'Since' always with 'perfect tense'?

Question

He is wondering to himself how he became so busy since he retired.

Question 1 : 'is wondering' is a present continuous tense and 'became ' is a past tense; they can be put in a sentence ?
Question 2 : He is wondering to himself how he had/has become so busy since he retired. Is this correct?
Please correct me.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

1-- Yes.
2-- Yes, those sound better.

Outrageous · Answer

Correct : He had lived here since 2000.
Incorrect : He lived here since 2000.
Then why does the second incorrect?

Grammarfreak · Answer

outrageousCorrect : He had lived here since 2000.

No, as written, it is not correct. It would be correct if you used present perfect; "has lived". But you used past perfect which suggests that he no longer lives there.

However, it would be correct, If it were : He had lived here since 2000, but he lost his job and moved out last year.
The underlined phrase contains the other event(s) along with " had lived" that makes the use of past perfect correct.

outrageousIncorrect : He lived here since 2000.Then why does the second incorrect?

Whenever "since" is used in a context of time, it always signifies a reference of past time spanning to the present.
i.e. I have known John since sixth grade.

If you use "since" in the past perfect context, you must use it in context with two past events, a remote past event preceded or followed by a recent one; as the underlined example above.

Outrageous · Answer

grammarfreakNo, as written, it is not correct. It would be correct if you used present perfect; "has lived". But you used past perfect which suggests that he no longer lives there.

Thank you for your explanation.
I am sorry. You are correct. A typo indeed, my grammar book write "He has lived here since 2000."

grammarfreakWhenever "since" is used in a context of time, it always signifies a reference of past time spanning to the present.

So can I say we must use present perfect tense with since?

Then why is this correct?
He is wondering to himself how he became so busy since he retired.

Grammarfreak · Answer

outrageoussince he retired.

Since- is used as a conjunction here. The original question was: "He has lived here since 2000.". Since -is a preposition
That's why you can't not set the rules in stone. These examples may help you sort out your confusions.

english-at-cec.blogspot.com/2007/06/since-adverb-preposition-and.html

Outrageous · Answer

grammarfreakenglish-at-cec.blogspot.com/2007/06/since-adverb-preposition-and.html

He has lived here since 2000. => since is a preposition because it connects a noun to a verb.
He became so busy since he retired. => since is a conjunction because it connects sentences.

An useful piece of information to me.

Thank you very much, grammarfreak.

'Since' always with 'perfect tense'?

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