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Ivanhr Posted 14 years ago
Linguistics Studies
present perfect with indefinite time references
I know that we can say
I've spoken German in the past.
However, I wonder if it's correct to say
I've spoken German a while ago. (it seems wrong to me because you're referring to one occasion when you spoke German)
What do you think?
I've spoken German in the past.
However, I wonder if it's correct to say
I've spoken German a while ago. (it seems wrong to me because you're referring to one occasion when you spoke German)
What do you think?
Top answer
I agree. It specifies the past time.
- I agree.
- It specifies the past time.
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30 Answers
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So this sentence seems wrong too
It's been a while since I've spoken German. ( because it also implies that you've spoken (rather than spoke) German a while ago)
It's been a while since I've spoken German. ( because it also implies that you've spoken (rather than spoke) German a while ago)
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IvanhrIt's been a while since I've spoken German.You are nearly quoting me! At the time I wrote it I wondered how many people would find it unacceptable.
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Yes, it's very common as we all know. But it's still substandard usage.
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IvanhrBut it's still substandard usage.Do you have a reference? I'd be interested in seeing this opinion in print by a well-known grammarian.
CJ
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I'm afraid all I can offer is this
quote (from the BBC site)
'since' as conjunction
Since can also be used as a conjunction, as in your examples, Michele, introducing a clause. The tense in the since-clause can be past or perfect, depending on whether it refers to a point in the past or to a period of time leading up to the present
quote (from the BBC site)
'since' as conjunction
Since can also be used as a conjunction, as in your examples, Michele, introducing a clause. The tense in the since-clause can be past or perfect, depending on whether it refers to a point in the past or to a period of time leading up to the present
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I think that you are too critical in your classfication, Ivan. For instance:
substandard: noting or pertaining to a dialect or variety of a language or a feature of usage that is often considered by others to mark its user as uneducated.
substandard: noting or pertaining to a dialect or variety of a language or a feature of usage that is often considered by others to mark its user as uneducated.
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CalifJim"It's been a while since [present perfect]" is a rather common pattern.There is another (completely grammatical) implication that may have escaped the reader.
It has been [amount of time] since [present perfect]
implies
NOT[present perfect] for [amount of time].
____________
More specifically,
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Maybe I am too critical, I don't know. That example from Swan is really interesting though because he seems to explicitly use the present perfect in combination with "last" ( perhaps to make sure that this usage of present perfect is equivalent to simple past)
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IvanhrThe tense in the since-clause can be past or perfect, depending on whether it refers to a point in the past or to a period of time leading up to the present or, in the case of the past perfect, leading up to a point in the past.This doesn't seem to me to be a claim that the present perfect is substandard in a since-clause. Quite the contrary.
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