for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.I'm not sure, but it seems to me that your tense is conlicting with the fact that the plane will arrive in the future.
Perhaps it should be:
You will have been going to have waited...
H.
00
What about thetense of the sentences you gave ?Are they future perfect continuous ?
00
Henry74You will have been going to have waited...
Henry74You have been going to wait for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.Hi Henry,
My two cents of this is. There are two many verbs combined with mixed tenses built into this sentence, that not only did it not come across as clear in meaning, but
00
Hello dimsum,
Thank you for your thoughts on this. But now I have to ask, do you have issues also with my original two sentences [a) and b) in my original post]? Or are you just saying that I misused the tenses that I saw there?
H.
Thank you for your thoughts on this. But now I have to ask, do you have issues also with my original two sentences [a) and b) in my original post]? Or are you just saying that I misused the tenses that I saw there?
H.
00
Hi Henry74,
Hope my comment didn't cause you to react negatively. I do feel the 2 quoted sentences have issues with semantics.
I am with you on these two. That's exactly what I meant in my previous post..
a) For four months now John has been going to have finished his novel by today [but it is not finished yet].
b) Tomorrow Bill will ha
Hope my comment didn't cause you to react negatively. I do feel the 2 quoted sentences have issues with semantics.
I am with you on these two. That's exactly what I meant in my previous post..
a) For four months now John has been going to have finished his novel by today [but it is not finished yet].
b) Tomorrow Bill will ha
0
Related Questions