How to interpret the past participle.

Question

Hi,I have been feeling uncomfortable reading sentences written in the past participle. In some sentences in which the past participle is used, some of them sound like the situation is over while some of them sound like the situation hasn't changed and keeps going. It's confusing to explain, so let me give you some examples.FormatMatch appears to be the application I've been waiting for. (sounds like the wait is over.)I have been dreaming of this moment. (sounds like he isn't dreaming it any longer.)It has been raining all day. (sounds like it is still raining.) My question is, do I read them correctly? And if so, why do you people use the same grammar to express different ideas? I mean, English is a highly low-context-language, and I can't believe the language depends on context to express such a basic idea.Thank you,M

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

mitsuwao23-
FormatMatch appears to be the application I've been waiting for. (sounds like the wait is over.)
I have been dreaming of this moment. (sounds like he isn't dreaming it any longer.)
It has been raining all day. (sounds like it is still raining.)

The only past participle in these sentences is "been", and in all three cases it's used as an auxiliary to form a continuous tense, specifically the present perfect continuous tense in all three.

This tense does not specifically indicate whether the action is over or not.

1. The wait has continued up to the time the sentence is said. That's the whole meaning of the sentence.
[The wait may continue (if FormatMatch turns out not to be the desired application); or the wait may have just come to an end (if it turns out to be the desired application). But neither of these facts is conveyed by the sentence.]

2. As with 1. The dreaming has continued up to the time the sentence is said. That's the whole meaning of the sentence.

3. As with 1. The rain has continued up to the time the sentence is said. That's the whole meaning of the sentence.
___________

In short, this kind of grammatical pattern indicates continuance of a situation up to the time you mention it. It doesn't say whether that situation will continue or not after you have finished mentioning it.

CJ

GPY · Answer

"written in the past participle" is not a correct way to describe this. Your sentences use the present perfect continuous tense, which takes the form "have/has + been + present participle". This tense is ambiguous about whether the activity is still continuing or has recently stopped. You can only tell from the context. Your interpretations seem reasonable. It is not certain in the last case that it is still raining, but with no other information that is probably the best guess.

Mitsuo23 · Answer

as crystal clear as I could possibly imagine.

Thank you,
M

Mitsuo23 · Answer

And thank you, to GPY, too.
M

Clive · Answer

My question is, do I read them correctly? Yes

And if so, why do you people use the same grammar to express different ideas?
I use the grammar that is available to me. Are you suggesting I should invent my own?
In my experience, we English speakers seem to communicate satisfactorily with each other.

Is the language that you people use completely precise? What language is it?

Clive

How to interpret the past participle.

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