It /this is the first time

Question

Dear teachers,Is there any rule for the use of tenses after"this/it is the first time"?Can I say like this?:I am talking with John now  .This is the first time I talk with him.I have just talked with John.This is the first time I have talked with himYesterday I talked with John.It was the first time I talked with himYesterday I talked with John.It was the first time I had talked with himThank you in advance

Kooyeen · Accepted Answer

Nice question. I once drove me mad for a while, LOL.
What I learned is that you need to use either the present perfect or the past perfect, although it is very idiomatic to use the simple past instead of the past perfect.

I am talking to you right now. This is the first time I've talked with you.
I talked to you (earlier, yesterday, etc.) That was the first time I [had talked / talked] with you.

Using the simple present in those structures is a very common mistake for non-native speakers. Using progressive tenses is generally considered unidiomatic, even though a native speaker once told me that he saw nothing wrong with saying something like "This is the first time I am reading about the accident, and I am quite shocked". Go figure... I just avoid saying that, just to play it safe.

It /this is the first time

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