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Johnson13 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
she's been taking it lately for sleeplessness
In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, a character, referring to the same person, says:
-She died of an overdose of veronal. She's been taking it lately for sleerplessness.
The act of taking veronal happened before the act of dying; shouldn't the tense be SHE HAD BEEN TAKING?
-She died of an overdose of veronal. She's been taking it lately for sleerplessness.
The act of taking veronal happened before the act of dying; shouldn't the tense be SHE HAD BEEN TAKING?
Top answer
Hi Strictly, I think you are right: she had been taking veronal However, the present tense is sometimes used when a person has just died: it may mean that the speaker has not fully accepted the fact of the death Dave
- Hi Strictly, I think you are right: she had been taking veronal However, the present tense is sometimes used when a person has just died: it may mean that the speaker has not fully accepted the fact of the death Dave
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3 Answers
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Hi
Strictly, I think you are right: she had been taking veronal
However, the present tense is sometimes used when a person has just died: it may mean that the speaker has not fully accepted the fact of the death
Dave
Strictly, I think you are right: she had been taking veronal
However, the present tense is sometimes used when a person has just died: it may mean that the speaker has not fully accepted the fact of the death
Dave
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Thank you, Dave.
In the following, the person in question is also dead; the writer doesn't use DID, is it because, as you say, the person has just died?
-He was one of the kindest men that ever lived, and in the last years of his life my children loved him as much as I have done.
If not, is it because?:
The writer enshrines the vivid scenes in his memory,
In the following, the person in question is also dead; the writer doesn't use DID, is it because, as you say, the person has just died?
-He was one of the kindest men that ever lived, and in the last years of his life my children loved him as much as I have done.
If not, is it because?:
The writer enshrines the vivid scenes in his memory,
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Hi Johnson
I think this is a different kind of case
In the first one, the taking of veronal is dynamic and - obviously - stops when the person dies. So, there, I would say that the unusual tense is due to the speaker's state of mind
In the new example that you give, the verb 'love' is stative. It is used to describe how the person continues to feel, even after the deat
I think this is a different kind of case
In the first one, the taking of veronal is dynamic and - obviously - stops when the person dies. So, there, I would say that the unusual tense is due to the speaker's state of mind
In the new example that you give, the verb 'love' is stative. It is used to describe how the person continues to feel, even after the deat
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