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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Linguistics Studies

Present perfect cannot be used in narratives

Is the latter part true?

"Thus past progressive is typically used with a specific function in narratives, while present perfect cannot be used in narratives."
  

Top answer

Hello. I would say that it is false since it depends very much of the narrative style: In general the use of perfect tenses is determined by their relationship to the tense of the primary narration. If the primary narration is in simple past, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in past perfect.

— X11

  • Hello.
  • I would say that it is false since it depends very much of the narrative style: In general the use of perfect tenses is determined by their relationship to the tense of the primary narration.
  • If the primary narration is in simple past, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in past perfect.
  • If the primary narration is in simple present, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in present perfect.
  • If the primary narration is in simple future, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in future perfect.
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3 Answers
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Hello.

I would say that it is false since it depends very much of the narrative style:

In general the use of perfect tenses is determined by their relationship to the tense of the primary narration. If the primary narration is in simple past, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in past perfect. If the primary narration is in simple
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Just to follow up on this: what if the main narrative is in the past (= it is narrated in the past simple and it is set in the past, with occasional references to the present day), and, at one point the narrator wants to indicate that she had never done sth up until the moment of speaking (which is today, given that she is reminiscing).
I know this sounds complicated, but here's
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AnonymousJust to follow up on this
First follow-up in ten years!
Anonymous'I've never taken these pills, and I've never taken a train ride.' - given that she still hasn't done either until today.
Yes, that's OK.
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